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OK, since I'm waiting for parts to arrive in the mail AND I have some sheetmetal kicking around AND I have those sled tin templates that Al and Glenn provided, today I'm gonna make some sled tins!  Might as well - with the engine on a shop stand it doesn't get any easier to work on it than this.  

Once it's off the stand, I can pull the flywheel and replace the mainseal, button it up and get it back in.  

Question for you engine guys:  If I pull the flywheel and it's part of a balanced spinning assembly ( crank and flywheel balanced as a unit ), what should I be looking for as any possible alignment marks to put it back together?

Thanks.  gn  Pictures of the Sled Tins at eleven.....

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My 8 dowel crank has one pin offset, so it only goes on one way.

Gordon, I made sled tins a couple years ago. Mine are aluminum but are reversed to dump the hot air rearward in the mood engine orientation. I used a pair of old bails to hold one end and the normal sled tin holes in the case for the other. Lowered my CHT an average of ten degrees Fahrenheit!

What kind of stand do you have? The factory VW allows flywheel removal in the stand.

The templates that Al "borrowed" from somewhere else will get you in the ballpark, but then they need to be tweaked to fit.  Metal used was the same steel I got for the heater plenum, so HVAC thickness (19 ga. ?)  Aluminum might have been easier to work, but this stuff wasn't too bad - used a vise and wood block, some pliers and a pair of metal benders (very wide jaw pliers) to work it.

I've seen the proper "VW" service stand mount - this is not that.  The engine stand is made for a typical in-line engine, like a V8 or straight 4, not a flat 4, but I made a set of stand-offs to accept the mounts.  Not ideal, but serviceable.  When I get it off the stand and onto the motorcycle jack, I can easily attach a torque bar and remove/replace the flywheel.

 

OK, "Cheerful Charlies".......     Question time!!

Something that came up in this little operation was what appeared to be a failed air vane thermostat.  This is the part that helps the engine warm up quickly and then regulates the cylinder head temperature by varying the air directed across the cylinders.  

One of these things is not like the other.  They are both at about 50 degrees F.  

Which is the "good" one, and why?

bellows

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Well, pretty much everyone got it right - the one on the right is a dead one and the one on the left is a new old stock german one from Bug City.  That one's going in today, along with the rest of the stuff taking up space on my workbench to make it a whole engine again, and then I'll get it off the stand, pull the flywheel and replace the seal.  Hopefully, I'll be back on the road this weekend!

Luis!  Awesome Powdercoat is a great site.  Not only sells you stuff, but explains why you need it in the first place.  I wish more sites were as good as that!

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