Date:         Fri, 24 Dec 1999 13:09:17 -0800
Reply-To:     Art Beutler <abeutler@GETNET.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Art Beutler <abeutler@GETNET.COM>
Subject:      Head Job Finished - Van now running!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

As many of you suspected the reason for my Wasserboxer (formerly
Wasserleaker) not running after resealing the heads was incorrectly
installed pushrods - in spades!  Following the given advice, I ran a
compression check on all 4 cylindars - those on the left side were fine
and those on the right had ZERO compression.  Pulling the rocker cover
on the right side quickly revealed the problem - THREE bent pushrods.

With Christmas nearing, I assessed my chances of getting the parts
quickly via internet as near zero - normally this is the first place I
turn and generally get excellent service.  Calling around town showed
that our more progressive dealers had one pushrod each (for a total of
two).  Fortunately, the nearest dealer (Camelback VW in Phoenix) made
good on their promise to try to get me some by the next day.  Arriving
home from Camelback with pushrods in hand, it took around an hour to
install them, make sure they were installed right (yes, you can see up
there with a penlight unless you are on the left side with all the
plumbing installed), fully turn the engine the engine over by hand to
ensure no obstructions, test compression, and run the engine.

The two most important pieces of infomation here are:

1)      Ensure that the pushrods are centered on the lifters.  If they are
not, the solid part of the lifter will compress the pushrod and bend it.

2)      By leaving the sparkplugs out and turning the engine over without
compression, you can easily feel any mechnical difficulties before they
translate into broken parts.  Alternatively, leaving the plugs in while
cleaning the heads leads to gunged up plugs and difficulty in turning
the motor as necessary to get valves away from the fully opened state to
be able to start rocker arm nuts.

Again, thanks for all the advice and help!  Hopefully my van will not
regain Wasserleaker status soon!

                        Art Beutler