Aircooled VW South Africa

Gearbox out and this needs to be welded.
Surprised not to find a thrust bearing inside the bell housing, but not that surprised!

All nicely cleaned up and ready for welding and testing. Engine going to Tune serve for compression test and basic check for serviceability.
While I am at it lets check out the gearbox...

Someone must have smuggled a farm out of Zim with this gearbox. All that effort and their I just dumped it in the bin with some teeth of a few gears!!
Surprised? Less and less !!!

What ever was worn and teeth less was replaced and this is what gives me satisfaction, brand new secondhand gearbox. From what I gathered the best box for something some years ago.
The motor turned out to have almost enough compression and could come right with some revolutions. Happy to give this a go before considering a recon.
After all the engine has not turned over for some years. I plan to turn the engine over and pour some clean oil in the exhort manifold to get some oil on the valve seats. Also squirt some oil on top of the cylinders to oil the sleeves. Then turn the engine a few times to lube possible dry spots.
Whiles draining the oil I could see the black stuff did not came out like water but more like lumpy syrup. Ok lets do a sump service as the engine is out and could look at the insides as well.
Happy that I have done this! Imagine the pump trying to suck and pump this stuff through all the little orifices in the engine?
Surprised? mmmm...

So much for helping me!!

sleepy dude is going to be an awesome co-pilot!
Maybe run some engine flush throuth the motor as well.

After some heavy upside down scratching on the engine surface( engine hanging from the roof and also not to get stuff inside the engine) I got more and more worried that I am damaging the service as it just don't come nice and smooth?

Took 35 min to find out the gasket was not just cork but a alu kind of gasket. Never seen one of these before but happy to just pull one side and it all came of.
.
Still needed quite a bit of scratching to get it nice and clean though.
The engine have a brown look on the inside, my experience, brown does not work, and if it does work not for long?
Should I clean this?

Thanks for the idea, I will have to get it going and will keep an eye on the colour of the oil shortly after the first run. Maybe do an engine flush then.

I would try get a longish plank/block with 1000grain sand paper. I have found using a short block increases the chances of high- and lowspots

just my 2c

interesting pics, love the gunk....

Throw in a semi decent oil, with a new oil filter, run the engine up until it is properly warm and drain the oil when it is HOT. Change the filter before adding new oil. Drive the car for a few hundred km and change the oil and filter again when HOT - maybe consider changing the filter after 50km and again half way to the oil change, this ensure the filter doesnt clog up and let gunk past into your bearings.
Do an oil and filter change 2 or 3 times and you will be surprised at how clean the crankcase can become.

Good luck with the project.

Never use that engine flush you get at the spare shops that takes all the lubricant out of the motor,rather use diesel it is oil based and you can start the motor for a few seconds then allow to stand over night and drain and then do what Tony says.
My 2c wrorth.

Diesel? I wouldnt trust diesel to lubricate anything other than a fuel pump which was designed to be lubricated by diesel
Sorry Terry, not dissing you, just not agreeing.
If the engine is hanging in the air, use spray diesel in with an oil squirter can and scrub the internals with a long reach paint brush. You could use paraffin too. My fear with this is that if the diesel or paraffin gets onto the bearings, it will wipe away any lubricant that is still in there, which wont be good for the bearings on startup until there is oil pressure.

There is no safer way to flush a engine than Tony's way and there is a concern but that's why I said never use that stuff from the shops because that's what that does it removes all the lubrication,I have flushed hundreds of engines with diesel in my time never had a problem but that is just my experience in the trade and would suggest it be done with caution if you intend using diesel.

As said by Tony, you can flush your engine with a low grade thin oil, but thats all.

If you run a solvent such as paraffin of diesel through the bearings, you remove the only thing that is stopping the two metals from grinding them self to destruction.

It will leave a layer of solvent on the metal which will prevent the oil from adhering to the metal, and you land up with a bearing knock.

Use oil...

Herman

Thanks guys for all yr input.
I scraped of all I could and sanded with the 1000 sandpaper, no block though and then wiped with thinners.
I think and hope that the gunk was just in the sump. I will screw on a new oil filter and fill up with GTX 20 50.
Then do this again after few kilometers. If the first lot of oil comes out relatively clean ill run the new oil and keep an eye on the colour for the next thousand km or so.
What oil do you suggest for the gearbox?
As you all know the gearbox and diff is one cavity and gearbox and diff oil properties is not the same.
Went to the VW agents and according to them there is no listing for my 1700 kombi gearbox! Workshop manager suggested EP90? "Don't think you can go wrong with that"
The "Think" part is my concern?

if memory serves me correctly, GL5 80W90

Tony Z wrote:if memory serves me correctly, GL5 80W90

Spot on Tony.

Herman