Can ya split case w/o removing flywheel?

RSorak 71Westy · Post by **RSorak 71Westy** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:07 pm

well can ya? As in is it possible?

Gypsie · Post by **Gypsie** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:12 pm

Awkward..... I think there is a case bolt or two that are behind there.

What's the sitch....

RSorak 71Westy · Post by **RSorak 71Westy** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:20 pm

Oh have no way to hold case, I guess I need to bolt it to something like an engine stand.....to get gland nut loose. Have a flywheel lock and a big socket and a 3/4 breaker bar for the socket and a pipe for the breaker bar.
What else might I need? 300 ft lbs? thats crazy tight. I have no need to really sep the crank and the flywheel as the crank is bent. And If I build a new engine. get a used on probably wont need this flywheel. Just want to see the carnage inside the case.

Gypsie · Post by **Gypsie** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:27 pm

Tryin' to remember how Hambone and I did his. I think it was something like put it on the ground and have someone put their weight on it while the other wrenched.

Another idea-
You could drill a 2x4 with holes to allow the tranny studs to be bolted to it. Make it long enough to stick out in the direction you need (kind of like a cheater bar for the case. 2cents)

also- Put it on the floor. Lots of energy to loosen 300fp

RSorak 71Westy · Post by **RSorak 71Westy** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 2:22 pm

drill a 2x4 with holes to allow the tranny studs to be bolted to it.

Why didn't I think of this THANKS doin it now.

vdubzen · Post by **vdubzen** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:14 pm

have you ever thought of getting one of these?

it works great. watch who you buy it from, i have seen prices from 50 to 100 dollars. so shop around. below is just an example.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=271506

ruckman101 · Post by **ruckman101** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:20 am

I think I paid $75 or so for that local, no shipping and handling. I've broken brand new breaker bars on that gland nut in the past. I bought it to replace a leaking main-seal. I'm glad I did.

Yeah, I suppose you could split your case without removing the flywheel, but the awkwardness of trying to mate the two halves with that monstrously heavy flywheel still attached to the crank doesn't strike me as wise. Sure, it could be done, but....

Not to mention, any effort to remove the gland nut holding the flywheel will be greatly enhanced if it's still in the case.

neal

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:40 am

Gypsie wrote:Another idea-
You could drill a 2x4 with holes to allow the tranny studs to be bolted to it. Make it long enough to stick out in the direction you need (kind of like a cheater bar for the case. 2cents)

also- Put it on the floor. Lots of energy to loosen 300fp

Way I do this is with about a 4' piece of thick angle iron from the local hardware store.
Drill two 3/8" holes near one end that intersect two od the clutcg bolt holes in the flywheel...two that are not directly across so you don't block the gland nut when it's on.
The angle iron rests on the floor and keeps the flywheel still, and therefore the engine from flipping over.
The case itself doesn't need to be held...just the flywheel.

Flip the bar the other way so it sticks out on the right to put the nut back on.

Rob

Post by **Amskeptic** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:37 pm

RSorak 71Westy wrote:300 ft lbs? thats crazy tight.

Not really. One average sized person standing on a breaker bar 3 feet from the center of the gland nut is applying more than 300 ft/lbs of torque. It is very easy to torque up a gland nut . . . when you are re-assembling.

What is crazy is the static clamping force currently on the gland nut. You are dealing with something closer to 500-600 ft/lbs. Finding a suitable socket, wrench, whatever, that can take several thousand taps from a hammer will get it loose. Or a specialty tool can make it more dignified.
Colin

midatlanticys · Post by **midatlanticys** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 5:54 pm

. . . can this monster of a gland nut be helped on its way with heat from a blow torch? . . . I've never had the pleasure of wrestling with one, so this is just stabbin' the dark!

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:58 am

Oxy-Acetylene will get real tight ones loose, only if you are going to replace the nut anyway. Careful not to warp the flywheel.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:33 pm

midatlanticys wrote:. . . can this monster of a gland nut be helped on its way with heat from a blow torch? . . . I've never had the pleasure of wrestling with one, so this is just stabbin' the dark!

You . . . do . . . not . . . want . . . to . . . use . . . a . . . blowtorch on an assembled VW engine.
Colin

(a gland nut, inside a crankshaft is going to be expanded as it heats, helping to seize it in there tighter still. You can do a little heating and let it flow into the crankshaft, then cool the gland nut while the crank still holds heat)

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:59 pm

probably not the right way, but it worked when the 1000 ft lb 3/4" drive impact failed.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:08 pm

Hippie wrote:probably not the right way, but it worked when the 1000 ft lb 3/4" drive impact failed.

I defer to what works in every case. However, a mechanically sensitive person such as yourself may have the sixth sense of heat conduction that someone reading your post may not. I would not use a gland nut that has been torched because the pilot bearing grease will be cooked in places you ain't cleaning. I would not be happy deciding to use the main seal again. I would worry about cooking the oil in the crankshaft galleries.
You know . . . ?
Colin

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 4:05 pm

You're right. It was an emergency though.
Guess I can't recommend doing it that way.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Can ya split case w/o removing flywheel?

Can ya split case w/o removing flywheel?