Evening ladies and gentlemen..... 

The mad plan that's been hatching in my tiny misinformed brain is to pull the engine out of my baby blue and find out..
A. Where the blooming oil is leaking out? (suspected seals to the cooler?)
B. Where the missing compression is? ( mucky valves?)
C. Generally clean and tart up the dirty bits and maybe squirt a can or two of Poundland rattle can over the crappy stuff.

Pondlife has been busy this week building a dolly to catch my little 1300 lump when I drop it out at the weekend... I know I know.. I'm even scaring myself now but I have the general idea, 4 nuts, trolley jack, plenty of wiggling and fingers crossed.... Apparently it takes less than an hour for a novice to pull a lump out.!!

Tonight's burning question is......................Anyone got any tips / tricks / do's or don'ts / watch outs/ why the hell did you do that's ?

Make it as painless as possible please .... I'm having a bad week... 

Don't forget to disconnect the pipes and wires.  Labelling them up might be useful

pondlife, if your a bit more specific about your location you never know who maybe close enuf to pop over and lend a hand...

H

Did you get it running fairly well before you decided to pull the engine? Getting the engine out is quite easy, putting it back is a bit more fun    The oil coolers on the SP engines are made out of steel and leaks are usually because they have rusted through 

Rob

Yes Rob, With the proper dizz and carb it ran much better than with the SVDA AND 30/31... 

The reason for the pull is mainly to clean the engine up, find where the oil leak is.. (and it is a fairly wet leak, although strangely RHS rather than the usual oil cooler left hand side leak but then again I'm only seeing where it is coming out underneath not where it is originating from....) and given the lack of compression from a couple of the cylinders I am tempted to push the boat out and reseat the valves while I have the chance. 

Anything I should be wary of?
Im envisaging it all going a tad wrong somewhere along the line.... 

Lack of compression may be the rings so may be worth thinking of a set or even barrels and pistons althugh it inreases wear on a worn bottom end, depends on how many miles you intend doing a uear.

Question......

And knowing me, probably a stupid one........

Do I drain the oil before I take the engine out ?

Yes drain it before you take it out  It is a pain to get it out afterwards

Rob

It finds its own way out anyway but .... Roger wilco....

Is it worth a can of engine flush before draining ?

Done about 300 miles since the last change...

Exhaust off as well to make it easier ? Taking it out I mean, not draining... 

It is best to leave the exhaust on! If the exhaust has been on for some time, the nuts rust on the studs. You can then have a better look at what you are doing when you are trying to undo them. Give them a good soak and try them gently, if they seem very tight, as if the stud is likely to shear, then use a nut splitter or axe saw one side off them to remove. That way is a lot easier than finding somewhere to fit new studs

Rob

The exhaust also makes a handy grab handle during removal and refitting, especially for a first time........

The exhaust is / are twin cannons and a Pondlife fit so only been on a year of so... Also been off twice in that time to get at other bits so won't be a problem getting off, I'll take them off once the engines on the trolley, 
makes sense Rob...
Always good to have something to hang on to.... 

Well...........

She's out...... 

A big hole in the back of baby blue and no bench space in the shed....

Everything stripped off......... the engine not me..

Cleaned up a few bits and bobs already... Engine case generally a tad on the cruddy side... Any tips on how to clean it up?
Need to get me a spring compresser and get the heads off and valves out next...

Expect many many more stupid / daft / misguided questions over the coming weeks guys and girls....

Washing off I use a large tray jizer brought in a 5 ltr tin as it is always useful and a stiff brush then wash off but put rag into any open holes to stop getting stuff inside even though you are stripping.


I reckon Vanessa will be along later to come tif she has read her new book in bed last night, How to rebuild VW engines a £5 bargain at the Scarecrow Festival

If things are really cruddy, a pressure washer is the best first step, alternatives to jizer/gunk can be petrol, parafin, or diesel, but beware of the fire hazard, a cheapy alternative is washing up liquid, but be aware, it does contain salt, if using water based cleaner, results can be improved by using hot water, even try running pressure washer from the hot tap.
Ttfn Glenn