isnt that an acceptable answer ? a team of people that have qualifications in that sort of thing decide thats the torque figure needed to work , so why fight it ? do you question bearing clearances and ring gaps as well , maybe run the crank bearings a bit looser or make some extra oil hole in there and as for the someone said torque wrenches are 20% out , ive had mine calibrated and they all passed , thats draper ,teng and clarke end of the day its your engine , if you fear the big end bolts will work loose then do what makes you happy
another thing folk do "just because" is that dammed blue silicone caked on new gaskets , then it falls off and blocks the oil ways and strainer im not meaning to rude or abrasive , sometimes you have to accept the people that make a product do know a bit about what theyre doing
isnt that an acceptable answer ? To someone not knowing the tone of a keyboard stroke (maybe it was intended as sarcasm) no it is not. a team of people that have qualifications in that sort of thing decide thats the torque figure needed to work , so why fight it ? do you question bearing clearances and ring gaps as well , maybe run the crank bearings a bit looser or make some extra oil hole in there Haven't even called into question torque figures so not fighting anything. No I don't question clearances and this question isn't about those.....FYI new shells without extra holes and piston/rings are fitted. and as for the someone said torque wrenches are 20% out , ive had mine calibrated and they all passed , thats draper ,teng and clarke Jon, correct me if i'm wrong, but you didn't say Torque wrenches are 20% out, you said that quoted torque figures are calculated with a tolerance of +/- 20%......and i'm assuming Jon meant that adding a bit of blue goop to the mix wouldn't actually mean torque of said bolt is wrong, and fall within the 20% error if it effected it at all? end of the day its your engine , if you fear the big end bolts will work loose then do what makes you happy You are right, it is my engine, and I have other engines in other cars that I have built that are still running strong and have won me several championships.
You are right, it is my engine, and I have other engines in other cars that I have built that are still running strong and have won me several championships.[/QUOTE] great sounds like its working out for you vw have built millions of engines without threadlock inside and theyre also fine too
As a completely off gloop topic response......VW design everything wonderfully and have never had issues with engines have they? Ok (sarcasm)
It was recommended to me by the machine shop that did work on my engine to put thread lock on the flywheel to crank bolts. This was not for fear of them coming loose but to prevent oil migrating from the block through to the clutch housing. I followed his advice. Whether you would class this as "inside" the engine is another matter but just thought I'd share.
I wouldn't class that as inside the engine vw flywheel bolts come pre coated so you have no need to unless you are reusing the old ones not recommended but I have in the past and used loctite 243 or 270 270 is overkill and it can be a pain to get the bolts back out
The Flywheel can be classed as outside. New bolts come with lock tight. Yes the holes at the Crank PTO are a path to the crankcase. Never had a leak from them though. Inside the engine, i.e mains and rods, oil pump etc, no lock tight as far as I am aware from the many manuals read and engines I have built. Crankbolts need no lock tight whatsoever and require proper torque to maintain clamping force. Some lanky dude wrote about that >>here<<...
Informative discussion! I did renew my crank to flywheel bolts (now you've got me thinking) I'm sure :/ haha. Well another drop wouldn't harm I don't suppose although as mention it could skew the torque figures but then hopefully that will fall within tolerances discussed here. It's not a bearing so it just needs to stay in place.
other than the oil pump bolts and oil squirter (or injectors if going by VW language) pressure valves are there any others actually inside the engine block itself? But I suppose it depends on your definition of 'inside' an engine..... as mentioned earlier, the flywheel isn't inside the engine is it?
I did say "etc", hoping to cover any other extras in a VW EA827 bottom end that should not ever need loctite as per manual or tightening procedure. I am under the impression the readership is pretty proficient with what fasteners are in the bottom end of an ABF engine and I need not revert to a detailed parts list of 'N' numbers. Feel free to expand on any obvious bits that my 'etc' ignores though
I use thread lock widely and have built many cars without issue (apart from one wheel bolt!!) BUT I also run a tap through the threads first to ensure they are clean. Not a cheap tap which can be machined poorly but a professional one. For studs use a blind tap (it has no starter taper) You would be amazed at how much cr*p they retrieve. Its an even contact area with the thread faces that's important when torqueing. Dirt and oil will prevent this. Some stretch threads require oiling so thread lock wont work in quite the same way.
