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Engine removal and installation are easier on the Beetle than just
about any other car. However, it is still a big job. Scroll to the bottom
of the page for some photos of a wooden stand to set the engine on.
I balaned the engine on a rolling floor jack for the removal. Once the
engine is out from under the car, I lower the engine onto that stand.
Since I converted my Bug into a Baja Bug, I cut off the rear car. This
makes it much easier to get to the engine.
You must disconnect the battery.
You'll have to jack up your Bug, and use large, strong jack stands
to support the car since it has to be a couple feet off the ground in
the rear. Removing the rear wheels simplifies the process.
You'll need to remove the fuel line where it goes through the firewall
tin at the front of the engine. When I did this gasoline started pouring
out. I shoved the fuel line back together. Luckily I was wearing latex
gloves. The gloves almost immediately shrivelled, but they kept the
gas off my hands (mostly). After making a big mess, I figured out a
better way to do this. I used my Mity Vac to draw a vacuum at the gas
tank in front of the car. I've got a 1973, and the tank has a few small
connections that are handy for this. With a vacuum at the tank, only
a few drops of gasoline leaked out of the fuel line in the rear. I blocked
the rubber tubing with a 1/4 inch drill bit (smooth end into the tube,
of course).
All the wires have to be disconnected. Label each one, or you'll spend
hours sorting them out. The list (roughly) is: coil, oil temp and pressure
senders, alternator/generator wires.
The throttle cable end clamp comes off. Save that barrel nut and it's
bolt somewhere. It would be a good idea to attach it to the carb with
a wire tie or cable tie.
Remove the breastplate at the rear of the engine. This is the cooling
tin between the pulley and the rear body apron. You may have to remove
the heat riser covers.
Support the engine with a jack. A rolling floor jack is very, very
useful at this point. I have a $50 jack (3 ton?) from Sears. I put 5/8
plywood under the car if I'm in the back yard so I have a smooth surface
to work on. The floor jack and plywood are great!
I like to put a sturdy board across the bottom of the engine case, and
put the jack under that. There are 4 little "feet" cast into
the engine case. It seems like a bad idea to support the engine on a
jack that is only under the oil drain plate.
Loosen the 4 bolts/nuts between the engine and transaxle. Start with
the two on the bottom.
When removing the top two, make sure the jack is high enough that the
engine isn't hanging on the bolts. With the bolts 1/2 off (about 5 mm
or 1/4 inch) you should be able to see the engine separate from the
tranny. Ideally, that separation is parallel. You don't want the engine
too high or too low since that bends the tranny input shaft.
Even with the top bolts out, the engine can still be supported at the
bottom. You'll have to raise it, and when you do the weight of the engine
comes off the suspension. If you are on jack stands, the car stays put.
If you still have the rear wheels on the ground, the rear of the car
raises up, so you have to raise the engine more. With a Baja Bug it
isn't necessary to jack up the car. Normal Bug owners will already have
their car on jack stands.
Wiggle the engine (on the jack). The idea is to pull it back a couple
of inches. Once the clutch clears the input shaft of the transmission,
you can tilt the back of the engine down. Tilt down, move the engine
back. Once you clear the lower engine mounting studs (bolts fixed in
the tranny), you can lower the engine, and roll it our from under the
car.
At this point, it is good to have a U shaped, 8 inch tall wooden stand
for the engine. (scroll down for photos). I lowered the engine onto
the wooden stand, and then removed the jack. Otherwise, you have to
lift the engine off the jack. I've seen photos where a person working
alone lowers the jack as much as possible, then tilts the engine forward
onto the ground. I was worried about dropping the engine, so I didn't
try this.
I borrowed a heavy duty 4 wheel dolly from a friend. Two people can
pick up the engine and put it on the dolly.
Installation is the reverse of this procedure. It often take some wiggling
to get the lower studs and tranny input shaft to all align. Make sure
that the front (towards the front of the car) face of the engine and
the rear face of the tranny are parallel. If the engine is cocked, it
won't go in.
To "wiggle" the engine, grasp the fan shroud firmly, and
move side to side, back and forth, and up and down.
Click any image for a larger view.
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The stand is made of one piece of 2x4, and two pieces of 2x6.
The 2x6s are about 13 inches long. The 2x4 is something like 10
inches. Measure the bottom of your engine case side to side and
I think you'll find that you want about 9 inches of clearance
on the inside of the 2x6s. If the size is just right, you'll be
able to get to those screws on the lower outer sides of the engine
case that hold the below-pushrod tube cooling tin in place.
With this size, the oil screen/drain is exposed, but the engine
is not resting on any delicate parts (like pushrod tubes).
In this view, the engine would be laying across the stand, with
the pulley at the bottom of the photo. The 2x4 cross piece is
towards the front of the engine (front being toward the front
of the car, and that is the clutch/tranny side of the engine.)
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Kind if a side view. Yes, it has oil
all over the front (clutch/flywheel/tranny end). |
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An angled view |
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I just put two 3 inch (or 3.5 inch) screws
into the ends of the 2x4. This seemed strong enough. If I was really
serious about this, I would have used lag bolts, or some arrangement
with 3/8 inch machine bolts. |
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