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  VW Exchange replacement parts




Reconditioned exchange engines since 1948 ...

The price of a new diesel engine in the VW Passat has exceeded the 6,000 euro quite some time ago. Mind without installation costs. Referring to the tremendous affordable prices for used cars, then this is worth it only in the rarest of cases. Long been, VW has therefore a replacement system.

It is famous in the Beetle, not very cheap, but a solid problem-solving within a maximum of one hour, so easy it is to install. Nice work for the mechanic and no one spoke of a replacement engine, because he was regarded as new. At that time, it is also almost even more appropriate, because the operating life of the engines are not comparable with those of today.

VW has the exchange system not only maintained, but still extended. Brand new and for the first time outside of Germany is such factory in eastern China. 15,000 engines to be reprocessed here per year. One speaks of a reusing rate of 70 percent and is using once again the term of sustainability. The work-up of transmissions to follow.

In Germany the factory in Kassel is responsible for the beneficiation of a wide range of spare parts. 13,000 employees make about 50,000 parts per year. Incoming parts are disassembled, cleaned and inspected to the last detail. Some of them can be made fit again for another life. Such as cylinder blocks or crankshafts, by grinding and in the latter in combination with matching oversized parts.

Of course everything doubtful is replaced. Therefore, in this factory are partly more qualified workers than necessary in the production of new parts. It is said, the replacement parts to have a higher quality than new parts, what is of course only very partially correct. After all, there is the famous story that BMW has been looking for old series engine blocks for the production of F1 engines, because the (of gray cast iron!) to be better for the turbo high pressure than newly cast.

Indeed, it's enough the quality of a new part. After all, there is a two year warranty. And a maximum of half the cost one has also saved. Of course the number of 'saved' gearboxes in this way is a naive fallacy. For who knows how many cars would had been scrapped or otherwise repaired, there would not be the fabulous exchange system. However, the saving of 600,000 tonnes of CO2 and a billion kilowatt hours is already enormous.

.At the time of the Beetle, the VW workshop had in stock the replacement engine. Looking at such one today, so it's almost smaller than that time, although the number of required parts exploded. This is only possible with a sophisticated logistics, like so: All that was ordered e.g. in Germany in the morning until 10.30 clock is supplied to 15.30 clock. This is not always possible from Kassel, but well from the so-called seven distribution centers.

Of course, this does not apply to certain rare ordered parts. Nor should one the price of a spare part not refer to the material value and its production because after all, in Kassel and the neighboring Baunatal approximately 3,000 people are busy with the logistics. VW has more than 11,000 service stations worldwide.

400 variants supposed to be in engine production in Kassel yearly. Approx. 6.5 hours it takes well, until made of a delivered a replacement engine. In a controlled continuous flow production, the engine is disassembled. What remains are parts just really perfect to reprocess, among them strikingly often camshafts and valves. These come in a type of washing machine.

Thoroughly cleaned, they are checked again. Perhaps one can see now a damage which one have not seen before. It would be interesting to learn a bit more about the also in a process chain subsequent beneficiation. Probably grinding is not enough here, despite compliance fastidious tolerances. VW points to special methods of surface treatment and again announces that the parts could even be better than new.

Whatever the case, the assembly is then comparable to the new manufacture. Some parts thereof have experienced something before. So for example the cylinder blocks, the exactly at the same place as the new parts will powder coated, precisely honed and tested in Salzgitter. Cylinder heads are welded at slight cracks and then processed accordingly.

Highly from the new production, the assembly differs. The is themed: a complete assembly per mechanic. And who had previously believed, only the assembly of engines for luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Aston Martin wear name tags of the mechanics involved, no, also VW replacement engines are so marked. 10/13


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