Dropping the engine was almost a 1 person affair. I decided to call in Matt to help guide the engine down while I was under the transmission guiding it from there. (Oh for those people with lifts who just disconnect the bolts and nuts, pull a bit, and then lift the car up and off the engine!)
This was the first time since I purchased the car in September 2017 that I could really see how filthy the engine truly was. I knew how bad it was from below with all of the oil leaks at the rear seal, pushrod tubes, and cylinder heads but I wasn’t prepared for the extensive tin corrosion. Of course, the car had not been well maintained by any previous owner so I should have expected this.
I was in no hurry to tear down so I took my time over multiple days to continue with the orderly deconstruction, dealing with decades of rust and grime.
Now one thing that honestly impressed me, and this is only from a newbie perspective, was the amount of original vintage VW parts and seals still on the engine! I was guess that about 90% or more of the engine was original with all of the parts with their tiny little VW logos and part #s on them.
The muffler, while perhaps not the original one to the car, was definitely very old and through the corrosion the Made in W Germany imprint can still be seen. The reason this cannot be the original muffler the car was born with is that it does not have the EGR connection. I’d previously discovered that while all of the EGR stuff, with the exception of the filter, was still on the car, it had been plugged and obviously, with this muffler could not connect.
The heat exchangers are also old, but not original. So sometime in the past the entire exhaust system, for whatever reason, was replaced. However, an original VW muffler sans EGR connection was put on with aftermarket heat exchangers.
I was extremely happy to find that the original thermostat (below) and all thermostat fan shroud flaps were still intact and all functional. Given the state of this car, that seems odd but I was taking any little surprises like this as I could find. I mean, so much of the car I discovered to be problematic.
I would continue to discover the true state of the engine as I tore it down.