I am so screwed.. typeIII to type 2 case conversion..

Ok, so I've gotten the whole engine assembled up to putting on the
generator pedestal, when I realize as I'm looking at the case that
there's no place for the oil dipstick. ARRGHHHH...I've got a type III
case!

What happened was, I got all the parts together to build my squareback
engine about 9 months ago, but never got around to it. so when I
pulled the bus engine, I thought I'd save some time, money, and a trip
back to the VW place 2 hours away and just use this case and parts. I
had bearings, cam, pistons, the whole nine yards. hurray for me!
except for the dipstick hole. and the extra hole at the bottom left
hand corner at the back where type III's put their dipstick thingybob.
again...AAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

So the question is this...how deep do I have to drill to get a dipstick
hole into this case. The boss is there to drill into, but if I've got
to go through 4 inches of case, I'm off to a machine shop, at which
point I just get a new case. I've actually got the case.

I'm gonna go take a nap and lunch. If anyone happens to be quick on
the draw, I hope to save myself having to completely tear down the
engine and start over with a different case. I've already gotten too
much time into this, and don't have much time left before this bus has
to be on the road.

OH, btw, thanks to those with great ideas for a shop test stand. I've
gotten the transaxle case and such and am gonna use it on the next
engine I actually finish.

Glenn Roesener
Air-cooled, as God intended

ubergoober wrote:
> Ok, so I've gotten the whole engine assembled up to putting on the
> generator pedestal, when I realize as I'm looking at the case that
> there's no place for the oil dipstick. ARRGHHHH...I've got a type III
> case!
>
> What happened was, I got all the parts together to build my squareback
> engine about 9 months ago, but never got around to it. so when I
> pulled the bus engine, I thought I'd save some time, money, and a trip
> back to the VW place 2 hours away and just use this case and parts. I
> had bearings, cam, pistons, the whole nine yards. hurray for me!
> except for the dipstick hole. and the extra hole at the bottom left
> hand corner at the back where type III's put their dipstick thingybob.
> again...AAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
>
> So the question is this...how deep do I have to drill to get a dipstick
> hole into this case. The boss is there to drill into, but if I've got
> to go through 4 inches of case, I'm off to a machine shop, at which
> point I just get a new case. I've actually got the case.
>
> I'm gonna go take a nap and lunch. If anyone happens to be quick on
> the draw, I hope to save myself having to completely tear down the
> engine and start over with a different case. I've already gotten too
> much time into this, and don't have much time left before this bus has
> to be on the road.
>
> OH, btw, thanks to those with great ideas for a shop test stand. I've
> gotten the transaxle case and such and am gonna use it on the next
> engine I actually finish.
>
> Glenn Roesener
> Air-cooled, as God intended

Glenn,

You actually have a few options. Been there (recently) done that.

There is an aftermarket dipstick, Bugpack I think, that will bolt to
where the type III tube goes. Not a great solution but a solution. The
quality ain't great but it works.

To drill it takes a LONG drill bit. I thought about doing that for
about 5 minutes and then abandonded the idea.I think it's more than 4
inches.

What I did, is use the type III tube and welded a threaded piece on the
end of it then got a galvanized pipe cap that would fit it. Then I got
a dipstick off an old lawn mower engine and welded it into the pipe
cap. Had to play with it a little to get the length right but it works.
Add a quart of oil, mark the stick. Add another quart and another mark.
When I got my oil level full, I now know when I am half a quart low or
a full quart. I even painted the thing and it looks right spiffy I
think.

Hope you had a good nap and awake to find a possible solution.

Peace,
<><
TC

My lunch and nap produced some level of peace, and the realization that
I also don't have a place to put the oil pressure sensor, so I'm just
going to tear down and put all the bits into another case, after I send
it to the shop. I wouldn't feel so bad if I wasn't trying to show my
son how to build an engine. What I did was show him how NOT to build
one. I feel pretty bad, because he's gotta leave this next weekend and
I'm not going to be here for the next three days. Oh, well, I guess
he'll have to swim with the sharks

ubergoober wrote:
> ... I thought I'd save some time, money, and a trip
> back to the VW place 2 hours away and just use this case and parts.
> except for the dipstick hole. and the extra hole at the bottom left
> hand corner at the back where type III's put their dipstick thingybob.
> again...AAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
>
----------------------------------------------------------

Dear Glenn,

The hole in the sump isn't a problem. Using a fuel pump gasket as your
drill-guide, fabricate a cover plate from 1/8" aluminum. Make a gasket
(or use one for a fuel pump) and install with a light wipe of #3
Permatex on both surfaces.

As for the dip stick, you first need a replacement dip-stick tube. To
salvage one from an old case, split a 1/4" dowel and stuff it down the
donor tube to keep it from collapsing when you twist it out with
vise-grips. It won't want to come but it will after you pop that half
of the case in a 400 degree oven for thirty minutes. (If you use your
KITCHEN oven, if the donor case isn't clean as a whistle you'll
probably have to move -- you'll never get the smell out of the house.)
Grip the tube LIGHTLY -- it's easy to crush. Removing the oil pick-up
tube will give you access to the lower end of the dip-stick tube, which
you may pry GENTLY upwards with a piece of wood.

Once you have a donor tube on-hand you'll need to make a drill guide.
Use the case from which you salvaged the donor tube. Drill a 1/4"
plate -- al. or stl. -- to match the dynamo tower bolts but overhanging
by about an inch and a half above the dip-stick hole. Use a dowel or
rod inserted in the dipstick hole to spot a drilling location on the
underside of the plate. Remove the plate and drill it to accept an 8mm
(or size O [ie, alphabetic 'oh', not zero) AIRCRAFT drill. That is, a
twist drill that is 12" long. (This is a standard item from any
machinist's supply house... MSC, Enco, McMaster-Carr, Travers, etc.)
If you use size 'O' you may need to ream it a bit. Standard VW valve
stem reamer works fine.

Use the donor engine case to determine the location of the dip-stick
tube hole. Center-punch the location. Install the plate on the dynamo
base, chuck the aircraft bit in a portable drill and do what comes
naturally.

The combination of the hole in the plate and the center-punch will get
you started at the right angle.

You'll have to drill through about 3" of cast magnesium alloy so don't
hog the bit. Pull it out every half inch or so to clear the swarf.
This will end up giving you an over-size hole but it doesn't seem to
effect the fit of the tube.

The marks on the donor tube should tell you how deep it needs to be
inserted into the crankcase. Put the tube in the freezer OVERNIGHT and
heat the crankcase to about 300F for 30 minutes. The tube should slip
right in. You may use a dot or two of sleeve retainer if you wish but
the shrink fit is usually tight enough to form a leak-free fit.

This is one of those jobs that sounds more complicated than it is. The
tricky bit is drilling a deep hole at a compound angle; the guide plate
makes that a no-brainer. Any VW mechanic with any experience at all
has such a plate in his kit but as shown above, it's easy enough to
make one.

Or, you can strip your case, box it up and shoot it off to RIMCO, who
will be happy to do the work for you. But you really gotta ask
yourself: Is it wise to build an engine on a crankcase that old? They
do age-harden, you know.

-Bob Hoover

On 31 Jul 2005 13:38:16 -0700 "ubergoober" >
wrote:

>Ok, so I've gotten the whole engine assembled up to putting on the
>generator pedestal, when I realize as I'm looking at the case that
>there's no place for the oil dipstick. ARRGHHHH...I've got a type III
>case!

I know that places like RIMCO can install a beetle style tube in there
to convert the case. You can get a blank-off plate for the type 3 oil
filler hole. Sorry, but I don't know how long a drill bit this might
take. I'd be more concerned about getting chips inside the case, or of
drilling into the cam.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------