Porsche 914 VW Type 4 2056 Engine Build Part 3 and FAIL [Project Bumblebee ep 09]

The engine build continues...but it's two steps forward, one back. Watch as I assemble the left half of the engine case, install the windage tray, apply sealant and attempt to torque the two case halves together. It didn't go as planned, but all should be sorted by the next episode!

[@IanKarr]

If you find these videos helpful, I'd appreciate it if you'd subscribe...If I've saved you more than 3 bucks in time or parts, please click my Patreon link and join me for zoom calls, bonus content and swag. www.patreon.com/iankarr. Thanks!

[@jockellis]

Summers during college I worked in the maintenance shop of a highway construction company. We would k look at the crank of a 6-cyl. Caterpillar engine in the block and it was almost impossible to turn with a pull handle and Chester pipe. Attach the 4-bolt bearing caps, torque them down and you could turn the crank with your little finger. Always amazed me

[@IanKarr]

It's a game of thousandths...

[@lonnievestal2964]

Enjoying these videos. Just bought a 2.0 engine for $250. Looking forward to tackling it this summer. Thanks for the Jake Raby DVD tip.

[@IanKarr]

Wow...that's a steal. Best of luck with it!

[@gnrrpreacher]

Another great video Ian, thank you.

[@IanKarr]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ArrowheadGarage]

Keep these Type 4 videos coming Ian!

[@IanKarr]

Don't worry. I can't help myself.

[@craigmalm1558]

Good job Ian, hang in there, and we’re all learning!

[@IanKarr]

Always!

[@fredriethmiller757]

Ian! This is your other friend Fred :) Man, Déjà vu! I mean, that's exactly the same feeling I had when this happened on mine. I will say, mine was a bit different, though. It rotated freely until the first rod cap hit the case! Since I had to ship mine back to Fat Performance, I decided to just have them assembly the short block and make sure their clearances were correct. Hope you get it figured out soon and you're able to rebound with a successful episode 4!

[@IanKarr]

Thanks Fred. Fingers crossed...

[@randalltaylor586]

nothing wrong with learning...thanks for the video..I split my case (ea) and will do a test reassemble to get some practice ....then I will continue to dream of having kb and jakes cam....great vids!

[@IanKarr]

Thanks, Randall. All part of the fun. I call things like this "tuition"...the price you pay to learn ;). One thing I learned is to test-fit the case at full torque before putting the sealant on. Sucked to clean that all up!

[@davedarling4316]

I was going to say "before you take it anywhere, make sure none of the bearings have slipped", but it sounds like you've inspected things and taken it to the machinist already. Good luck, I hope the fix is simple and easy!

[@IanKarr]

Thanks Dave! You're a huge asset to this community and I'm flattered that you're watching my videos. To my admittedly DIY wrench, it seems that the crank is binding in the thrust bearing. When I pulled the cases apart, you can see that the thrust bearing got stuck to the top half of the case...and it took a fair bit of force to separate. I'm confident that the thrust bearing seated properly on the lower half...and it would be the least likely to move, no? When I looked inside the bearing, I could see some marks that indicated binding. I polished that thrust bearing a bit, tried to re-tourque and it got better, but still not right. I figured before I went further, best to have everything measured properly. I've spoken with a few engine builders and they said that Q/C is poor these days and they frequently have to go through several boxes of bearings to find a good set. Hoping it's just that....

[@dannoyes4493]

Welcome to the "Poor Bastard" club!!!! New members are always welcome.

[@IanKarr]

I feel right at home already

[@dannoyes4493]

@@IanKarr 914 - There is no substitute

[@r.arabian3056]

Ian, I had the same thing happen. I didn't realize it but when I installed the crank, the bearing that is behind the gears didn't seat into the dowel hole correctly. When I turned it, everything was okay, till I torqued it down. Unfortunately, you ruin the bearing when that happens, so I had to heat the gears, remove them and start over. Once they were seated right, everything turned, so it is not likely a tolerance issue.. check the bearings to see if they were all seated. Can't wait to see what you discover!

[@IanKarr]

Thanks Rob. While it’s certainly possible the #3 unseated, the binding seemed to be in the thrust bearing. It wedged into the upper case and required a lot of force to free it. And there were marks inside the bearing where it looked like the crank had rubbed against it firmly. I’m hoping it’s the bearing and/or my error. That’s an easy fix. We’ll see after the machinist measures the bores and bearings this week..

[@randyfleet9968]

Hmmm! You made me feel good. Mine went together more smoothly. Although I had done several Pontiac engines and a Beemer engine before.

[@IanKarr]

Glad it went smoother for you. I'm thinking (hoping) this is more an issue of bearing quality control. At least that's what the machinist thinks. We'll see this week ;)

[@randyfleet9968]

@@IanKarr Good luck. Only doing one and everything goes smoothly one doesn't really learn much. I hope it's something easy.

[@TINKERGINEERING]

I showed my dad and asked to try tang some day. He liked your Stan Smiths. Your videos are simple and clean. I feel like I could do this now. I am thinking the HyPer9 175HV instal may be slightly different. Bye

[@IanKarr]

Frances! How are you? Tang is one of those things that probably never should've been invented. I'm sure your dad told you it was an "astronaut drink"...which is what made it cool back in the day. Really enjoying your channel and the fun you're having meeting people in this community. All the best!

[@ChrisXif1]

All right, a cliffhanger! I'm very curious as to what went wrong there...hope it wasn't too painful!

[@IanKarr]

I put a summary of what the machinist is thinking as a response to one of the earlier comments. We'll see next week...

[@CrispysProjects]

We're all itching to find out! Like in many of the comments, it's better to find out now testing what you can as you go along than on startup!

[@discogodfather22]

They call it line boring, they clamp the two halfs together and then make sure the holes are actually concentric for the crank. It's a big thing on Porsche engines, did it to several 911 cases over the years.

[@IanKarr]

Thanks, Chris. The case was align-bored and decked (covered in part 1), with the correct size bearings installed. We’re thinking this is a bearing quality control issue, but should know more this week.

[@billnorman1]

@@IanKarr I haven't built one in over 20 years, but if it had to be align bored there may have been case material lost in the center main bearing area. If so the center cam bearing can pinch the camshaft. I don't recommend turning the crankshaft after properly installing and mating with the cam gear until you assemble the halves because you might pull a bearing off its dowel and then pinch that bearing. Did I see an oil slinger? I can't remember. I also like to set the crankshaft end play before assembling the case halves, just torque the crankshaft to the flywheel and rear main bearing, check the clearance with no shims, select the necessary shims, add them, re-check the clearance with feeler gauges. After assembling the case halves, reinstall the selected shims and flywheel then double check with a dial indicator. Inspecting the bearings should show a polishing effect if they are tighter than they should be. You had a lot of machine work done, some is metric some is U. S standard, sometimes the 2 don't quite mix.

[@IanKarr]

Thanks, Huxley! The issues seem to have been sorted out. A new video coming very soon.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

👍 Next time put the cases together without sealing them. Sometimes it takes a few times to get it right. Engine bearings are a big problem these days.

[@IanKarr]

Thanks for the tip. Definitely an important lesson to learn. Cleaning up the sealant wasn't fun ;)

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

@@IanKarr I know about the sealant. ☹ Been there.

[@mullenmasters6420]

I am going to start a build and wanted to get a digital torque wrench similar as the one you use

[@IanKarr]

Here's a link... www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WTSRZKH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[@craigewing3054]

Before putting case together you don’t want any more than zero lash on those cam gears, nor should the cam lift out of its bearings while rotating crank either way, ask me how I know.

[@IanKarr]

Ha. I hear ya. Yep. My cam was zero lash. Now if only I can get the bearings / bore sorted out...

[@stuartmoores4935]

Just found you type video to be one of the best on the web. I am building my own soon for my vw bus so interested o follow you on this journey. Did I miss the part where you installed the cam lifters? Can’t wait to see the next instalment:)

[@IanKarr]

Thanks, Stuart. Lots more to come. Please subscribe if you haven't already. I'll be installing the lifters when I can finish the engine. Just waiting for parts...

[@mrGregorygchin]

What, something went wrong? Unbelievable 🙀🙀🙀

[@IanKarr]

ha! I know, right?

[@ArrowheadGarage]

Did you apply the Yamahabond to both sides of the case or just one side?

[@IanKarr]

Just one side.

[@alecjones8235]

Thank you very much.! Tang hahahahaha

[@IanKarr]

It's not just for astronauts, ya know ;)

[@michasieron7963]

Hi. Can you tell me how did you clean engine case? Aquablasting? Good job 👍

[@IanKarr]

Thanks, Michal. Len Hoffman did the cleaning for me when he decked the case. Not sure exactly what he used, but I suspect dipping. Jake Raby has been creative works of art with vapor honing...definitely something to look into. Please subscribe if you haven't already!

[@graemelliott3942]

Das gutentite👍TANG es Gut

[@IanKarr]

I see you speak German as well ;)

[@dewder74]

I’ve been jumping around with these videos and haven’t watched them in order. Did you change anything in the engine? Or did you just install new bearings? My guess is that the news bearings aren’t the right size. Sounds like something started to pinch something else, either the crankshaft or camshaft, after you tightened down the block. Hope it’s a simple fix.

[@dewder74]

Ok, I watched your first video. You had an align-bore done. I'm wondering if you used the wrong size bearings. That shouldn't be hard to remedy.

[@IanKarr]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, align bore done...and proper bearings bought. (+.020 case, -.010 crank). The machinist (and a few other 914 gurus) are thinking that bearings are suffering a quality control problem these days and I tend to agree. It seems that only the thrust bearing is tight. And if you look closely, you'll see that the crank came out with the left side when I pulled the case apart (and needed a lot of force to separate the crank from the case.) I tried polishing the bearing a bit and it helped, but is still binding. Like I said in the video, I don't have precise enough tools to quantify the problem...so off to the machine shop! I should know more this week.

[@walterbrooks3539]

@@IanKarr plastigauge should get you in the ballpark or tell you what's out of tolerance

[@randalltaylor586]

Ian any update on part 4?

[@IanKarr]

Part 4 should be ready next week! Finally got it all sorted out. At least I think I did.

[@tedzehnder961]

What all got machined again?

[@tedzehnder961]

It sounds like the line boring process wasn`t done properly.

[@IanKarr]

Correct. The align bore needed to be cleaned up so the crank could spin freely. More on this to come...

[@IanKarr]

The spigots were decked to be square and there was an align bore

[@thomasherrington5521]

🤷‍♂️

[@IanKarr]

Coming soon. I just now got things sorted out. Hopefully ;)