How do you change the berings of a 1600 vw beetle engine?

Answer 1

There are three sets of bearings in any engine--main bearings, which center the crankshaft in the block (or engine case on a VW); camshaft bearings, which center the cam in the case; and rod bearings, which hold the rods to the crank. Remember where the bearings fit in the engine; you will also need a copy of the Bentley manual for 1971-1979 VW Beetle.

You start by tearing the engine down. You've got to take the crank and cam to be resurfaced, the rods to be straightened and bored, and the case to be checked to see if it is possible to line bore it. (If it CAN be line bored, which makes the bearing surfaces perfect and ready for new bearings, make sure they use a line-boring machine and not this weird thing that fits in a cordless drill.) And while you're at it, live it up and have the heads done too.

Once all that is done, the machinist will measure your parts to see how "oversize" they are. They cut metal off your parts, and this measurement will get you the right size bearings.

Of the three sets of bearings in your engine, pay particular attention to the camshaft bearings. There are two kinds: single thrust and double thrust. This refers to the bearing pair at the front of the engine--the end where the flywheel is. The "thrust" bearing looks like the edges are bent over--trust me, you'll know what I'm talking about when you see the bearing. The non-thrust bearing doesn't have these. A single-thrust bearing set gives you one of each; the double thrust gives you two thrust bearings. Your engine will last a lot longer with a double thrust set and it's about five bucks more. Well worth the money.

You'll need a bunch of other stuff too: a set of pistons and cylinders, a new oil pump, a new oil cooler, a gasket kit, a main seal, a new gland nut, a tube of Yamabond to glue the case back together (DO NOT USE SILICONE SEALANT TO DO THIS!)...also, do yourself a favor while your engine is at the machine shop and have the guy remove the oil strainer studs and drill & tap the six holes for larger bolts. This will cut down your leaks considerably. Make sure to buy the new bolts and spring lockwashers from the machinist, so you know you got the right size. If you REALLY want to be nice to your engine, get him to drill and tap for a full-flow oil filter. There will be two holes coming out of your case. You then order from one of the online VW parts houses an oil filter adapter plate and hoses.

Once everything is home, just follow to the letter the instructions in the Bentley for reassembling your engine.