Building an AAZ ground up, looking for tips

[Henchman]

I am starting an AAZ rebuild project.  I am not planning anything fancy, just want a fresh clean engine for a future car build.  I've got a full garage on site, and am proficient with cars and engine repair and maintenance, but have never rebuilt an engine from the ground up.

Step one -  What should I be looking for in a block and rotating assembly?

I have access to AAZ's (3 sitting here now) and more to come I'm sure.  Other than obvious damage to the block, what should I look for?  How about the crank, connecting and pistons?  What should I ask for when I take the block to get cleaned?

Once I get this step sorted out, I'll have more questions!

Thanks,

Ian

[Rabbit on Roids]

check for crank nose wobble. AAZ engines are famous for wobbly crank sprockets.

[Henchman]

Yes, I've seen the results of a bad crank a few times.  Speaking of which, other than conversion of the crank to tdi spec, is there another way to keep the pulley in place (providing the crank was OK to start with)?  New bolt and lock tite?

Ian

[rallydiesel]

I believe deleting a/c helps too. And maybe a clutched alternator pulley? I'm sure others have more specific info.

[jack's lack]

Clutched alternator pulley is easy to come by and definitely a good idea. I run one, but I also swapped in a crank from a 1Z TDI, which had the D-shaped crank nose. If you are rebuilding the bottom end and have access to lots of engines I would recommend going that route. I am pretty sure the AHU crank will work as well the later TDI's i.e. ALH have a oil pump gear or something that prevent their cranks from fitting.

I just had my block hot tanked and then honed. I took it to a diesel machine shop that had all these blocks for massive truck engines, and they sent 3 guys and a hand truck out with me to get the block and I was laughing because one of them could have picked it up and carried it inside.

I was told to avoid running the main bearings that have the integrated thrust washers on the #3 main. Apparently they are more prone to spinning than the separate ones.

I had a difficult time locating new stretch bolts for the connecting rods. I was unable to get a #from ARP that worked, however I ordered a set of bolts for the ALH and they fit.

 Also getting the inner auxiliary shaft bearing in was a bit tricky

other than that it is a pretty straightforward rebuild just check and confirm all tolerances as you normally would.

good luck with your build. What is it going to go into?

[Syncroincity]

^^^...and be sure to read his build thread! (link in signature)

[Henchman]

Looking to put it into a B3 Passat Syncro Wagon.  I have a B3 Passat now with an AAZ @ 220k miles original everything engine/tranny wise.  Bought is 2.5 years ago and have put 70k miles on it since.  It's not pretty but drives well, and I like the space and layout of the car.

I am looking at buying a VW tech manual for the engine to aid in the rebuild.  The thread listed above gave me a pretty good idea of what's involved.  The main bearing issue is a little confusing, but like most things, will probably make more sense when I have it in front of me.

Keep it coming,

Ian

[Dougslug]

If you want a aaz manual, look at (join) the diesel vanagon group on yahoo, they have the whole thing on pdf on their files.