Classic VW BuGs How to Install New Valve Guides in Beetle Ghia Bus Motor Heads

Good stuff my man. Thanks for sharing.

Hey I was wondering, when you park a beetle do you park it in-gear or use the hand break?

ebrake always, put in gear for extra protection just in case. But always ebrake, never just the shifter.

Great job!!

Chris, you make the best videos for the classic bug owner! Keep up the great work!

Great advice as always Chris.

thanks GRATE Vid!!!!

Nice! Very helpful video, thanks Chris. You're building up quite a portfolio for us. Appreciated Ian, England

Nice.

WoW great tip, this save alot of my money......

thanks, i heard it made a burning smell to use the ebrake buti guess they where wrong!!!

Yeah sounds like maybe your timing is off.

Use to work on old Triumph motorcycles back-in-the-day. The way we used to change out the valve guide is put the new guides in the freezer over night, and put the head in the oven for an hour or two at around 350 just before your gonna do the job. The guide contracts and the head expands and the guide practically slips in… have your head holder bolt already installed and use gloves. It’s gonna be hot.

thanks chris my wallet & i thank you.

I hate to say it but you are showing some of the worst practices for replacing VW valve guides. The old guides should be cored first, the new guides should never be sanded down, and pressing them in with a c-clamp is the least desirable way I can think of.

Ok, but again, these videos are made for the folks who are home, DIYers. Please show US a video of how YOU would go about doing it. By the way, the motor we did this procedure for runs like a top, no issues, no smoke, no burning oil, NADDA. Putting them in with a clamp is better than banging them in.

Ok

Thanks you so much for taking the time and doing these videos!! You're the man!! I

Hey Chris, firstly love that your sharing all your knowledge its fantastic :) here is a quick tip I've learned: it's better to put the head in the oven and the guides in the freezer. They should practically slide in. If you remove material you run the risk of having it pull out whole the engine is running hot due to different expansion rates of the brass and head casting.

No No No very poor method - never do this.

Our engines run fine with the method. Show us what you would do, got a video?

I stand corrected. I intended to speak only on the sanding of the guide od ( albeit slight). I would not do that since it reduces the press fit. Good videos - keep going.

I would (and have) use a mandrel made from stock to fit into the guide and press them out in a press. I know not everyone has a press, but it doesn't take much to mash the guide. Your method of installing a bolt is the second best method I have ever seen and without a press it is what I would do.

But I mostly don't agree with the installation with the C clamp. The reason you are sanding (albeit a small amount) the outside surface of the guide is to make it fit easier. But remember the sanding reduces the press fit which is probably only on the order of .001" to .0015". Keep in mind the difference between the aluminum head and the bronze (guess) guide is in the range of 20% and the further reduces the press fit at temperature.

Wow, you've collapsed the guide ID by putting it in dry and not chilled, and with no heat to the head.  And you now take material off the valve to make it fit.  And are also expecting the valve to still line up with the seat after putting in a new guide,  without cutting the seat.  It;s a good thing this is a 36......

Do not take this guy's advice on valve guide installation.  The extraction method is iffy with any head other than the 36hp head because of guide bosses.  Heat the head in your oven and put the guides in the freezer overnight.  Use some sort of press to apply even, steady pressure on the guide as it is inserted in the head using oil as a lubricant.  The guide will always have to checked and possibly reamed to fit the valve stem.  This is truly some lowball stuff!!!

Well a clamp is better than a hammer, but thermal expansion is a better way.
Still given that the beetle was built to 30's era tolerances this is a passable technique.
Sure it is not ideal, i'd like a press, a little thermal expansion and reaming to insure a completely tight fit, but in the real world some DIY bogeing happen.

hi, are the exhaust and admission guides identical? thanks!

thank you for the video !

One recommended method for guide removal is to drill the guide from the valve seat end with a drill about 1.5 to 2 mm less than the guide O.D.. The depth of the drilling should be about 8 mm less than the guide length. With a neat fitting long steel punch against the new inside bottom shoulder of the guide hole the guide should will easily tap out . The head should be setup on a drill press table to do the drilling. A small flat stoned on the drill cutting edges will stop it " grabbing" . This method reduces the guide wall thickness so that the guide thickness will collapse inward when knocking them out without any damage to the hole in the head.The new guide O.D. should not be reduced by using emery cloth/sand paper. They are precision made with the correct interference press fit. Heat the head and put the new guides in the freezer (over night).

We use a air chisel with a punch that slips into the guide. Takes seconds.

I think sanding down the guide has an extremely bad idea for all the reasons that other posters have given. But if you are going to do that at least use soft jaws and your vice as opposed to the way I see it being done in the video.

Chris where did you get this C clam? Only find small things here

I removed mine by tapping the top of the old guide and using and old head stud with a length of tubing and some flat washers to make up a puller. No need to sand down the valve stem use a reamer after installation. Also if you heat the head and chill the guide then pressing in is far easier.

Hi Chris... this looks like a head from a 36hp motor? I’m needing to remove and replace some guides on a 1600 set of heads and I’m wondering if you know if the valve guides are the same diameter as what’s shown here? Mostly wondering if an 8mm tap will work or if I need a 9 or 10mm instead. Thanks.

I just chill the cable guide in the freezer and heat the head in the oven at 300 and just tap the guides in

Nice one!

Great, simple tip

Good to know tips on removing the valve guides.

Great info! 👍 Not sure about SANDING the valves bearing surface for the brand new guides. Munch,,,Munch,,,Munch.
I use a high speed buffing wheel to lightly polish the bearing surface clean.

Thats funny I use a hydrolic press not a hammer

Great video with good ideas for work you can do at home. All the comments about putting a COLD guide in a HOT head are correct. That’s how the VW factory did it. You definitely want an interference fit. Don’t sand valve for clearance, just to polish ok.

Here’s the options for 8mm guides (99% of aircooled VWs made since 1961) Tap guide 3/8”16 or 10mm & screw a bolt in at least an inch. With appropriate punch that contacts the bolt, hammer it out, from the port end, better yet a chatter gun with ground down punch. (This is BETTER than pressing it OUT because the old guide tends to shrink/stretch rather than expand) A press is nice for installation but a pin punch with 5/16” shank & larger size top is fine. A little anti- seize on the new guide. Use a hammer quickly & carefully to install hot guide in cold head. If it starts to go in too easily STOP! Take it out quickly, clean off the anti-seize, put on some red Locktite & tap it home. If it goes in way too easy, you need a proper-sized oversized guide. There might have been one in the head already & now you need one a couple thou bigger OD. Many sizes available. YES, ream the guide. NO, don’t sand down the valve. VW says there should be .009-.011” clearance/rock between valve & guide new. That feels like a lot dry, just right with oil. An amazing wear limit of .032”
Too little clearance AND THE VALVES WILL SIEZE IN THE GUIDES WHEN RUNNING! Have fun! You can do this at home. Maybe. Then what about the seats?

Good idea here: after prep, stick the head in the oven and the guides in the freezer. Works great! 👍

do you have to recut the valve seats once the guides are changed?

Chris I trying to replace a valve the valve guide got stuck on the valve stem, and it came out freely, what is the solution for that?, also is the valve guide ID is 8mm how can a 8mm tap, have enough metal to create a thread?

Freeze them freon.....

Very good thank you,I love it 😊

Dude, this is excellent thanks so much

hey Chris

Were those new guides oversize or std?