Dan MacMillan writes:
> 
> Hey all. I am in the process of putting our 73 Westy's engine back together,
> and am having some trouble with the pushrod tubes. The engine in the 1700
> type IV.
> After replacing the seals on both ends of the tubes, I passed them through
> the rocker box, and into the holes in the engine block. The problem is, 
> even with the head torqued down properly, they are not really tight into the
> engine. I can pop them out without too much effort. 

They should snap in firmly, and once in they should be difficult to rotate
or push out by hand.  If this is not the case, you should replace the tubes.
It is also possible that you are not using the correct seals.  If they
slide right back out you can bet the farm that they are going to leak like
crazy when you start up the engine.
> 						       I'm wondering what
> actually holds them in ... the long bent wire that goes in with the rocker
> arms seems to press up against them inside the rocker box, but is this it?
> It also seems that you could remove these tubes with the engine in the bus
> by just removing the rocker arms, and pulling the tubes out, is this true?
> Any ideas would be much appreciated. I'm just worried that the tubes are
> going to pop out of place with the engine running (or leak!).

The bent wire in the rocker arms does provide a little support to hold them
in, yes, but mainly they are held in by the tightness of the seals.  And
yes, it is possible to remove the tubes as you described above, with the
engine in the bus.  Good thing too, because when they start to leak, you
will have to do it.

-David

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David Schwarze                  '73 VW Safare Custom Camper (Da Boat)
SAIC Comsystems                 '73 Capri GT 2800 (Da Beast)
San Diego, California           '87 Mustang Lx 5.0 (Da Bruiser?  Soon...)
schwarze@nosc.mil                http://papaya.nosc.mil/~schwarze
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