<VV> engine repair question (no corvair)

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

Ed wrote:
 >
 > No, the engine has to come out.

And Bill says, yes, I can do it in the truck, and maybe you could too, 
but since you are asking, maybe not, but the engine does not *have* to 
come out -- you would have to pull the tranny back from the engine and 
remove the timing chain though, and maybe jack the engine up off it's 
motor mounts. This could all be done most easily if you had a hoist in 
your living room and a track crane on the ceiling (in which case you 
probably  wouldn't be asking or you've taken the idea of the loft 
apartment to the warehouse district).

Pulling the engine is generally easier and typically the recommended 
method. And since your 'killer knock' may be a bad rod or piston, that 
is what you'll wish you had done.

the classic 'pull the pan job' is just a new set of bearings & oil pump, 
replacing the bearings with the crank (almost) in place.  it is when you 
start this latter procedure and find a bad crank that leads to knowing 
you *can* pull the crank ...

Godspeed!

Bill Strickland