Rebuild step 1

[P30inbuffalo]

Is it necessary to do the pistons .020 over if you are using the rings? I always thought you can use the same pistons, just do the rings .020 over?

Pull the pistons, check the rings fitting inside the sleeve for clearance. There is supposed to be a tiny gap where the rings touch together. You do this without the piston to check for fit. If too tight the shop did something wrong.

I did check the ring gap on all the rings before installing them- by inserting the rings in the cylinder one by one and checking the gap. The gaps were all above the minimum.
I too thought that you could re-use the pistons with new rings but the machine shop said not a good idea, they quoted some maximum clearance that this would exceed, and that using the smaller old pistons could result in pistons slapping the cylinder walls. I would rather not have spent the money unless its really necessary.

[ndutton]

I was reading through the older posts on this thread and this comment from over three months ago caught my attention

For my engine compartment it seems like it will take hours just to trace where all the wires originate and terminate. Not sure how to approach this, just dive in I guess.

If it were me, I wouldn't spend a second tracing what's there, I'd get rid of it and start anew. After all, how old is the existing wire anyway, 30 - 40 years? That's exactly what I did with mine and it was working fine when I jumped in (I know, nutty ain't it?)

Since you're doing a full rebuild, why not go all the way with the connected systems as well? By replacing the electrical you'll be sure not to miss any hidden or difficult-to-find chafes, breaks or gremlins. There are a number of excellent diagrams on the forum to guide you through it.

[Don Moyer]

If it's not too late, be sure to heed the note just before step 5 on page P5-3 of the MMI Service and Overhaul Manual. If you insure that you have a small amount of end-play on each side of the rod bearings as you torque the rod cap nuts to 25 foot pounds, it's good confirmation that the bearing shells are installed OK.

Don

[P30inbuffalo]

If it were me, I wouldn't spend a second tracing what's there, I'd get rid of it and start anew.

Good advice, this is how I will approach it. Thanks

[P30inbuffalo]

Reversing gear not going back together

I'm in the last steps before bench testing the engine, and I'm having trouble with the reversing gear. The shifting lever seems jammed in position, I'm thinking it should move freely back and forth. A couple notes: the "yoke" is seated over the 2 studs coming out from the shaft, and the retaining clip on the nut shown is not installed yet. Any ideas?

[ILikeRust]

The photos show it as being engaged in forward. So you're unable to move the lever back to pull it into neutral or reverse?

It will take some pressure to snap it out of forward engagement - those three fingers have to snap over the ridge on the sliding cone on the shaft.

But if you can't even do that, I might suspect that you've got the reversing band tightened too tight. Loosen the adjusting nut on the band brake - if you've got it too tight, it would make it impossible to move the lever rearward, because the band brake would clamp down as soon as you try to move the lever back.

That's all I can think of right now, looking at those photos. It looks to me like you've got it back together correctly.

[ILikeRust]

By the way, it won't move "freely" into or out of forward - you've got to apply some force to overcome the detent in forward - it will snap into position. And then you've got to apply force to overcome the detent to snap it back out of forward into neutral. It should then move freely, but with a little resistance, into reverse. There is no detent to overcome in reverse.

[P30inbuffalo]

It Works

Thanks, it just took a little force and it threw. Bench test tomorrow...

[Laker]

Better late than never comment - If you were shifting by means of the short cast lever alone , that would tale a lot of force. When my engine was on the bench I rigged a 14" temporary shift lever made from a broomstick for the purpose of shifting &adjusting.

Good luck on your run-up.

[P30inbuffalo]

Finally

Well, we set up the engine for our bench test. We corrected a leaking gasket on the fuel pump and bought an oil pressure guage and hooked it up.We were a little confused about initial starting procedure until we re-read the manual on this section,very well put together by the way. We hooked it all up and pressed the starter button ....and it fired and after tuning by rotating the distributor, purred like a kitten (a loud kitten). What an experience, we didnt realize how nervous we were about it starting until it actually ran. what a great experience overall. One of the best things I have ever done, thank you all for the guidance. I will post a video we took as soon as my brother emails it to me. Thank you!

Jim Lyon

Here's a link to us starting it up for the first time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mpsOllcOHE

[P30inbuffalo]

Startup video

Here's a link to us starting it up for the first time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mpsOllcOHE

[Administrator]

Way to go, Jim!

The audio portion of the video should be particularly useful to others. Forum members frequently ask about the sound of the engine.

Bill

[ILikeRust]

The audio portion of the video should be particularly useful to others. Forum members frequently ask about the sound of the engine.

The A4 definitely has its own sound. And the neat thing is, I've so far heard three very different A4s running, and they all sound very much the same.

[jpian0923]

I love that sound.