Tap an 11mm block out to 12mm, can it be done?

[rs899]

You guys are making me nervous driving my 11mm Caddy with 200k miles on its last rebuild....

[maxfax]

If you've made it that far, you're gonna be fine..   Short of throwing a lot of boost, the problems with the 11mm blocks seem to usually materialize when torquing that head back on...

[rs899]

When I rebuilt that one in '96, Al Gore hadn't invented the internet so I had no way of knowing what a gamble I had made....

[rabbitman]

When I rebuilt that one in '96, Al Gore hadn't invented the internet so I had no way of knowing what a gamble I had made....

hahaha, and the world was much colder back then too..........

I've never seen an 11mm block with the head off.

So I guess the recommendation would be to use the time-serts where they're needed and then get head studs?

[R.O.R-2.0]

If you've made it that far, you're gonna be fine..   Short of throwing a lot of boost, the problems with the 11mm blocks seem to usually materialize when torquing that head back on...

i run over 15 psi to my stock stretch bolts and stock head gasket..

11mm power baby!

[maxfax]

i run over 15 psi to my stock stretch bolts and stock head gasket..

11mm power baby!

Are you running the gasser bolts?  The stock diesel bolts are not stretch...    Seems as though 1 out of every couple dozen of these 11m blocks are actually really good..  My first VW ('82 Caddy) had managed to live though 2 HG changes using the stock bolts.. The PO had the first one done at the dealer..  I bought the car after it had been majorly overheated due to a stuck t-stat..  Pulled the head, no cracks, so I got another head and ran it for several years till I sold it... For all I know it's still going..

[R.O.R-2.0]

i run over 15 psi to my stock stretch bolts and stock head gasket..

11mm power baby!

Are you running the gasser bolts?  The stock diesel bolts are not stretch...    Seems as though 1 out of every couple dozen of these 11m blocks are actually really good..  My first VW ('82 Caddy) had managed to live though 2 HG changes using the stock bolts.. The PO had the first one done at the dealer..  I bought the car after it had been majorly overheated due to a stuck t-stat..  Pulled the head, no cracks, so I got another head and ran it for several years till I sold it... For all I know it's still going..

idk, there 12pt bolts..

its got a 17mm, 6pt crank bolt, and it says 16D on the back, no decimal point..

everything ive read about the differences in blocks, leads me to believe that it is INDEED an 11mm block.. and it has 12pt head bolts..

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

[maxfax]

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

Sure sounds like it..   The other tell tale IIRC is the gasser bolts are the smaller (10mm?) triple square and the diesel is the larger (12mm?) triple square..   

Wonder what they are torqued to.. It seems to be real hit or miss on the gasser stretch bolts in these.. I've never actually used them in a diesel myself, but I've had a few apart that had them.. 

[R.O.R-2.0]

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

Sure sounds like it..   The other tell tale IIRC is the gasser bolts are the smaller (10mm?) triple square and the diesel is the larger (12mm?) triple square..   

Wonder what they are torqued to.. It seems to be real hit or miss on the gasser stretch bolts in these.. I've never actually used them in a diesel myself, but I've had a few apart that had them.. 

nope, wrong.. ALL VW stretch bolts take the same tool.. well, atleast i have been using the same snap-on tool to take heads off 8v, 16v, and diesel VWs..

the 1.5 head bolts (short, non stretch 11mm bolts) had the 10mm allen socket.. those MAY have been the proper bolts for my 11mm 1.6L engine also, but there long gone..

i know the later diesels (12mm) had stretch bolts, because my 84 TD engine has stretch bolts in it..

[rabbitman]

idk, there 12pt bolts..

its got a 17mm, 6pt crank bolt, and it says 16D on the back, no decimal point..

everything ive read about the differences in blocks, leads me to believe that it is INDEED an 11mm block.. and it has 12pt head bolts..

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

My rabbit block is like yours accept I don't know about the decimal point, it has 12mm studs.

[R.O.R-2.0]

idk, there 12pt bolts..

its got a 17mm, 6pt crank bolt, and it says 16D on the back, no decimal point..

everything ive read about the differences in blocks, leads me to believe that it is INDEED an 11mm block.. and it has 12pt head bolts..

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

My rabbit block is like yours accept I don't know about the decimal point, it has 12mm studs.

99.9% of the time, if the engine had a 17mm, 6 pt crank bolt, and says 16D on the back, and not 1.6D, then its a 11mm engine. i guess you got an engine from that .01% category..

my 1.6 TD had a 19mm 12pt crank bolt, says 1.6D on the back.. its a real TD engine. and marked how most 12mm engines are..

[RabbitJockey]

idk, there 12pt bolts..

its got a 17mm, 6pt crank bolt, and it says 16D on the back, no decimal point..

everything ive read about the differences in blocks, leads me to believe that it is INDEED an 11mm block.. and it has 12pt head bolts..

isnt that the combo needed to have a diesel with gasser head bolts in it?

My rabbit block is like yours accept I don't know about the decimal point, it has 12mm studs.

99.9% of the time, if the engine had a 17mm, 6 pt crank bolt, and says 16D on the back, and not 1.6D, then its a 11mm engine. i guess you got an engine from that .01% category..

my 1.6 TD had a 19mm 12pt crank bolt, says 1.6D on the back.. its a real TD engine. and marked how most 12mm engines are..

i forget the rule, i think if it says 16d it could be 11mm or 12mm, if its 1.6d then its 12mm no matter what.  i'm not sure about the crank bolts, i always thought 17mm crank bolts meant it was an 11mm engine but a few people have told me they had 12mm engines with 17mm crank bolts, and i was like wtf?

[maxfax]

  i'm not sure about the crank bolts, i always thought 17mm crank bolts meant it was an 11mm engine but a few people have told me they had 12mm engines with 17mm crank bolts, and i was like wtf?

Typically yes..  But I'd bet unless a crank was swapped, a 12mm engine with a 17mm crank bolt was of the 1982 vintage.. That was one heck of a crazy changeover year...