TheSamba.com :: View topic - pushrod tube o-rings on a 77 westy

Wed Mar 12, 2003 6:20 pm

so the 77 westy i was looking at b4(as had bug named oj) i got to inspect it today. really no rust at all underneath.none.zilch.nada. but if you tried to turn on the heater you'da died literally, the heater tubes were torn open and this thing was smoking like crazy.
the mechanic selling it told me they had replaced the pistons, redone the heads, that kind of stuff. the smoke was unavoidably billowing from underneath and he said it was the pushrod seals.it was supposedly leaking from the pushrod onto the exhaust manifold. my question to him was how long b4 that posed a real problem. he says they need replacing every 12000 miles. is he blowing smoke up my ass-ets? cool thing is the price magically lowered 500 bucks. if the 12000 mile thing is true, how difficult is it to replace said seals(o-rings)? oh, he also said they switched this over to hydraulic lifters. i do not fear hydros. thanks! later mm

Wed Mar 12, 2003 8:06 pm

The push rod tube seals are very easy to replace on a type IV engine. The mechanic would have had them out when/if he did any head work or replaced the pistons. I would be suspect of any mechanic that would go through all that trouble and neglect to replace a set of seals that cost $10. He may be correct that every 12,000 miles they may need replaced, but they shouldn't be leaking now if he just replaced them. I've gone 40,000 without leaking, but $10 every 12,000 isn't anything that unusual to complain about. I would expect at least 20-25K on a set. If he replaced the solid lifters with hydraulic lifters then he would have had to tear the entire case apart and change the camshaft also. If he didn't change from a solid lifter cam to a hydraulic cam he is an idiot. Any mechanic that would go through that trouble would/should replace the bearings also. I can't believe he wouldn't have mentioned disassembling the entire case or especially replacing bearings which would have required a new seal and gasket kit (about $50) which would have included the push rod tube seals. And why would he put heater boxes back on if they were in such bad shape. Used ones should be easy to find if he works on busses very often and these are pretty much a necessity. I could go on and on. Bottom line is what is it worth to you assuming you need to rebuild the engine and replace the heater boxes. I would rather have a nice straight rust free body that mechanically sound bus. It's easier and cheaper to replace the engine than to do body work and rust repair. I suspect he got his hands on a used 1978 engine and just installed it in the bus.

Wed Mar 12, 2003 8:07 pm

Well from what I have read recently they can be changed on a type4 without pulling the engine. Good news for me since mine are also leaking. I have never done the job so cant be of any help there. I have also never heard of them having to be done every 12k. I just read a thread concerning this somewhere. Ill try and find it and post the link.

Jasan

Wed Mar 12, 2003 8:11 pm

Oh yeah! I didnt think about the hydros. If he did just put in hydros and didnt change the cam walk away. Its not worth the trouble to have the engine torn apart in a couple thousand miles to have the cam replaced because it wasnt matched to new lifters.

Wed Mar 12, 2003 8:13 pm

On second thought this could be a good bargaining point to get the bus at a real low price.

Wed Mar 12, 2003 8:22 pm

wasnt a thread it was a whole how to article.

http://www.type2.com/bartnik/pushrod.htm

Thu Mar 13, 2003 12:29 am

good points guys, i did not gather if the lifter conversion was done by their shop or prior to their getting it. what is the difference between the camshafts? what kind of damage is incurred if the wrong one is used?
can anyone post a pic and link of their slider from the inside? with it closed? this thing has 2 mechanisms. i am pretty mechanically incined but ended up leaving through the driver's door.
the bus looks to only have 97000 miles on it.
i ather doubt it's 197k but who knows. if it looks impossible for me to purchase this in the following weeks, i will fully disclose the location , as you all know as much as i now. damn , the freakin box seat is advertised for 2 bills as is the original mosquito net here on the samba. it needs the pop top seals, the canvas is holy in a couple spots, not too bad, the camping matreesses are all perfect but front seats are worn. the fuzzy under the fiberglass is shedding though, seems like that would be a serious irritant, i would vacuum it and lacquer it or something....ideas?

Thu Mar 13, 2003 10:58 am

The sliding door has a catch at the front with a handle, and at the back, linked to the front with a rod. There is a little lock slider under the handle. You can order new poptop seals, I got mine from Bughaus in Tulsa, OK. We got an entire poptop setup, including the bed from a wrecking yard for $50 CDN. We rented an industrial sewing machine and put in new netting (screen door stuff from Walmart) and zippers (you need to find a store that sells zippers by the foot). Some roofs have the fuzzy stuff, others do not, I don't like it either, it could probably be removed with glue remover and some elbow grease (take the top off to do this, it's not hard to do). When you make the offer if you do, make it clear and explicit that you expect the seat and screen included in the deal. Oh, I also pieced together good front seats from 2 sets, and I have the other pieces to redo another set when I want to do the work recovering them. There are articles on the net describing what to do. Jeremy

Thu Mar 13, 2003 5:14 pm

We only use the VW factory push rod tubes and seals at our shop and figure 3-5 years and upwards of 35k miles average before leakage....but you are looking at more than $10 for seals...closer to $40. Those Taiwan tubes don't really fit worth a damn, either. Do it once, do it right and vice versa.
NOTE I always use a 2-stone brake wheel cylinder hone on both the heads and case to get the old varnish cleared off. Use WD-40 liberally and clean up with Brakleen for a good job.
Gordi