how do i put rocker arm asmbly back on after fixing pushrod

[nirvana84]

84 vw vanagon. 1.9L
i recently replaced a leaky pushrod tube. When i put the rocker arm assembly back on and ran the engine it made a horrible noise. i took the valve cover off and looked at it again and one of the ?rocker arm stud girdles? ( the part that goes over the rocker arm stud that you put the nut onto) cracked. i finally ordered some spare parts from cali on ebay and got them in. This weekend i want to try to fix it.
Any tips?
how do i make sure the pushrods are seated properly?
How tight do i tighten the rocker arm stud nuts?
do i have to do anything to the rocker arms to make them line up properly?
any ideas would be helpful
Thank You
Matt

[fredn]

Check your bently but I believe the rocker arm studs get tightened to 22- 25 ft lbs. The slits in the blocks that hold the rocker arms must face down and then you have to properly route that wire that keeps the pushrods from falling down at high rpm. Also make sure the pushrod is fully seated in the lifter and for gods sake set your valves properly or you will have a bigger problem.

[nirvana84]

thanks for the response.
how do i set the valves properly??

[stevey88]

Most likely, when you put the push rods back in, one or more of them were not seated properly. They should be sitting at the center of the lifter ( easy to say but difficult to do ) but if one of them is not, it will bind up the rocker and damage them. So when you put them back together again, try to turn the engine by hand and make sure all the push rod are seated. The engine should turn smoothly ( all spark plugs out ) if everything is right.
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Steve

87 Westfalia full camper 4 speed

[morymob]

With a good light there is a position where u can shine light and see down pushrod to see if end is in center of lifter, i do this before even turning engine over by hand for 1st time.

[wbx]

There are those much more engine experienced than myself, but you can usually tell that one pushrod is "longer" than the others as you turn the engine over by hand. Also, with careful inspection, you can see how how one of the pushrods angles down slightly more than the others, but that can be a subtle distinction.
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'84 Westy (first owner).......but my daily driver has pedals
My "perspective" mantra:
A Volkswagen Vanagon is just a material thing,
As such, it is of the earth,
And if i need to, I can let my Van go.

[stevey88]

One more thing. Check if the push rods are still straight. I bet one of them is bent now.
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Steve

87 Westfalia full camper 4 speed

[nirvana84]

thanks for all the tips.
wish me luck i am going to try to fix it tomorrow

[type47]

When you put the rocker assembly back in, you should put that cylinder at TDC to relieve the tension on the rocker assembly when you torque it down.

[nirvana84]

Thanks for all the advice.
I was able to fix it.
The biggest advice i would have for anyone after doing this project my self is make sure you adjust the valves after putting the rocker arm assembly back on or it will not start.