Site Navigation:
Craig's twitter feed:
Tweets by @gevmage
Ok, at long last, my Beetle's engine is off the work bench and back on the floor, in preparation for installing it back in the car. This is the first time in like 14 months the engine hasn't been on the work bench. Still work to do before it gets re-installed, but this is a major step to getting the engine back in the car.
Here's the front of the engine, the side that faces the car. The blue thing with the wheels holding up the engine is the trolley that's designed to assist with installation, although it also makes a very handy cart.
And the back side, with the mufflers.
What I realized Tuesday was that the strap to lift the engine needs to go directly against the engine block, but the tinware I was installing would get in the way. So I had to take the tinware back off, and now that the engine is on the floor, re-install it. When I lift up the car, the engine will roll under it on the jack, and then get lifted up into position from below. So the rest of the tinware goes on now. Although not as convenient as being at work-bench height, it should be pretty easy to work on on its trolley.
Oh--and the reason for the post title. I may not ever have the whole engine up on the work bench again. I recently bought a VW transmission chassis (outer shell, not working) so that I can build an engine stand. If I ever work on the engine extensively in the future, I will do it bolted to the transmission which will be housed in a rolling cart of sorts. I will build the cart low enough that I can lift the engine onto it using the jack. So hopefully this will be the very last time that I hoist the engine from the ceiling as I did yesterday. It worked Ok, but it's a pain.