Other weekend mods

[duc_fan]

You mean the special gizmo for turning the crankshaft by hand?

Easy:  Put bike on rearstand.  Put in gear (higher is better).  Turn real wheel.

It's a little stiff, which is why a higher gear is better (more movement of the rear wheel for less movement of the crank).  Still gotta be careful of TDC, because as soon as it hits peak compression, any more movement and it'll want to keep turning.

Anyway... I didn't need the crank tool for doing the belts, I just put 'er in gear and rotated the rear wheel by hand to make the motor go 'round.

DO be careful that you have the belts on the correct teeth though, first, because it'd be hard to feel if you're running a piston into a valve.  This isn't difficult (the pulleys should all have marks on them... if not, paint mark their positions at TDC prior to removing belts), it's just something you want to check and re-check to be very sure of before rotating the crank & cams.

[scott_araujo]

Dan, next time you do this remove the plugs.  The engine is easier to turn and won't tend to push away from TDC.

Scott

[NEIKOS]

Dan, next time you do this remove the plugs.  The engine is easier to turn and won't tend to push away from TDC.

Scott

Dan, next time you do this remove the plugs.  The engine is easier to turn and won't tend to push away from TDC.

Scott

Is that why it kept rotating of TDC on me the last time?  I was irked!

[scott_araujo]

Yeah, pull the plugs and it's much easier to turn and stays where you put it.  Also, you can see TDC by looking in the plug hole with a flashlight.

Still welcome to the tool, much easier than working with the rear wheel.  Besides, I still have your headset tool to return.

Scott

[duc_fan]

Good suggestion, Scott, removing the sparkplugs.

I'd have done that, except I'm a little paranoid of spark plugs in aluminum heads, particularly after one blew out of my '86 GTI's head one time on an Arizona highway.  Thankfully I wasn't far from civilization.  Anyway... after that episode, I've tried to minimize how often I remove/install plugs in aluminum heads.

For those less skittish than I about such things, Scott's suggestion is a good one. 

[scott_araujo]

Having owned dirt bikes, a moped, and several air cooled VWs I'm fine with replacing plugs in aluminum heads.  One thing I won't do is use a torque wrench.  I usually tighten my plugs by hand and have never had a problem.  A few months ago I figured I would try a torque wrench and go to spec.  No way I was getting near spec!  That was feeling way tighter than  I would ever go before I got there and made me hella nervous.  No more torqued plugs for me.

Also, some anti-seize or even regular old grease is the way to go.  A little on the threads and you get a much better feel for when it's actually getting tight instead of cross threading.  Ask me how I know 

Scott

[ryandalling]

  Ask me how I know 

Was this rhetoric or do you really want us to ask?

[scott_araujo]

No, but if you're really curious I've cross threaded a few spark plugs in VW bugs.  Easy to do with the fan shroud in the way.

Scott

[Bendy]

True statement. And worse yet if you have dual carbs.

[duc_fan]

Cross-threaded plugs in aluminum VW heads...

<*shudder*>

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to escape to my happy place now...

[scott_araujo]

The nice part about aluminum is that it's soft enough that you can re-thread it with the plug if you just get the angle right.

Scott

[bnbmike]

"I want to race a <insert your favorite car with an aluminum head>!"

Step #1 Heli-coil the spark plug holes http://www.emhart.com/products/helicoil.asp

Step #2 Go racing!

[scott_araujo]

That's just cheating!

[Bendy]

Aluminum is such an awful thing. Cast iron is where it's at, yo.

[duc_fan]

Heli-coils work. 

There's also this cool doohickey that's a complete threaded insert.  Unlike a Helicoil which is literally a coil, this thing is a complete steel insert complete with seating surface.

That's what I had installed after one of the plugs in my '86 GTI blew out.  One of these days I'll get around to getting inserts in the other three.  Not sure if that'll happen before or after the FI is yoinked and replaced by Webers.  Too many things to buy, never enough time or money.  *sigh*