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removing engine from Snow Trac

Melensdad

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I received the following question via PM from a new member, and honestly don't have the answer. I'm hoping that someone else here has experience in this problem.

Gasman said:
removing engine from Snow Trac

I am working on the Snow Trac that my dad got back in 1965. It is a 1958. The original nameplate is still attached to the back panel showing a Type ST Ser No 58031. Engine Serial number is 122-038651. Currently the head gasket leaking oil badly. My problem is I cannot find a way to remove the lower half of the air intake baffles on the lower side of the engine heads. With these baffles in place, I cannot get to the lower bolts to remove the engine from the bell housing. I am not in a position to pull engine, steering variator and transmission as a unit at this time. Is there anything I am missing in getting the air baffles off of the engine??

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

By the way, I have the original manual for this machine as issued by the US Air Force for their utilization here in Alaska. That is how we came into this one, a surplus unit from 1965. I will see if I can get this scanned into a digitized format if you have interest in it.

AK Gasman - Anchorage, AK
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If the manual can be scanned and sent to teledawg I bet he can get it posted on the manuals page! I would love to see it.
Sorry I cant help on the engine issue. The only ones I have removed have been after we dismantled the body around it. Maybe Lyndon could post a helpful comment?
 
You shouldn't have to take the air boxes off. I just put my engine back in with air/heater boxes installed.
St4- 1962
I'm in anchorage also if you want to PM me
 
Easy as pie to pull just the engine. Remove all of the 'jewelry' (exhaust, starter etc.) and she'll pop right out. Make it a hellava lot easier to repair as well...
 
I have removed the belly pan, (if you are referring to the lower body sheet metal under the engine area) exhaust system, blower unit and shroud with the generator. I have it down to just the block and heads, but I must be missing something else. Removing the starter will remove one of the top bolts through the block and bell housing (on the top). That is one of the two bolts I can access. However, as I see it (which might be my problem!), there are two bolts through the bottom half of the block directly below these that go into the bell housing from the block side. The threaded end of the lower bolts is sticking thru the bell housing (pointed toward the transmission). Those I cannot get to as the heads of the bolts are covered with the air baffles I am referring to.
Am I missing something in all of this??
By the way.....thanks for all the help out there! I know I can work this out with this much input!!
 
Gasman, any chance you can post a photo of the location of the bolts you are trying to access to give us a better understanding of the problem?
 
In my searching for answers, I came across another members posting with a picture of "where I want to be". He has the engine out, the variator asmbly still in the engine compartment and a good shot of the bell housing showing the four bolt holes. I had saved that pic in some files I am building as a reference and tried to post it back on my reply, but I don't quite get the system here for attaching the picture to my posting. (i have it saved as a pic in a word document).
I will back track through my research files and see if I can locate where I found it. Maybe that will help.
I have a couple of pictures of my progress on my machine, but they don't pinpoint the 'bolt' problem.
 
Some useful tools for working on a Snot Trac...


twistkey.jpg

butterfly.jpg

electric.jpg
 
Items required to operate a Krusty outside of your back yard..................
 

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Gasman said:
I have removed the belly pan, (if you are referring to the lower body sheet metal under the engine area) exhaust system, blower unit and shroud with the generator. I have it down to just the block and heads, but I must be missing something else. Removing the starter will remove one of the top bolts through the block and bell housing (on the top). That is one of the two bolts I can access. However, as I see it (which might be my problem!), there are two bolts through the bottom half of the block directly below these that go into the bell housing from the block side. The threaded end of the lower bolts is sticking thru the bell housing (pointed toward the transmission). Those I cannot get to as the heads of the bolts are covered with the air baffles I am referring to.
Am I missing something in all of this??
By the way.....thanks for all the help out there! I know I can work this out with this much input!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that piece of tin on the bottom... is the belly pan...

VW engines only have four bolts holding it to the bell housing... if they are out, the engine falls out....

I was looking through some old manuals I had of the engines in the snotracs when I use to own one, and found this breakdown of the engine assembly.... It was after removing all the shrouding of course...






hamster.jpg


The newer versions used bigger squirrels for more horsepower....
 
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You should be able to get at those nuts from the top or the bottom. If I remember correctly those are studs that screw into the engine block and the nut is tightened up against the tranny bell housing
 

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Success! KRC had it right. When I finally got a chance to get back to the project, I found that the lower bolts I have been trying to get to are studs. Once this was realized, the engine came out in about 20 minutes!

Thanks to all for your assistance.

(I have not been able to find that 2 foot long sardine canopener yet, but I think I have a line on some bigger squirrels!)
 
Have you been able to scan the manual yet? teledawg has several posted on his website would be cool to get yours on there also
 
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