Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 13:56:01 -0600
Reply-To: "Paul Lindsay,Summit Resources/Triad Sportswear"
<paull@triadsportswear.com>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Paul Lindsay,Summit Resources/Triad Sportswear"
<paull@triadsportswear.com>
Subject: Re: Head gaskets
In-Reply-To: <006601bfedc7$497bfb00$43510a3f@pavilion>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
recommended repair was:
head gasket, left side
valve cover gaskets
push rod tube seals
they also said my rear shoes had <1% of shoe left - not true when we took
the wheels off.
compression90-90-50-90, told me 115-120 was the norm (seems high)- second
shop checked things and comp. was fine.
this was the last of several bad experiences at this dealership(other car is
a soobie), lesson learned.
-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Walker [mailto:jwalker17@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2000 1:11 PM
To: Paul Lindsay,Summit Resources/Triad Sportswear
Subject: Re: Head gaskets
> I just purchased an '81 Westy with only 58K on it. the heads had
previously
> been replaced. After taking it in to the local VW dealer I was
advised the
> head gaskets and push rod tube seals need replaced.
while it's remotely possible that you (or the service jerk)
misunderstood what was being said, i would tend to NOT believe the
dealer. head gasket leaks would mean chuff-chuff-chuffing noises while
the engine was running. probably he said or meant VALVE cover gaskets
... a whole different animal, and related to oil leaking. they cost a
whole $5 for new ones. :) and are fairly easy to replace if you want
to do it yourself. the HEAD gaskets are a LOT of trouble to replace,
much easier to do if the engine is out. and you have to unbolt all the
exhaust and all the intake and a whole bunch of stuff. a serious
undertaking and expensive.
> secondary followup by a shop specializing in foreign cars and I am
sure
> much more exp than the guys at our dealer states that the kind of
oil leak I
> am getting is not head gaskets but should just replace the push rod
seals.
that sounds more better. :)
and the valve cover gasket is gonna have to come off (well ... the
valve cover, anyway. and the gasket comes off with it), so you might
as well get new valve cover gaskets at the same time. on your engine,
it's a fairly straight-forward process and not too difficult ...just
very intimidating the first time. :) what is involved is ..
- take the flat sheet metal stone guards off the bottom of the engine.
- take the valve cover off.
- take the rocker arm assembly off (this is the gizmo that is pushed
by the pushrods and in turn pushes the valves open when they need to
be).
- remove the wire 'keeper' that holds the push rod tubes in place.
- remove each pushrod and keep it in the same order, so it goes back
in the same place and you don't swap ends on it.
- then you reach under the engine and twist and push the pushrod tube
out the hole in the cylinder head (where you've removed all the rocker
arm assembly and stuff).
- clean up the holes at both ends (where the tube used to be; both on
the cylinder head and the engine case).
- put new seals on the tube and stick it back though the cylinder head
(it has two different size ends; it won't go but one way) and put it
in place in the engine case hole, then 'pop' it in place (kinda push
it hard quickly til it makes an audible noise like 'pop').
- put the stone guards back on the bottom of the engine.
- put a new valve cover gasket in the valve cover and put it back on.
and you're done. now go do the other side. :) and during all this,
make absolutely sure NObody moves the car or turns the engine in any
way. if you're careful this way, you won't have to readjust the valves
when you get through.
however ... you WILL need to retorque the rocker arm assembly bolts
(that you took off to get the rocker arm assembly off) after about 50
miles or so. maybe again at 300 miles. this is just to ensure that
they don't loosen up and make the valves 'weak' and you'll lose power.
good luck! hope it helps. the best source of info about this is the
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive (A Guide for the Compleat Idiot) by
John Muir. about $25 at most big bookstores in the Transportation
section. all the pushrod tube seals on the 1972-1983 buses are pretty
much the same (just bigger in later years).
joel
