1987 VW T25 Caravelle GL

So, I spent a week pottering about in it, I put a couple of bottles of lifter treatment in, hoping to quiet down the ticking.
I had a faff with the cooling system (it was getting fairly warm) and fitted a new stat, tidied up some pipes etc.
I even repaired the idle speed control module and sorted the timing out - this this was now running like a dream! But that ticky lifter was still there, so I decided to splash the cash on a new set of hydraulic followers and some telescopic pushrod tubes - I changed the lot.








And guess what - It still sounds awful:



I reckon it's a baggy little end bearing. There's minimal if any metal in the oil, and I've driven it sounding like this for about 400 miles without it exploding, so it can't be a big end or a main. There's also plenty of oil pressure.

So after ringing round and getting £1500-£2k quotes for an engine rebuild, I found a 2nd hand one for £400.

Admittedly, it doesn't look much:



But I am assured by the seller (who I trust) that it's a goodun.

Yesterday I lugged the engine and the van down to my mums garage, where I'll be doing the swap and I degreased the engine, pressure washed it and then took all the plugs out, oiled up the bores and wound the engine over with my drill and a 30mm socket. It turns over smoothly, all 4 pots have compression so it's worth a go!






Later today I'll the taking the engine out of the van, somehow. I'm working alone, so I'm going to have to devise a system of bits of wood and stuff to allow me to slide the old engine off and slide the new one back in without killing myself.