So I spent most the day cleaning and replacing every seal in the engine. Only ones left are the rear main (have to get the engine off the stand for that) and the front main.

Can the front main be replaced without splitting the case? If so, do I just need to remove that one bolt and pull the fan bracket off to get acess to it?

Secondly, I flipped the motor on the stand and the disty was out. So my disty drive gear fell out and onto the floor. How can I get it back in correctly? **Hopes there is only one way it will go in.**

Dan

Yes you can access the front seal by pulling the fan and hub off. Don't forget the keyway on the end of the crank.

to put the dizzy in, bring engine to TDC and install drive gear in such a way that the slot in the gear makes a 12 degree angle with the mating seam of the case halves. it makes a difference which smaller/larger side of the top of the drive gear goes in/out. see most any manual (workshop, haynes, clymer/lash...) for instructions. if you need more detail, i can post here, buy, no, it doesn't go in just one way...

Also, find the distributor shaft thrust washer. It may be on the dizzy shaft when it fell out.If not iy may still be in the engine on the trust surface and mat fall into the sump (not good). If it is on the thrust surface you must get it aligned with the hole that the dizzy shaft sits in. Find it first before you reinstall the distributor drive.

Dave

Find the spring too.

find both pieces as the springs mounts in the top of the dizzy drive and the spacer goes on the bottom. If you don't use the spacer the drive grinds into the case in short order.

Remember that the shaft turns as it slides into the bore in the case. You have to "back it off" by the correct amount of twist to get the ending angle correct. (Or close; it doesn't have to be perfect.)

Oh, and "TDC" in this case means TDC for the #1 cylinder only! Verify that #1's rocker arms both have slack on them and both valves are closed.

--DD

Thanks everyone, the spring is still on the gear and *thankfully* the thrust washer is sitting in the engine where it should be.

The fan hub is stuck on there, so I guess I'll have to rent a puller to get it off. Anyone have any luck with that?

Yes, a cheap ass FLAPS puller will yank it off easy.

So will three big fender washers.

How? Easy: Install the three fan mounting bolts into the hub, and run them down far enough that their ends trap (very large!) tough fender washers between the bolt and the case. This is to protect the case from damage, BTW--very important! Then turn each bolt 1/2 turn at a time, and the hub will pop right off! Make sure to have something under it to catch the Woodruff key, because it likes to bounce and is a b--ch to find once it does.

--DD

the vw... err, i mean porsche tool is a "U" shaped washer that fits under the fan and by running the fan bolts in, that is, tightening the bolts, the fan bolts push the fan off the hub. i used 2 pieces of metal stock about 6mm wide, 15mm long and 2mm thick.

The fan bolt trick worked like a charm. Took me all of 30 seconds and it was off. Only bad part is I didn't realize the hub went so far back on the crankshaft. That sucker made a large pop sound and what I thought was part of the crankshaft moved forward like 1/8th of an inch. I thought I broke the crankshaft until I pulled the hub all the way off.

Ok, I'm having some issues with the disty gear. I put the engine at TDC according to the fan, and verified slack in the rocker arms for cyl#1. I put the gear in with the smaller half pointing to the head (as per the Haynes manual). It looks like 12 degrees to the case half seam.

So I stick the disty in and the rotor points straight towards the firewall. Isn't that cyl#4?? This is my mallory dual point unit, and I didn't loosen the adjuster clamp on the disty when I pulled it out of my running engine.

I thought that was weird, so I put a stock disty in that came with the used engine. It's rotor pointed between cyl#1 and cyl#4 (towards driver's seat).

I'm confused, need advice.


Dan