Mistake made bolting case together

74EMPI · Post by **74EMPI** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 5:05 am

Hi All,
I made a mistake bolting my case halves together. I had the case together but took it apart again to check that the cam and crank were lined up. When I put it back together and tightened the case hardware I noticed the crank would not turn. Damn. Took it apart and noticed that the 1 and 2 bearings had moved off their dowel pins. They don't appear to be damaged other than an indentation where the dowel pin had pressed into the outer bearing surface. I reseated them and the crank turns freely without binding. Are these now garbage or can I use them still? This is a 1600 DP. Thanks

mharney · Post by **mharney** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 8:00 am

Don't screw around with a $35.00 item. Replace them. They're screwed. Check your crank too to make sure it didn't suffer any abuse.

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68 Beetle, 70 Karmann Ghia
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Post by **Marc** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 8:32 am

If you got as far as tightening the halves together before you caught the problem, you should be able to see a bright spot on the bearings' surface opposite the dowel pin divot - the bearing is deformed. If you stopped soon enough and there is no trace of the trauma on the ID you could probably get away with reusing them, BUT sight-unseen, I can't judge whether you should try to salvage them so the "safe" answer is to get new ones. It'd take a lot more than this to do any detectable damage to the crank so I wouldn't sweat that.
TIP: put #1, #3, & #4 mains into the case before you put them on the crank and mark them (use a Sharpie or make a light scribe mark) when they're fully seated. Just before you mate the case check the marks to make sure they didn't move when you were checking the cam fit.

74EMPI · Post by **74EMPI** » Sun Jun 30, 2002 4:11 pm

Update

I pulled the crank out and replaced the #2 bearing. There was a bright spot on it where the dowel pin had pushed it into the crank. Everything is back together and should be installed in the car very soon. Thanks for the replies

Mike

MASSIVE TYPE IV · Post by **MASSIVE TYPE IV** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 8:03 pm

DO NOT use them over, that dimple severly effects the crush on the bearings, which is just .002 in most cases, do it and you'll be redoing it soon.

joe of centorg · Post by **joe of centorg** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 8:35 pm

Replace the bearings.On the ones you can see after installation,(front main) mark this one with a sharpy marker at the dowell location, on thrust surface. Mark the case to reference the dowell location. On the ones you can't see, mark the location of the dowell 180 degrees on the outside. Use this for reference when you seat things in their homes.Wipe clean before you seal it up.

[This message has been edited by joe of centorg (edited 07-01-2002).]

[This message has been edited by MASSIVE TYPE IV (edited 07-01-2002).]

MASSIVE TYPE IV · Post by **MASSIVE TYPE IV** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 8:45 pm

That was weird.....I tried to post and it went on the wrong reply as an edit....
Anyway, marking the bearings is a very good way to index them properly, I stil do it after several hundred builds under my belt.