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So yesterday my dad and I dropped the engine out of my TDr (so still no pics of her out in the daylight with the top on for you guys yet, sorry) It all went really smooth, took the back bumper and splash panel off, jacked up the car, took out a few bolts and pulled it out. (We did all this because the clutch was acting up and the engine was leaking oil from somewhere) We got it on the ground and was checking it out to find plenty of oil on the clutch assembly! YAY!??? Got that cleaned up but for the life of us can’t get the gland nut off to get to the front seal. Any ideas? we already used some great big cheater bars to no avail.
Aslo if you know a good place to get a new clutch and a seal let me know!There’s really no secret to removing one, other than perhaps how to hold the flywheel while you do so. Here’s the tool designed to do that:
In use:
I use about a 4 foot long “pipe cheater” on a breaker bar to remove the gland nut…But, if you’ve never done this, you’re perhaps better off to load up the engine and haul it to a VW shop to get it done. They’ll have the tool, and you may need to also set the end play on the crankshaft using shims behind the flywheel. While some will take chances by simply reusing the existing shims, since yours has been leaking there may have been an issue to begin with…Easiest way to set end play is with a dial indicator, but there are alternate methods. Research “VW end play” and see some of them. The shop should have the tools to do this, in addition to installing the new oil seal.Note that you should always replace the gland nut, once you’ve removed it… it has needle bearings inside that the input shaft of the tranny spins on when clutched…You’ll also need a clutch alignment “tool” when installing the clutch, but they often come clutch kits.Clutch kits are widely available — just make sure you get a good quality, name-brand kit, rather than a Chinese cheapie (avoid Empi for that reason)… I bought my Sachs (OEM) kit from Mid America Motorworks: http://www.mamotorworks.com/vw/KentT2013-12-23 12:36:43
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...I use a Torque Meister tool. Good for torqueing and breaking loose flywheel gland nuts and rear axle nuts. Uses separate gearing for each and I think the ratio is near 10 to 1. (300 ft. pounds on rear axle nut with 30 ft. pounds on torque wrench.) Check it out on eBay or any VW parts house. Mine was Christmas present a few years back.
newkitman2013-12-23 13:08:25Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackSo got the flywheel off last week, and the end play was loose so we took it down the local VW guy to see what he thought and to see if he could adjust it. Turns out the front main bearing is loose and is the cause of all my troubles!! So we tore the engine down and brought it back to bore it out for new bearings and give it a general inspection. List of things going to be done:
1: bore out engine block for new bearings2: new pistons3: new cylinders4: new head5: his work on the engine and bead blasting everything.This turned out to be a bigger project than, “oh lets replace the front seal real quick”But at least I will have a basically brand new engine. It needed to be done at some point anyways, I was just procrastinating.If you’re going to be replacing a head in addition to cylinders/pistons you may want to consider increasing the size of the cylinders since they’re being replaced. You can easily add 5-10 HP for not much additional money.
You can now get “thick-walled 88s” that require the heads to be bored out to the same size as the 90.5s, without boring out the case. So, there’s less machining and cost involved. Gives you 1678cc with a stock crank and decent reliability.87s will work without any machining to either block or head, but they’re a bit more prone to both overheating and wear… this gives 1641cc.I was lucky and found a set of old Gene Berg 88s that require both case and heads to be machined to the 90.5 size, but they have cylinder walls that even thicker than the stock ones, so heat should not be a factor at all, given control of the other variables.KentT2014-01-02 18:53:46
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...I don’t think I am going to enlarge the cylinders at all seeing as how I already got plenty of HP even to accelerate uphill in 4th. 😀 I have it down at the local VW guy (who has been working on VW for some 45 years) And he is going to be getting the new parts, he wanted special types of heads and pistons to get a longer lasting engine. Might cost a little more to have him order everything but he knows a lot more about it than I do so I think it will be worth it. I’ll let you know how it turns out once it’s done though.
And apparently this engine had never been rebuilt before so, that considered, I’m surprised it survived the few times I took it out on the highway!Probably a wise decision… especially since he’s upgrading the heads, it sounds like…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Yes, He is going to have them use different spark plugs so the heads don’t crack next to the threads, as well as have them give slightly less compression for the afore mentioned long life.
Today we popped over to the shop the check on progress on my engine. It is coming along, the big thing right now is waiting on parts, the head we are reusing is cleaned and the valves ground and adjusted, engine block has been thrust cut, so hopefully I will have a “brand new” engine next week!
AllenI just got a torque multiplier that I ordered on eBay after reading your post. Wow, does it work great. Thanks for the “heads up” on this tool.mustang_evets wrote:AllenI just got a torque multiplier that I ordered on eBay after reading your post. Wow, does it work great. Thanks for the “heads up” on this tool.Is it the torque multiplier for changing truck/RV wheels that you guys are talking about? Something like this:Or, is it something different?Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Yes, that is the same style as the Truck one I listed below. It looks like the one you show has two sockets in inch sizes, that looks like the only difference I can see other than the price.There are two different sizes available. I purchased both of them.
The lighter weight one for Auto use ($44.50) is the one I tried. It is an 18:1 reduction ratio (18 turns of the handle to 1 turn of the socket). It comes with three 1/2″ drive sockets: 17mm, 19mm, and 21mm. Any 1/2″ drive socket would probably work but I will use Impact Sockets.The much heavier one for Truck use ($47.90) has a 64:1 reduction ratio. It comes with two 1″ drive sockets: 32mm and 33mm. I would only use Impact Sockets with this one.1/2 drive would work well for me — I certainly don’t want 1″. My largest sockets are 3/4″ drive…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Well I got the engine in sometime last week, after a few hours of frustration trying to get it to sit right, then discovering I need a 71 clutch not a 70 clutch… Whoops! Drove it out to the college for a few days for my welding classes and on the way home friday clunk clunk clunk…. Was gone for the weekend bird hunting so today I got it back in to the VW guy and he listened to me turning it over a few times and said the flywheel came loose! So I should have it all back by wednesday or thursday, and get to (finally) drive some more!!!
Alright we’re back up and driving! Apparently the gland nut broke! Which is pretty crazy seeing as how it is enormous…
Well they get torqued to something like 350 ft lbs or something — don’t recall the exact number, but it is huge.
Gene Berg always cautioned to never reuse a gland nut for this reason — that the high torque may have stretched the steel between the threads, and when you torque it that tight again, it could crack…
In addition, the gland nut has needle bearings in it that the engine turns on while the clutch is engaged — and they are a wear item that cannot be separately replaced. You have to replace the whole gland nut…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Hmmm, Interesting that when I got the clutch kit it came with the gland nut bearing. I assumed it would be replaceable since they included the needle bearing but not the gland nut.
Nobody wrote:Hmmm, Interesting that when I got the clutch kit it came with the gland nut bearing. I assumed it would be replaceable since they included the needle bearing but not the gland nut.It likely came with the throw-out bearing. The throw-out bearing is what moves up against the pressure plate when you press the clutch pedal. It pushes in the springs on the pressure plate so that it stops gripping the clutch plate — which it normally does via spring pressure…
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/222670.jpgThe gland nut is a large single nut that screws into the end of the crankshaft to hold the flywheel onto the engine. There’s typically 4 dowel pins in the end of the crankshaft to keep the flywheel “pinned” in location (they typically drill 4 addition holes when you build a high-performance engine). The gland nut is hollow, and has needle bearings inside it that the mainshaft for the transmission goes into.
Picture that nose of the transmission sticking out in the first picture — that’s the mainshaft that sticks into the gland nut in the second picture, and spins on those needle bearings inside it. It only spins like that while the throwout bearing is pushed up against the pressure plate, and the clutch is engaged. When the clutch pedal is out, and the clutch is disengaged, the mainshaft no longer spins freely inside flywheel, and the splines on it and the clutch plate “locks” the transmission’s connection with the engine so that when one turns the other must also… KentT2014-01-29 20:12:30
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...I replaced the clutch in my TDr a couple of months ago. The kit came with a pilot bearing. I beat the hell out of the gland nut trying to get the old one out. Failed. Bought a new gland nut with new pilot bearing installed.
Yep, it is theoretically a replaceable bearing, but would likely take a special tool that precisely fits to drive it out — or press it out, most likely…
I’ve never received one with a clutch kit, however. Throw-out bearings, yes, needle bearings, no… Did they also include the felt seal that keeps the grease away from the clutch plate?
Like you, I just replace the gland nut. But, I only remove the gland nut when absolutely necessary because of the end-play settings. Add a light touch of grease when installing a clutch, and the needle bearings will typically last until the next time the engine case needs to be split for an overhaul…
BTW, they make special oversized gland nuts and heavy-duty washers for when you’ve had your crank and flywheel drilled for 8-dowels.
http://www.socalautoparts.com/product_info.php/scat-gland-nut-amp-heavy-duty-washer-high-performance-4340-chromoly-billet-p-12839KentT2014-01-29 22:25:49
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...
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