>From: Noganav@aol.com
>Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1998 02:03:54 EST
>To: drew@interport.net
>Subject: Crankshaft endplay shims, flywheel and stuff
>X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 205
>
>Derek,
>
>Sorry to hear about your trouble.  It's not difficult job but I was glad to
>have my brother around for extra muscle and to double check my addition for
>the correct shim calculations.
>I'll try to explain what we did and how we did it.  I know you have a Syncro
>Westy but I don't know what your mechanical background is.  If what I write
>doesn't make sense let me know and I'll try again.  If it's boring I can
>adjust for that too!
>
>First I removed the engine.  Dennis Haynes thought it would be easier to
>remove the tranny instead, and he is correct, but I found that having the
>engine on the carport floor where we could easily see what we were doing and
>be able to work with the flywheel from a kneeling position was great.  Also,
>we are both 6' and 200lbs so both being under the van at the same time is a
>squeeze.  To us, it was worth the 3 1/2 hours to remove the engine.  I also
>changed all my fuel hoses while the engine was on the floor.  The hardest part
>of that was getting the old clamps and hose off.
>
>Remove 6 bolts holding clutch pressure plate and disc.  If the disc is as oil
>soaked as mine was, toss it and get a new one.  A couple of listees suggested
>soaking the disc in solvents for a few days but I didn't want to chance it.  I
>did clean the pressure plate first with kerosene then brake cleaner and reused
>it without any problems.
>
>Removed the 5 Allen head bolts holding flywheel to end of crankshaft.  My
>previous post detailed how I held the flywheel still when loosening (and later
>retightening) the bolts.  This stupid AOL e-mail program doesn't allow me to
>save my sent mail easily so if you need more info on this let me know.
>Remove flywheel.  I used a rubber hammer to gently tap on the edges in a
>circular pattern until it was loose, then grasped firmly with both hand and
>pull!
>Remove oil seal.  I tried to use a tool that is made for this purpose.  It's
>about 16" long with one end that's shaped like a foot (human foot).  On past
>projects, I have used this tool carefully and gotten seals out without
>damaging them.  My seal was so old and brittle that the seal tool didn't work.
>I ended up cutting the seal sideways with the blade of a small screwdriver and
>then pulling it out in pieces with needle nose pliers.  Removing it totally
>destroyed it.  Parts of the old seal were still stuck to the housing and had
>to be removed with a razor knife.  I was very careful not to gouge the housing
>and finished the removal job with a Scotch Brite pad to polish the sealing
>surface.
>Now the shims, or what is left of them in my case.  They are behind the oil
>seal and should just about fall out with the seal removed.  There should be a
>total of 5 separate pieces.  See page 13.41 of Bentley.  The parts that were
>still whole in my van were so badly scored I tossed them.
>With the shims out you can now see the outside of the crankshaft bearing.
>Dennis Haynes recommended checking that the bearing race is still tight in the
>case.  I used a very small punch and hammer to see if it was loose.  I held
>the punch at an angle on the bearing race tapping it lightly to try to make it
>spin.  Mine sure seemed like it was tight.  If it is loose your screwed.
>Rebuild time.  And to reuse the case, it will have to be machined to accept a
>new bearing with a larger outside diameter.  Dennis made it sound like it was
>a pita to fix.
>Remove needle bearing.  It's in the center of the crankshaft.  I used a small
>dent puller fitted with a small bolt and a filed down flat washer that when
>turned sideways on the bolt, fit inside then behind the needle bearing.  A
>couple of firm whacks of the side hammer and it was out.
>
>I cleaned everything real well first using kerosene then brake cleaner.  I
>finalized the cleaning by blowing everything compressed air.
>
>Putting it all back together!
>
>For the correct crankshaft end play, I followed the instruction in the Bentley
>Manual.  You will need a dial indicator and a pencil to write down the
>readings.  The instructions are very easy to follow but I'll write some things
>that they don't tell you.
>
>I installed the new needle bearing first.  It's easy to work on without the
>shims and seal installed.  I used a socket wrench socket the same diameter as
>a drift.  By tapping straight and lightly it should go in pretty easy.  I
>installed it flush with the end of the flywheel.  Don't forget to grease it.
>I used CV grease (MoS2).
>
>With that out of the way it's time to shim.
>
>Follow the instructions!
>Remember.....Don't install the oil seal and flywheel O-ring until you are
>ready for final assembly!
>
>I used a couple of small dabs of wheel bearing grease on both sides of thrust
>washer and shims to stick them together and keep them in place while
>installing the flywheel.  They kept falling out on the first couple of tries
>to install the flywheel for the initial endplay measurements.
>I also found that when installing the flywheel both for measuring the end play
>and final assembly, pounding it with a hammer shook loose the shims.  To
>prevent this I got the flywheel lined up with the drift pin and then turned in
>the Allan bolts to slowly draw the flywheel into the shims and crankshaft.
>About a half a turn on each bolt in circular pattern until it stops.  To be
>100% accurate I torque the bolts to 80 lbs each time I checked the endplay.  I
>also disassembled and re assembled the whole thing one final time and measured
>the end play twice before the final assembly with the oil seal and O-ring.
>Also each time I took a measurement, I turned the flywheel 180 degrees and
>took another measurement.  It took about 2 1/2 hours of assembly, measuring,
>disassembly, reassembly, measuring, disassembly, etc., etc., etc.
>
>When I started this project I had 40/1000 of end play.  New it should be
>3/1000 to 5/1000.  My final end play was exactly 4/1000.
>
>I had to replace my flywheel.  The side that goes toward the crankshaft was so
>badly damaged by the loose shims and thrust washer that they wouldn't even
>give me a core for it.  Check yours carefully.  If you aren't sure of it's
>condition replace it!
>
>I didn't find a felt ring in the center of my old flywheel as shown on page
>13.37 of the Bentley.  I did find what they show as a spacer in the center of
>the flywheel.  I wasn't able to get a new one from the dealer so reused the
>old one.
>
>I hope this helps.  Its late so I can't be sure what I wrote makes sense.  I
>check my mail twice a day so if I can assist let me know!
>
>Good luck!
>
>
>Andrew G. Martin
>'87 Vanagon GL Syncro
>175K

_______________________________________________
Derek Drew                  New York, NY & Washington DC
ConsumerSearch
drew@interport.net
212-580-6486, 202-966-7907 (Work)
212-580-4459; 202-966-0938 (Home)
     (cell: 917-848-6425)