Re: [T3] Dying on downhills

["Steve Bradley" <scscomp@mindspring.com>]

> When I rebuild an engine I always let RIMCO install case savers.
> Along with this they automatically face the cylinder seating surface
> on the case. I also flycut the heads just to assure a flat sealing
> surface on that end as well.
>
> With both these surfaces flat and clean I don't think there should be
> any need to retorque, but you're probably right that retorquing is a
> good idea if the old case and/or heads were used as is.
>

We re-torqued VW's the same reason I've heard that you should re-torque a
V8, because the head bolts stretch with the heating and cooling of the new
engine. Since our lower studs are much longer and thinner, I would think
this effect would be even more pronounced.

I'm sure this is the case with my V8, I just put a 350 crate motor in my '86
pick-up and the valves were loose after 500 miles.

> When your shop did it, did you actually pull the engine and remove
> the tin so you could get to all 16 head nuts? If so, that's a lot of
> work, and probably a sign of a pretty careful shop. ;-)

No, we only pulled the rockers and re-torqued the lower bolts, we weren't
"that" careful. It also gave us a chance to re-check the valve clearance. We
had more than a few come back after a year or so with burnt valves because
they didn't bring them back for the 500 mile check. We had to charge them
for the repair.

Steve Bradley
Atlanta, Ga


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