Installation of connecting rod and piston group (VW Golf 2)

If the oil jets used to cool the pistons have been removed from a turbocharged engine, they must be reinstalled in their original locations (figure 206). Tighten the injector mounting bolts to a torque of 10 Nm.



Generously lubricate the surface of the cylinder mirrors with clean engine oil.

Install the connecting rods with pistons in the cylinder block according to the cylinder numbering. The lugs on the lower head and the connecting rod cover must be installed on the intermediate shaft side.

The arrows on the piston crowns must point towards the front of the engine.

Set piston ring locks at 120° figure 199 shows how the ring locks should be installed relative to the piston pin axis.

Place the piston rings in the cage as shown figure 78, and sink the rings into the grooves.

Before inserting the pistons into the cylinders, check again whether the piston pin is locked on both sides. It may happen that after installing one locking ring, you forgot to install the second one. Turn the crankshaft so that the two cranks are at BDC.

Insert the connecting rod into the cylinder bore from above. Before doing this, wrap the lower head of the connecting rod with polyethylene to avoid damaging the cylinder bore. The cylinder block should be placed on its side to facilitate installation of the connecting rod bearing caps. The connecting rod bearing shell should already be installed in the lower head of the connecting rod, so that the projection of the bearing shell is aligned with the groove in the connecting rod head.



Insert the piston into the cylinder so that the rings enter the cylinder and the lower head is installed on the crankshaft journal.

Place the second part of the liner into the connecting rod bearing cap and lubricate it well with engine oil. Place the cap on the connecting rod bolts and tap it lightly, having first removed the protective material from the bolts. Once again, make sure that the lugs on the lower head and the connecting rod cap match (see figure 201).

Lubricate the areas where the nuts meet the connecting rod cap.

Tightening of connecting rod bolts is carried out depending on the types of bolts installed:

• if old design bolts are used, as shown on the right side in Figure 207, the new nuts are tightened to a torque of 50 Nm;
• if the new design bolts shown on the left side in Figure 207 are used, the new nuts are tightened to a torque of 30 Nm and then tightened another half turn.

After installing each connecting rod, rotate the crankshaft several times to check if anything is interfering with its rotation.

Recheck the orientation of all connecting rods and the correct installation of pistons. In turbocharged engines, also check whether the cutouts in the piston skirts are on the side of the injectors that inject oil.

Measure the clearance between the side surface of the connecting rod and the bearing surface of the crankpin (see figure 79), which is equal to the value of the axial clearance of the shaft and should not exceed 0.37 mm.

If the clearance is greater than specified, replace the connecting rods. Put short pieces of rubber or plastic tubes on the connecting rod bolts to prevent possible damage to the cylinder bore surface.