1) we have the roof that goes up, not vaulted...the front , above the driver and passenger seat, the roof is rusint. Is there a way to remove the fiberglass luggage roof section to get at the metal roof underneath? some kind of solvent to break the barrier of whatever that strong stuff is holding it down? we have a rusted rain gutter on the passenger side, and underneath the roof, we believe there may be a hole. we have some leakage of rainwater during deluges.
hey, many thanks over and over again. we just got dsl and i am enjoying learning from this awesome group.
2) we are in need of the best, for a lot of weight, shocks available for the 78 westy 2.0 stock
any suggestions?
3) does one need to pull the engine for push rod tubes to be refitted with new rubber?
thank you for the tidbits on compression checks. will be on it soon to let you know how we've made out.
Someone else needs to answer your pop-top questions.
You may actually want to adjust the rear torsion bars if it is sagging unloaded. I'll be doing a step-by-step tutorial on this in the next couple months. KYB makes some very good gas shocks at very reasonable cost although I cannot recommend a model, I bet John at aircooled.net can. These won't help load capacity but will improve handling a bunch.
The pushrod tube seals can be changed from under the vehicle. Buy new seals (Get the expensive ones - Don't even mess around with the plain rubber ones - they will be pink or green probably) buy new valve cover gaskets (cork, from the VW parts providers that you buy the seals from - there are thick ones and thin ones and the ones from Joe Blow Auto Parts are the thin ones - not good!) If you want to make it "easier" you can remove the exhaust heat exchangers, but that is a whole new can of worms, so prolly don't do it. Pull the valve cover off. Carefully loosen the nuts that hold one of the rocker shafts in place, a little on one, a little on the other - so they come off evenly. Remove that entire rockershaft assembly (one cylinder) trying very hard to keep everything aligned as is. As you are pulling it outward, the spring wire that holds tension on the pushrod tubes will twang out at you, so you prolly had oughta look carefully at it before you start so you can put it back when finished! Needle nosed pliers will assist in this chore - it holds all 4 tubes. Set the rocker assy aside. pull the pushrods out and keep them in order and CLEAN (oily is fine - dirty is not) Now you can slide the pushrod tubes out through the head. You can grab them from under the engine but don't use any pressure at all if using pliers, as they are made of thick sandwich wrap! They are "stepped" so if you take a crescent wrench (adjustable wrench) and open the jaws so it fits snuggly over the smaller diameter, you can tap the wrench to pop the tubes loose.
Clean those two tubes, remove the old seals with a sharp screwdriver or sturdy knife blade, install new seals on the tube. Position yourself such that you can look into the holes in the case that the tubes were stuck into. You're looking at the top of the hydraulic valve lifters. You need to clean that area really well before re-inserting the pushrod tubes. Just be sure to pull the grime OUT - not push it IN! When all is clean, take some gobs of multipurpose grease - even wheel bearing grease is fine - and smear it onto the new seals. Start the pushrod tube through the hole in the head and guide it into the hole in the case. Once started into the hole in the case, you will reach a point where you know it's in the hole, but it has not seated. I use a screwdriver handle that is just slightly larger diameter than the tube and push it in the rest of the way with that. I also use a wooden hammer handle as I have one just the right size and the hammer head is easier to grip than a screwdriver shaft - and push relatively hard. They will POP into place.
Put the pushrods back in those two holes and wiggle them around till they seat into the low spots (saddles) in the hyd lifters.Now place the rocker shaft assembly back on its studs (the holes have rotated - just line them up again!) Make sure the pushrods are aligned with the rocker adjuster balls properly, the push it on as far as you can by hand, then put the wave washers on, start the nuts (I use a couple drops of LocTite on these) and sequentially tighten the nuts, making sure as you go that the pushrods are still seated in the hyd lifters and still seated at the rocker end) Tighten the nut according to the torque specs (almost nothing before they strip!) 10 ft/lbs is the torque.
Now do the other two the same way. When finished with all that, remember to put that pesky spring in place. It pushes from the notches in the rocker shaft supports against the flared end of the tube. Go over to the other head, pop the valve cover, take a strong light and look at it in there (the undisturbed one) then go back to the side you're working on and confirm it's right. I find it easiest to just stick the whole thing in place then reach into each tube one-by-one, grab the spring with the needle-nosed's and pull it outward until it snaps over the slightly flared end of the tube. Once you do it on one, it will make sense!
Someone else can give you advice on valve cover gaskets ( a point of controversy!) Just make sure the surfaces are PERFECTLY clean and dry. You can use something like 3M weather-strip adhesive (common name: Gorilla Snot!) to glue it to the valve cover ONLY!!! No glue or anything on the other surface. Once you have it in place, you should be able to work the bale partly onto it, then you may need some additional leverage to seat it into place. Try not to let the valve cover slide around much while doing this. I use a
12mm combination wrench, box end to provide the leverage to pop the bale into place but am not worried about scratching paint, either!
After all is reassembled, be sure to check for oil leaks at the valve cover gasket and the pushrod tubes. Some residual oil will drip down and hang on those tubes, so wipe it off and check again for awhile this first time. Also remember to re-install the tin below the engine (that I forgot to tell you to remove!) so you won't burn up your engine from overheating.
Hopefully I didn't leave anything out, but others are welcome to fill in bits and pieces. Remember it's hydraulic and he does not need to re-adjust the valves clearances! It may be wise to turn the engine over a few times before you put the cover on and double-check the torque on the rocker shaft studs. If a valve is in the open position it may be a real problem getting it on with my method cuz you have to push hard enough to compress that valve spring before you can get the nut started. If you have the rear wheel in the air you can put tranny in high gear and turn the wheel (other side has to be restrained) to turn the engine until you've got the low spots on both cam lobes, then it's easy to remove and re-install the rocker shaft. I just don't bother but I'm used to doing it!
- Dave "Busahaulic" Pearson
fig newton wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
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