Nuts! Or More Precisely, a Lack Thereof...........

Bookwus · 27 February 2008, 02:03

Hiya green,

Well, I'll go out and play with it for a bit and see if I can make anything happen. I'm coming down this prioritized "to do" list.

1. See if I can get this thing turning via the "green" method. Might have to round myself up a thinwall socket.

2. Remove the servo and heat exchanger for better access.

3. Get out my old Army Field Manual on explosives from my Combat Engineer days.

greenghia · 27 February 2008, 02:32

If you have to blow it up let me know how much it takes for future reference! Oh and please please please take video!

68autobug · 27 February 2008, 05:30

Wow
a round nut and a hex headed bolt??

Mine has half round headed bolts on both sides..
like a starter motor bolt ...

and I use nyloc nuts on the engine side...

My Son has a set of ratchet ring spanners [which are expenisve]
but makes undoing those two nuts much easier and much faster than normal tools..

actually. on My gearbox I'm installing in My car at the moment,
the top LHS bolt was a normal hexagon headed bolt with a Nut welded onto the top...

so, any idea how to get the Round nut off...
is it pressed into the engine ??
so that You must use a socket on the gearbox end??

maybe they changed the way they were fitting those bolts..?? in the factory..

something else I didn't know??

Lee

Bookwus · 27 February 2008, 17:33

Hiya Lee,

Quote...........so, any idea how to get the Round nut off...
is it pressed into the engine ??
so that You must use a socket on the gearbox end??
maybe they changed the way they were fitting those bolts..?? in the factory......

As to that "round nut".............At this point in the game I'm not really sure just what that is. I have been going on the assumption that it is actually a part of the engine case. A boss into which the bolt is secured.

If that "round nut" is, indeed, a part of the engine case then the only way of removal would be from the transmission side. I would have to find some way of applying leverage (socket, wrench, hammer & chisel, dynamite) to the bolt head.

In point of fact Lee, the factory did change the engine mounting method with respect to the upper left hand bolt (my current nemesis) with the beginning of the 1971 production year to accomodate the doghouse oil cooler. Of course, my problem is that I have a 1973 engine mated up to a 1970 AS tranny. And I think that is the real "source" of this (hopefully) unique little problem.

I'll report back when I do find out just what's going on. Thankfully I'm not under any time related constraints. The new engine won't be here for some time yet. I do have other obligations and I also have other sources of transportation, so I'm going to go at this a little on the liesurely side. I do not want get frustrated and do something I'll wind up regretting.

greenghia · 27 February 2008, 20:52

Hey Guys, On my engine there is a boss instead of a pressed in nut or round thingy. You will have to remove that bolt from the trans side. If you have a welder, maybe you could weld a longer bolt to the bolt head and remove it that way. Tight working though. Good luck!

Bookwus · 27 February 2008, 22:14

Hiya green,

Thanks!

I really need a little luck about now.

68autobug · 28 February 2008, 13:09

Hi Mike,
Now I see in the fuzzy photo Your problem
the gearbox was designed for the half round bolt head
but when a hexagon bolt is fitted....
the hex head is too close to the part that holds the half round headed bolt..

so, thats Why One of My spare gearboxes had a hex headed boly
with a nut welded to it....
I couldn't work it out ...
now i understand...

You can get long sockets...
but You probably have to buy a set...??

then using an extension and a large Hammer
knock the socket onto the Hexagon head...??

Whether that will work, I don't know...
but someone did put it in.....

Maybe the original type of bolts for this engine have a Long hex head.??

still, that not helping You...

When you say DROP the engine

You mean lower it slowly...

Best of luck...

Lee
Only thing better than a beetle is another beetle

[/b]

greenghia · 29 February 2008, 04:54

Hey again Book, Just a little encouragement and a reminder that someone actually put that bolt in there so you can get it out! Probably just an expanded vocabulary away. Let us know how you finally get it out.

68autobug · 01 March 2008, 01:35

Just remember Mike,

Nothing IS impossible....

just a darn sight harder....

Best of Luck...

the bolt with the nut welded to it - I have..
the nut was welded roughly and crooked
so I believe it was welded onto the bolt while still in the car....

Lee

Lee

towbozo · 08 March 2008, 21:39

i just installed an engine on a 71 AS SB and recall this bolt fondly. 12" straight ext with 3" snap-on wobble ext with 17mm shallow socket loosely attached so it wobbled. 24" flex head ratchet and both hands near where the heater tube goes into car. i recall throttle cable giving me grief so it was manhandled out of the way. came out pretty easy after access was made. left it in place while engine was out. for installation i actually was able to get my craftsman 14.4v cordless 1/4 dr cordless into place with a 3/8 adapter and the 3" wobbly rig. karma was on my side i guess cause i only lost one knuckle's worth of skin from one slip. my builder was hip to the insert and had a new one pressed into an ae block for me. these vws are new to me but i have to admit i would rather work on these 30 year old 4 bangers than the new ford 6.0 diesels. simplicity is a blessing.

Bookwus · 09 March 2008, 05:53

Hiya tow,

Quote from: towbozo on 08 March 2008, 21:39
........simplicity is a blessing.

It is indeed! And welcome to the forum!

Bookwus · 06 August 2008, 05:26

Hiya All,

I'm reviving this old thread to give it a little closure.

If you scan through this thread you'll see it's about my difficulties in removing one of the transaxle to engine bolts. Difficulties is putting it mildly! In a followup thread (Isn't This Dandy) I showed that somebody had shaved the head of this particular bolt which made it that much more difficult to remove.

Basically, my problem was that the method of attachment at this bolt hole had changed from 1970 (the year of my car and transmission) to 1973 (the year of my engine). The 1970 had locking tabs on the case which held the bolt head in one position. Removal was by undoing a nut on the engine side. But the 1973 engine has a boss casting into which the bolt threads. Somebody had actually threaded this bolt into the engine casting and, at the same time, managed to (just about) lock it in place with the locking tabs on the tranny side.

So I pulled the transmission and found this......

You can see the locking tabs cast into the transmission case above. The scratches, gouges, and craters are the result of the fight to get that bolt outta that hole.

I determined that it would be best to remove the locking tabs and go back the 1970 style of securing the bolt, namely with a nut on the engine side. So, I ground down the tabs and wound up with this.....

I don't think I'm going to have a similar problem in the future.

Oh! And for what it might be worth, this why I'm an AutoStickin' guy.........

That's the AS tranny from my 70 Bug.

68autobug · 06 August 2008, 09:04

Hi Mike

My gearbox has a half round headed bolt on bolt sides
starter motor and this LHS
the raised bits on the gearbox actually hold the head of the half round bolt
so it only takes one person to put the nut on...

[if You are lucky] I take the jack down a smidgen after the engine is mated
to the gearbox and weight holds the bolts in place...

LEE