[Vwdiesel] OT: Engine Rebuild Question

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/2/2009 7:14:37 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
davevw at yahoo.com writes:

> Can the bearings be replaced with the engine/trans still in the car?  It 
> seems like I could probably get to them from below, but I suppose the crank has 
> to come out, and I don't think that can happen without removing the flex 
> plate, huh?  
> 

  Peachy easy!  The two pan bolts closest to the tranny are easiest 
to get at with a 1/4 drive and a universal to get in there.  
  Rod bearings are a cinch to do.  You'll need to be able to rotate 
the crank to get al of them generally.  Get what you can, loosen 
what you can at least and see if things move or at least find what's 
stuck that way.  You can pull the cap then take a new insert, set 
the "clean" side against the "notched" side of the old bearing in the 
rod and rotate them around.  Now the new bearing is in the rod and 
the old one is on the bottom, drop it out, put a new one on the cap 
and put it on.  Be sure you don't mix caps or flip them 180.
  Same goes for the mains if they need replaced.  The rear main's 
bolts are close to the rear seal retainer.  You could grind the snot 
out of a socket but I usually just chissel a little of the seal retainer 
out of the way and tap a regular socket on the bolt.
  That's the fun of these engines, you can do a minor overhaul in 
frame!  :-)
   Loren


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