VW engine basics

This is going to take a little time,I would like to go step-by step 0n a stock bug engine breakdown and build.There were many versions of the air-cooled vw engine,but I'm going to concentrate on the early bug(pre-'79). Excluding the injected motors this is as basic as a car engine gets.First,using a long throw floor jack,raise the rear of the vehicle almost as high as the jack will go(explanation later) and lower it onto jackstands,placed under the rear torque tubes. Next,disconnect the battery,disconnect the wiring from the motor,this is the hot lead to the coil,electric choke,alternator/generator and oil pressure switch(if there's any confusion,mark the wires as to what they are and also where they connect).remove the rear pan,making sure to remove the heat riser seals. Next remove the throttle cable from the carb,should be an 8mm(5/16)and pull out of the way. Now,it's time to crawl under the car,locate the fuel line(on the driver's side)and pinch it off,or,disconnect it from the steel line on the engine and put a plug into it (a golf tee works good)making sure that you pull it offfrom the engine end. Reach above the clutch wing nut and pull the throttle cable out of it's tube.Remove the heater tubes(if they're still there)andput to the side.Now you're ready to remove the mounting bolts,there are only 4 on the engine(maybe 3 depending on who had it out last). There are 2 on the top,one above the clutch cable and one opposite it on the other side(also the top starter bolt),depending on the model,you may have to have someone hold a wrench on these(17mm/11/16") take one off and loosen the other one but do not remove it! Put the floor jack under the round oil drain and take the weight off the engine,now remove the 2 lower nuts and the last top nut.Grab the tailpipe(1 of 2)and with your other hand grab the top of the fan shroud and slowly pull the engine to the rear,when it gets close to contacting the rear of the car drop the jack a little,continuing to wiggle and pull,if this seems difficult,raise the jack a tad,and keep wiggling until it's free. When all is clear,drop it slowly the rest of the way down.If it won't clear the rear apron,tilt it forward,or, let it off the jack onto the floor.They don't weigh anything so just pull it out.Have a friend help you pick it up and put it on a workbench. I promise,more tomorrow. I'll go into breaking the motor down and what to check while you're doing it.Tom(sprecher48)