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I’m looking to disassemble an aerovee 2.1 to inspect it before aircraft installation. Is there any aerovee specific guides available that spells out how and what to watch out for? Is the Tom Wilson book about as good as it gets? Thanks

It's probably a silly question, but did you download the Aerovee assembly manual from the Aeroconversions website?

Thanks Bryan, I did. Maintenance is just a few pages. I was hoping someone documented their tear down, ideally highlighting what to watch out for(which components are subject to wear, replacement etc)

I don't think there really is any specific tear down or maintenance instructions other than the build manual as Bryan pointed out.

What's the story on the engine? Has it been sitting for a while and you want to check it over?

As the owner you will basically be able to do anything you want in terms of inspections. Depending on how long it was assembled, where it's been stored, etc. you may be able to look into the cylinders with a borescope and call it good, or you can tear the whole thing down and rebuild it. Assuming it hasn't been ran, you biggest check will be for rust and/or corrosion of the cylinder walls most likely. Personally I'd start with looking at those to see how the internals look and go from there.

Sorry I'm sure this isn't much help. For what it's worth, these engines are so dirt simple you could totally overhaul it in a few days if you want. Or pull the heads and cylinders to hone the cylinders if there's any rust in there.

Best of luck!

I think Tom Wilson's book is probably the best guide for this engine. There are some helpful web sites, too:
http://www.type2.com/rvanness/1600saga.htm
http://www.vw-resource.com/engine_rebuild.html#signs

Cool time lapse video:
web site: https://jalopnik.com/this-volkswagen-be ... 1820880077
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3cMPJj ... e=emb_logo

There are a number of specialty VW shops around the country, so you might check their web sites, and give them a call. A simple Google search turns up shops like these:

https://www.bugoholics.com/
http://www.bugstopinc.com/vw-repair-shop.html
https://1776cc.com/
https://www.mofoco.com/category/Engines/c46

The only thing you might run into that’s a little different than a car engine are the screws that hold the alternator/Stator in place. There was a service bulletin a while back that added some primer and loctite to those hex headed countersunk screws. They can be a real pain to try to remove and easy to strip out the hex socket if they did the service bulletin right. I had to drill the heads off two screws and then use some heat to get the remaining stud out. The rest of the disassembly is pretty straightforward vw stuff. Unless you have hundreds of hours on the engine most things are not going to be worn but things like bearings are cheap enough that you might just consider replacing them anyways. I would recommend a new set of exhaust valves and hand lapping of the valve seats when you go through the head even if they look fine. The exhaust valves are one of the few weak points on a 2180 and they are cheap and easy to replace. A drill press and oxygen sensor socket works great to push down on the springs while you remove the keepers with a magnet. Installation is just the reverse

Keith
#554

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Mike Farley,
To your question: The engine is preassembled with no flight time but has run on the ground. Owner decided to upgrade to a Jabiru.

My paranoia makes me want to take it apart just to confirm it was put together well.

That’s not paranoia. That’s good decision making.

It's a super easy motor to work on. You could strip it down to parts and build it back using the assembly manual reasonably quickly. Then you would be familiar with it and know it was done right.

I used the Wilson book when rebuilding our Aerovee but if it's new and you don't need to check tolerances it might not be that useful. (On the other hand it seems you should check even new VW parts so might be a good idea.)