Hi all:

Well, I finally got around to putting one of the two Vanagon engines I'm
rebuilding back together.  After strugging perhaps a half hour to get
all the crankshaft bearings to seat, they finally did and it was time to
install the cam.  (That is, after I removed the distributor and
distributor drive shaft as the timing seemed to be off 180 degrees -
I'll have to go back and re-read Wilson before I put the other engine
together.)

Before installing the cam I checked for proper crank rotation and
everthing felt fine.

I was told by AVP (Sacramento) that because I had the two cases
align-bored I couldn't be sure that the same "number" (0, -1, -2, etc.)
camshaft as was there before would necessarily produce the correct
crank/camshaft backlash.  So I took a number (-2) and (-3) re-ground
camshaft from AVP, hoping to get lucky.  I didn't!

Using the Wilson tests of backlash, both camshafts periodically walk out
of their bearings when the crank is turned backwards, and neither has any
discernible "clunk" when one gear is moved manually against the other.
And when I try and rotate the crankshaft in the proper direction with
either camshft in place, at some point the crank "hangs up" and doesn't
want to turn anymore.

So, I assume the above says the gears on the camshaft are "too
big" and I need to go to a smaller number, like -4 or -5?

TIA.

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Tom Young               young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA  94549    '81 Vanagon
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