This is not a comparison to Scott or Dennis, but there's hope for me
yet?     ;^)

After getting started with a little help and guidance, (i.e. crank
disassembly. "What? Mom? I can't put an engine crank in your oven?") I
rebuilt a 36 HP VW engine as an early teen. It ran for a few months
but for various reasons developed a horrible knock; the crank would
move in/out while it ran. A subsequent attempt on a 40 HP was much
less "stellar". Working on my own, I thought I knew what I was doing.
But the details were lacking! It promptly leaked oil at the push rod
tubes.

Properly rebuilding a WBX still seems like a major hurdle to me.
Details yes, but being set up to do the job in a clean environment
with the right tools etc. takes some planning I think. Thank goodness
for the internet. "Simple" things like making sure the crank bearings
et al are properly seated before assembling the case halves could be
easily overlooked. (though I'm sure there are manuals that mention
this)

As for college, I have no regrets not staying beyond one year. No
student loan debt and I was already working as a "pro" anyway. In my
case, real life was an excellent teacher.

Neil.

On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 6:34 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I rebuilt my first lawn mower engine at 13. Had a plastic wheel part left over that I didn't know its purpose. Engine ran fine for about a 1/2 hour.

>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Scott Daniel - Turbovans
> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 6:02 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Possible...Overheating

> I wasn't disciplined enough to push thorough for a mechanical engineering degree like I was supposed to.
> Too interested in climbing mountains, playing chess, chasing girls.
> After 3 years of college, it was years before I could stand to sit in a class again.

> a smart careful person can easily study up on engine rebuilding, take a whole engine apart carefully..
> rebuild it etc.

--
Neil n

Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca

'88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p

'81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

Vanagon VAG Gas inline-VR Engine Swap Group:

http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej