[Corvelle]

So...I went out to Jones Valley today and five minutes into play time, I hit a large ditch too fast and broke a brake line. No biggie. So I headed back to the house to replace and return to the dirt. I slid on the creeper under the right rear to find a much bigger issue.

Yesterday at the M&G, after the run I went down the road from Sage's to play on a hill. The steepest part was full of large loose rocks so after a few failed attempts, I did make it up but the underside of the buggy took a beating. I didn't think anything of it at the time because everything seemed to be fine.

On a VW engine the push rods are external and go through tubes on the underside of the cylinders. These tubes also carry oil to the heads from the block.

As you can see in this pic, under the left cylinder, the push rod tube is bent...



A closer look at the left tubes...



This wouldn't be too bad but this is what I saw on the right side...



They don't appear to be bad enough to bend the push rods, but the right side is leaking oil bad. So...if I hadn't broken the brake line today...I would have run it dry and lost the engine. Funny how things work out sometimes.

This post has been edited by Corvelle: 23 November 2008 - 09:54 PM

[XLT]

That was just VW looking out for itself,them engines run forever I had a 66 that I ran from SF to San Mateo about 18 miles without any oil before it froze,so I left it on the freeway.The next morning I went back and it started right up and I drove home with it.I was amazed then I sold to a guy for 150.00 and I told him what I did.

[Green Machine]

looks like you need to fab up some armor

This post has been edited by Green Machine: 23 November 2008 - 11:52 PM

[Billy D.]

Green Machine, on Nov 23 2008, 11:52 PM, said:

looks like you need to fab up some armor

agreed time for a skid plate

[Jackalope]

Ouch, I third the skid plate

[Sage]

Oh, the M & G is getting better!

Wench got stuck, that's worth a point!

And now we have Trail damage!

I will go look for that offending rock today.......

[rwilley]

Jackalope, on Nov 24 2008, 07:14 AM, said:

Ouch, I third the skid plate

I would forth on the skid plate put I think you only need a third.

[Corvelle]

So...I decided to not pay for labor and do this myself.

Heres a parts pic including the push rod tubes, gaskets, new brake lines, and new chrome tube guards to prevent this from happening again!! Parts cost...about 100.00.



And here we have one side with the exhaust, intake, and valve cover removed...



Thats as far as I got for now. I will keep this going for anyone interested.

[bzmarsh]

Corvelle, on Dec 1 2008, 08:58 PM, said:

Thats as far as I got for now. I will keep this going for anyone interested.

Yeah, keep it going. Interesting stuff.

I did this operation on my old VW bus, and once on a '61 Corvair (I replaced its neoprene seals, which had turned to ceramic from the heat, with viton). At least on the Beeest it's easy to get to that stuff!

[sage's son]

Wow,that is one good looking work table.

[Corvelle]

Update...

I took Friday off to work on the Beeest so here we go...

Here is the left side with intake and exhaust removed



Once the rocker arm assembly is off the push rods can be removed...



I don't know...this might be a problem...



After removing the head...the push rod tubes come right off...



Can you tell which tube the bent rod was in???



New tubes with rubber seals in place and intake and exhaust gaskets..



Cleaning the tube seats on the head and block...





Right side head back on with new tubes...



Heres where the fun starts . Notice in the pic above, the two studs by the valve springs. These hold on the rocker assembly. When putting the rockers back on this side, one of these studs stripped. So...off to the VW store. I even thought ahead and got two studs just in case the same happened on the other side as the store would be closed by the time I got to the other head and they are closed weekends. And sure enough, when I got to the left side I ran into the same problem BUT the one extra stud I bought turned out to not be enough as they BOTH stripped. So I gave up for Friday. On Saturday I got an idea. I went by Sparky's VW repair and he had a stud so I got back to work and got the left head and rockers on.

[Corvelle]

Both heads back on with the new tubes...



Now things started coming together. Here the intake, valve covers, and head shrouds are back on...



Then the new chrome tube guards went on. They just slide on the exhaust studs and are held on by the exhaust.



And with the exhaust on, my work here was done.



And yes....it fired right up!!! But I do need to take in to Sparky's and have the valves adjusted. Probably right after payday.

And here we have the new brake lines. If you remember, a broken brake line is what made me notice the broken tubes. And also notice the new (used) bump stops to keep the brake lines from getting broke again.



So there you have it. The Beeest is back and will be ready for another run soon. It runs fine but the valves tap a little too much to be driven any distance until after an adjustment.

[76 Patriot]

Nice work and cool write-up.

Question though; why the solid brake line and not flexible?

[tfpets]

Hey save your money and I will adjust the valves for you for nothing...just tow it up to my house and you can pick up your bag you left in the blazer at the meet and greet!

[Corvelle]

76 Patriot, on Dec 8 2008, 08:47 AM, said:

Nice work and cool write-up.

Question though; why the solid brake line and not flexible?

Thanks...

If you look close the solid line connects to a flex line as it goes to the frame.

[Corvelle]

tfpets, on Dec 8 2008, 11:55 AM, said:

Hey save your money and I will adjust the valves for you for nothing...just tow it up to my house and you can pick up your bag you left in the blazer at the meet and greet!

Hey...Ive been looking all over for that bag!!!

Have you done valves on a VW? From what I understand, the valves, timing, and carb have to be adjusted all together for the engine to run right.

[bzmarsh]

Corvelle, on Dec 9 2008, 12:06 AM, said:

Hey...Ive been looking all over for that bag!!!

Have you done valves on a VW? From what I understand, the valves, timing, and carb have to be adjusted all together for the engine to run right.

Really? I used to adjust my valves every couple of months, just as a reg'lar maintenance item. I timed it by ear ...

I can't remember the wrench sizes, and it's been 10 years at least, but ... it seems it was straightforward. Do it with engine cold! Rotate engine to close valve, loosen outer nut, slip 6mm (?) feeler in, tighten inner screw 'til feeler slides (not wiggles), hold inner screw in exactly the same spot while tightening outer nut. Move to next valve, repeat.

It's a good meditation on a happy Sunday afternoon.

[tfpets]

Im sure the v-dub guys would like you to think there is a magical secret to it, something only they know how to do so they can charge tons of money...I do them several times a year for a couple of regulars at the shop...I can also set the timing and adjust the carb if need be, but certainly not because of adjusting the valves!