http://www.dolphinsci.com/techbull.html
Read this .............. blow off the barrel spacers unless you can get
the .010 aluninum shims or paper from VW dealer.

Stan Wilder.

On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 10:58:08 -0800 Tom Young <tomyoung1@ATTBI.COM>
writes:
> Hi all:
>
> When I rebuilt a couple of Vanagon air-cooled engines a few years
> ago I
> noticed the barrel shims (the ones that go between the foot of the
> cylinder
> and the crankcase) had "ridges" or raised metal around the inside
> and
> outside circumferences caused, I guess, by the process of stamping
> them out
> of sheet metal.   I spent some time lightly sanding down the ridges
> to a
> certain extent before installing them.
>
>  I just ordered some new shims from the Bus Depot - I'm going to
> increase
> the compression ratio of one of the engines slightly - and these too
> have
> ridges.  So, the question:
>
> Is it really necessary to try and eliminate these ridges left over
> from the
> production process, or is it OK to install them "as is?"
>
> I can't imagine VW doing anything about these ridges back when they
> were
> manufacturing these engines and, for all I know, the ridges get
> folded back
> out as a result of the pressure created when the heads are bolted
> into
> place.
>
> Anybody have any thoughts?
>
> TIA.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
> Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

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