Engine removal REMOVING AN ENGINE often makes working on them much easier, but sounds scary if you haven’t done it before. Don’t be scared, read this… I f we had a quid for every time we’d heard the old chestnut “just undo four bolts and a VW engine comes right out” we could afford a Formula 1-style pit crew to do the job for us. Like “Beetles float” it’s one of those annoying facts non- VW people tend to throw at you that is of no help whatsoever if you’ve never actually done the job yourself. The reality is, that comment is not that far from the truth, but it’s a bit more complicated than that makes it sound, but read on and you will see there is nothing to be scared of. In fact, an air-cooled VW lump is one of the easiest engines there is to remove. Fully assembled it’s also light enough to be carried by two people and you don’t need any kind of specialised hoist to lift it out of the vehicle. To make life even easier, Split and early Bay Window Buses even have a removable rear valance that means you don’t need to raise them off the ground to gain clearance for dropping the engine down. With these, you simply remove the rear valance and bumper, support the engine on a jack and wheel it out. Late Bay Windows have a fixed valance so the engine has to drop down to come out beneath it, hence us showing you how to do it the hard way, so to speak. Later Buses also have an engine brace that needs removing from the underside but our guinea pig had no such encumbrance, so we haven’t shown that here. Nor did it have any heat exchangers, so remember to remove your heater tubes and disconnect the cables or your engine will go nowhere when you try to remove it. You’ll also need to pull the engine four inches towards you to clear the splined input shaft in the gearbox. Don’t allow it to tilt or sit on the shaft as that could damage it. If this is your first time it’s a good idea to label all the wires you remove from the engine, to remember what goes where when you put it back. TOP TIP: Have a friend to help, especially if this is your first time attempting this procedure. Two pairs of hands are better than one and it’s a lot safer, too TOOLBOX TOOLS USED: Basic hand tools, a trolley jack, a pair of axle stands, a friend SKILL LEVEL: ❶❷❸ ❹❺ COST OF JOB: Approx £100 exchange TIME TAKEN: an air-cooled lump is one of the easiest engines to remove 2 HOURS We were removing our engine to fit a replacement from The Engine Shop, but there are a multitude of reasons why you might tackle this job 38 KYBA HOW TO ENGINE REMOVAL The hit it with a hammer trick may work for a bit but change your starter motor now to avoid getting caught out in the rain Engines are heavy. Never lie underneath unless you have a jack holding the weight