[T3] cranks and clearances

[Jim Adney]

On 16 Aug 2020 at 16:24, Keith Park wrote:

> What do you use for assembly lube?

For all the bearings, I use the Molycote burnished in, plus a tiny bit of engine 
oil, knowing that I'll be flushing more oil in from a running engine before this 
one turns. I add just enough STP to the oil pump to make sure that it seals 
well around the edges, so it will prime and pump quickly. EVERY MOVING 
PART gets a bit of engine oil as it gets assembled: pistons, rings, bearings, 
lifters, rockers, seals. No moving parts go in dry.   

I don't prefill the filter; I let that happen normally once the pump runs, 
because a full filter will put a backload on the pump which may keep it from 
priming quickly. It might be useful to install the filter loosely at first and wait 
for oil to drip out the outside before securing it. That provides a vent to bleed 
air out, helping the pump to prime, and lets you know when the oil has 
reached the filter.  

Sometimes I have removed the rockers and spark plugs to let oil get to the 
rockers and rod bearings before they get any load on them, but I don't bother 
with that if I'm priming the whole engine from another engine.  

The priming process is a lot like the systems that some high performance 
cars use, where they have a pressurized oil accumulator that pumps up 
when they are driving, but that gets valved off once it's full. Before the next 
startup, the valve is opened so the pressurized oil can prelube the engine. 
Those systems are expensive and require extra operator action at each 
shutdown and startup, so I don't consider them appropriate for daily drivers.  

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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