[Vwdiesel] pulling pistons for bearings and rings

[Will Taygan]

Thanks for all the input.  

To clarify, the engine is OUT of the car, on a stand, but the bearings
are within new specs, so I was thinking of taking a shortcut and just
popping in some rings, rather than pulling the crank.

But it seems that to replace the crank seals I need to pretty much pull
the crank anyway, right?

The pistons are sticking on the carbon at the top, so they aren't coming
out easily.  Give them whack?  Where's a good spot?

I'm thinking the bore/pistons are good, but since it was burning oil
there may be a broken ring? 

Trying to do it right, but also not redo stuff that's still good.

Engine will be going into a 82 Westy, so it'll have quite a bit of
stress on it.

** SO..... should I pull crank and have a shop hone/clean or flip it
upside down, pull pistons and run a little rental hone in the cylinders?
**

And if the bearings look good and are within new specs, is there a real
reason to put new ones in?

Thanks, Will

On Sun, 2009-05-17 at 18:39 -0500, dieseltdi at verizon.net wrote:
> If it were me, I would run a dingle ball hone or some 220 sand paper  
> across the ridge first but then take the pistons out through the top.   
> You can leave the crank in .  I have rebuilt 2 diesels still in the  
> car this way.  Hayden
> 
> On May 17, 2009, at 10:59 AM, Will Taygan wrote:
> 
> > The old pickup 1.6NA is torn apart on the stand.  It was burning a ton
> > of oil, smoking and starting to run away.  I was expecting to do a  
> > full
> > rebuild.
> >
> > (Engine was running when pulled)
> >
> > The valves in the head are very loose, and the exhaust ones are quite
> > worn.
> >
> > As for the block, there's just a little carbon at the ridge - I can
> > catch my fingernail on it - but not much else.  I can still see  
> > hatching
> > in the cylinder.
> >
> > The block has an official VW reman sticker on it, makes me wonder what
> > size bearings and pistons I've got.
> >
> > I pulled #3 main, and the green plastigauge says it's within specs for
> > NEW bearings.  I pulled the #1 rod bearing and the green plastigauge
> > says it too is within specs for NEW bearings!
> >
> > I suppose I should pull all the caps and plastigauge them, but...
> >
> > At least I'd like to throw on new rings while I've got it apart.
> >
> > According to the book I've got to pull the crank to get the pistons  
> > out.
> > (and according to my mechanic buddy, I should pull it before honing  
> > the
> > cylinder wall anyway)
> >
> > Or is there a way to pull the pistons out the top and run a quick hone
> > in the cylinder?
> >
> > This is my first try getting into the engine guts.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Will.
> >