Date:         Thu, 17 Jun 1999 22:56:07 -0400
Reply-To:     Noto-Gaudette <derwin@NET1PLUS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Noto-Gaudette <derwin@NET1PLUS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Replacing pushrod tubes
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Oh *&@#...I just ordered the non-collapsable pushrod tubes on purpose,
but I don't want to remove the head. I'll spare you the newbie reasoning
that led to the purchasing decision. I'm going to return them and order
the collapsable kind--can I assume the seals are interchangeable, so I
won't need to exchange them, too? (BTW--I did order different size of
seals for the different size ends of the tubes.)

Below, I've copied some important-sounding pushrod-tube-seal-replacement
info from the archives. Enjoy!

It never occured to me that I could replace JUST the seals (duh), but it
seems to me now that having the collapsable type will save me a lot of
work if I need to do this next time.

It's good to know I can probably skip the readjustment of the adjustment
screws on the rocker arms...Thanks, Brad & Pete.

-George
_____________________

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Joel Walker wrote (in response to a question about a permanent fix to
prevent replacing pushrod SEALS every five thousand miles or less):

>>steve, check and see if your tubes are bent. every time i've done mine,
at least one or two get 'bent' a little, so i get a bunch of brand new
ones.
i also put a little axle grease on each seal (just a wipe) so that it
slides
into position easily.  and clean, clean, clean the places where the
tubes
and seals fit into on the head and on the case. don't leave any old seal
or crud on either head or case ... it'll start leaking again.

another possibility: if you happened to have gotten crappy seals (say,
from
an less-than-reputable FLAPS), you might wish to try another source. you
could also try a trick my brother told me about: on the type 4 engines,
(1972-1983), they used the porsche seals for the 914/912E ... it seems
that
the porsche seals lasted longer than the vw seals and could withstand
the
heat of hard running better (in their opinion). but the porsche seals
cost
more.

off hand, i'd bet your leaks are caused by some old seal/crud left in
the
head/case 'socket'. that happened to me a couple of times, and finally i
figured out that whenever i did the seals, i needed to really really
clean
(like with a rag soaked in grease-remover) the tube sockets.<<