Push Rods.......wha?, Now that the engine is out...... Options

[aveale]

Hello family,

I am thinking my oil seals on the push rod tubes are the cause of some of my leaky leaks.

What is the consensus on this, and what is involved in replacing the seals????

Floss,


T

[davep]

You might want to do a bit of power washing in the area of the heads and tubes before you start. You want to reduce the possibility of getting dirt inside the engine while pulling the tubes through. Note how the rockers sit before you remove them. Make sure you note how the wire retainer is installed before you pull it out. I have seen poorly installed retainers cut through a pushrod. Carefully clean the engine case holes before reinstalling the tubes. You should not have any issues with new tubes or seals; there was a very early variety that had a smaller diameter end and seals, but these are very rare. Viton seals are the preferred variety. Pushrods may not seat properly at first, they often need a bit of a nudge to fit into the lifter (they need to center in the lifter, not lay in the tube). This is where noting how the rockers sit is useful, you can often tell the rod is not seated by the angle of the rockers. I like to remove the sparkplugs and rotate the engine by hand a few times to ensure everything is properly aligned. Then recheck your clearances. Run for a few hours and check again.