VW 1500cc oil seal replacement

You dont have to pull the heads off...to replace pushrod tubes. Simply get the S.C.A.T. spring loaded pushrod tubes, also get the pushrods from S.C.A.T.

Heck no..you dont want those accordian original pushrod tubes. Just use the S.C.A.T. tubes & rods. I had zero problems with them on my 1500cc engine, that I had in my old Invader GT. Also, you better not use synthetic oil in your engine. You better use GTX & turn the engine over by hand a few times before trying to start it.

Thanks for the info, but I still want to know if the heads needs to be pulled off the engine to get the original tubes out without cutting them in half?

heh, you're probably right, but I don't exactly have the money to buy a set of the SCAT tubes right now, especially when I have a set of working tubes already.

So is there anything I could do wrong to lose the compression in my engine if I removed the heads? I believe the seal kit I bought has new seals for the heads.

You can do a whole lot wrong. Better use a Chilton book & torque those heads back on...in the correct sequence & torque specs. You do it wrong & you can warp the magnesium heads & then you got problems.

yeah..... I think im going to avoid it now. Although I do have a Hayes manual, but I will leave this project for another day.

Thank you for bringing this up and the reasons for switching tube types. Back in December I bought a "boat anchor" 1500 single-port just to tear into and get an idea of what I'm doing when I go to rebuild the 1500 in my silver '76 and the dual-port 1600 in the '74. It was only $20 but I did have a 6 hr round trip roadtrip getting it... With gas prices, its an expensive teaching tool, but far cheaper than screwing up my good ones. I see the spring tubes all over, but never looked into them because I didn't understand why... Now that I do, I may use them when I do need to change them, but are there any brands to avoid / and which are proven to be good?

I have used the blue ones on a few customers cars and have had no issues. 4 years and still no leaks. Remember the photo I posted is showing the wrong way to install them.

i recommend either stock or spring loaded. The adj aluminum look nice but keep in mind that the VW engine grows [gets wider] when hot. Some up to a 1/4 inch. The stock with the accordians are capable of expanding as are the spring loaded. Not so sure if the expansion rate of the aluminum tubes will match the rate of the engine to keep them sealed.

VW addressed this expansion when they changed to the thinner 8mm head bolts because they expand more evenly with the engine as it heats, so the "hot" head torque doesn't get so high it pulls the bolts out of the case. The "hot" head torque is about 70 ft-lbs -- a lot more than the 18 ft-lbs cold torque! The more power you are creating and the hotter it gets will result in higher expansion amounts.

What type of seal do they use where the tubes slide todether?

Now I see. Make sure the spring end goes against the head.

Hey everyone, so I pulled out the engine, replaced the oil cooler seals (source of main leak), put in the pushrod tubes with spring side against heads.... there is still a significant leak (much less though) coming from the same area. I am pretty sure that the source would have to be the oil cooler itself.

Assuming it is the stock dog house style oil cooler leaking, I figured I would just buy an external oil cooler considering the dog house style cooler costs around 100 bucks and I can have more convenient placement making future leaks easier to fix (NOT pulling out the engine). My question is, what would a good oil cooler be?

Are the EMPI coolers any good, or should I just get the EMPI oil cooler adapter and get a different oil cooler kit?
links provided.

www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC-C10-5321

www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC-C10-5328

I have already read through, bradleygt.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1655

thanks, Jonathan

Well if I end up using an external oil cooler kit, I was planning on getting an electric fan and temp switch and placing it all above the transaxle somewhere? idk, just toying with the idea right now.

I also am a little confused with the stock cooler and correct seals right now. I have the old style cooler,


which is different from the doghouse


I was reading online that there are different seals for the two different coolers and two different blocks(?) I was reading there is an older style block and newer style block and if you are using an old cooler (like mine) you should use 8mm seals and a doghouse cooler uses 10mm seals, but if you are using the old cooler with a newer block you need to use some hybrid seals?? I am not sure if this is correct for one, or what it means, two. can someone help clarify this with pictures of different seals maybe?

thanks