Stud for Thermostat

Would any of you happen to know why some of the new made in Brazil VW engine cases don't have the stud (or even the threaded hole to put a stud) for mounting the factory thermostat system with the air bellows?

A couple of days ago I accompanied Jjr to a VW shop for one of his part hunts and saw new factory longblocks with those cases. It was weird as they were also selling the Brazilian VW cases but with the studs, same exact case!!!

My VS came without the stud and I'm planning to install the system (I've already bought a VW German dog house fan shroud with the bellows and mechanism as well as the bracket and rod; I'm planning to buy a new thermostat for the system). I'll be swapping my 36 hp style dog house fan for the OEM unit. Will it be that hard to just drill the hole and tap it for the stud? I know the case is identical (it has some sort of a reinforced or thicker area around the stud that can be seen and felt from the bottom of the case). If possible, where could I find those tools to drill and tap the hole?

do a search on this site its been drilled before==good luck

I did and haven't found it, even on the Knowledge section.

I've read it before, sorry I can't remember where but I'm pretty sure it was here.
If memory serves the person just matched up against another case, crossed his fingers
and drilled=no trouble.

Ricardo,

It's pretty easy to drill and tap that area of the case; since it's just a single stud and nut you could use an SASE stud and nut if you have trouble finding metric. Usually that kind of stuff is in local hardware stores , or any of the Walmart type stores and ALL of the auto supply stores.

If you want a template, I can make one from a case here that'll show you where to drill, if not you can just make one there from the engine in your car or measure carefully and go for it.

It's sorta of scary until you begin, then it get FUN right away, and in the end it's kinda satisfying but so hidden away under the lower tin and all, that you don't get to show the guys what you did and get the ol' "atta boy" . . . too bad . . .

Luck,

TC

Thanks TC! From what I've noticed, the stud and nut are the same size as the ones for the exhaust system in the heads and from what I recall the studs are sold separately. All I need now is the drilling & tapping tool....

Maybe you can practice with the damaged case on glorias patio...

Definitely! As soon as I can find the appropriate drilling and tapping tool.....

Update: Jjr and myself took the plunge last night, drilled and tapped the side of the block and it worked beautifully. I had to get an 8.0 x 1.25 mm tap and a 17/64" drill and I also got a really small drill to start the hole along with the stud which is a regular VW exhaust manifold stud. Since we did all that with the engine in, first we had to remove the right heat exchanger (the top nut is a pain to remove in the Speedster) Jjr had a brilliant idea which was to make a template of an engine with the factory installed stud by sticking a piece of cardboard through the stud and just tracing the outline of the sump on to the cardboard. That gives you the location with fair accuracy. For those with add-on oil sumps (such as myself) you just cut the template along the tracing and put it over the block. With a Sharpie mark the center of the hole and have a go at it. I was scared sh*tless but it turned out beautifully. We had to remove the rear decklid along with lots of connections (carb linkage, breather box, heater hoses). We stopped at 1:00 am last night and the fan isn't installed yet; I''l have a go at it later today.

It was a bitch to install everything with the engine in the car; Jjr and I toiled to get the thing done today. Started it up and let it idle for a while to see the thermostat expand; couldn't drive it around because it was raining today. I don't know if it was my imagination but I didn't see it expand much; maybe it didn't get hot enough to expand; does anyone know how long it would take for the thing to expand and open the flaps?

Drove the car today for a bit and when I came back I took a peak underneath and saw the expanded bellows! It takes some driving to get the engine under load and hot enough to get the system working. It was somewhat difficult to get the job done but I'm glad it's working like it should.