bottom end inspection...

[paulmaione@videotron.ca (Paul Maione)]

>You shouldnt have to remove the crank or drop the tranny to replace these. 
>It woul dbe the center main bearing cap that these thrust washers are 
>under. if the rest of the ebarings are all perfect then I would say it 
>would be ok to jsut replace the thrust washers. Make sure to use the 6 
>piece bearing when doing the job. dont skimp out and use the integrated 
>bearings. they are crap.

hmmm.
sounds good. well, i inspected the bearing earlier this evening and i
really didn't notice how bad it was until now. it seems that only one side
of the bearing has been shaved, and also the bearing cap. i'm definitely
going to have to change that as well. should have one lying around with
my spare 2L. i had thought that maybe the bearing caps would have come
loose but when i went down to check them, they we're tight. maybe all
my exploding clutches had something to do with upsetting balance on the
bottom end. that was 4 pressure plates explosions on this motor. i put it away
last year when the clutch blew up, but it wasn't making that noise.

the only thing is that i'll have to inspect the crank tomorrow. honestly, by
judging the bearing cap, i would most probably think that the crank is scrap
too. there's no way i couldn't of gotten away without damage, it would just
be so un-volkswagen-like.

i was thinking if anything of going with dealer OE bearings. i'm sick of
all this aftermarket shite. the thrust washer kit is like $22. is that the 
good?

but most likely, i'll be taking that crank off by tomorrow night.

any pointers or tips would be appreciated. this is my first of any
crank work.

paul