Resealing the push rod seals and base gaskets on an OHV by Richard Cook
My OHV has had the push rod seals shrink and it now has become a sidecar oiling device. My friends in China tell me this is a pretty common problem and they have repaired it by disassembling the jug and applying Permagasket Aviation sealer to the seals and base gasket. I’m always up for a proven fix so I thought I’d try it. First remove try your exhaust header nut to see if it can be removed. I recommend only using a BMW type header nut wrench. If you are going to own an OHV this may be a very good investment of about $20 before you start. If the header nut is frozen try it with the engine hot. If that fails soak it with one of the new type penetrants for a few days and try it hot. Failing that cherry it with a torch. If that does not work get another nut before you start because you are going to have to cut it off. If you had used antisieze you wouldn’t be having this problem dummy. OK, so now you have a gasket set with at least base gaskets, valve cover gaskets, and push rod seals just in case one has a cut in it. Most of the rest of the stuff you will need like Permagasket, Locktite Red and Blue, and silicone sealer or your choice of sealer are easily available at the local auto parts store. On my bike you need a toolkit that includes SAE and Metric as well as hex drivers. Now that you have that bloody header nut off take the bolt off that also supports the foot peg by holding it with a wrench on the other side of the bike unless you have an air wrench. On the inside of the shock you will need to remove one 13 mm nut that holds the muffler. Your bike may have different nut sizes. Remove the muffler first and wiggle the header back and forth to get it out of the head. You can remove the carb nor tuck it up out of the way. On many carbs if you lift them and For this reason I suggest you remove the carb and block the line or drain the float bowl first. Next do yourself a favor and remove the plug and tuck the plug wire out of the way. The reason for this comes along soon. Next remove the valve cover by removing the two small nuts on the opposite side first, one will be on top and one on the bottom. In typical CJ fashion my bike had three that to a 3/8 SAE wrench and one that was 10 mm. I changed them all to 10 mm so as not to annoy the next mechanic. Now remove the big bolt in the center, this may be 17mm or it may not, depending on the sense of humor of your builder. Now bring the bike up to the 6% mark where you time the ignition and set the points. If you have the plug out on the side you are working on you can easily identify that side as it will go easy and the other one will go hard on compression. You should then have play on the working side when you rattle the rocker arm. This has you in position to set the valves when you are done and takes the load off the valve spring to make rocker arm removal easy. If you have no play on the rockers you probably have the wrong cylinder up. Then loosen the four bolts on the rocker arm stands. Go evenly and let them all up gently. They may stick down and if so you can lever the base with a screwdriver at the join and easily free them. Put the rockers and pushrods down in order as shown in the picture. If you have to leave it for some time for parts it will behoove you to make cuts in a piece of cardboard and put your parts in order in them, pretty easy on this as all you have to label is 1234 for pushrods, it’s not a V16. It’s good to keep all wearing surfaces on the same surfaces they have worn in on. Mine have all worn in nicely and everything is in good condition, I’d like to keep it that way. Keep the rockers together and in order also. Now pull the base nuts on the jug. These may be 15 mm but my other bike has 17mm so who knows? If you pull it back gently you may be able to save the base gasket. If you can there is no need to pull the entire jug off and then have to recompress the rings. Clean everything up and remove the seals. Clean again very carefully, I used spray carb cleaner for the final wipe up. Then mask everything you can because Permagasket is tough to get back off and drips and smears. I then applied Permagasket to the base gasket and the seals on both sides, making sure I got all the way around the pushrod tubes and the base gasket. My push rod seals have a line on them that appears to go in the straight up position to properly align them. Do not block the oil drain hole on the bottom of the jug or you will be sorry. It’s best to blow air though the hole in the head to be sure it is clear after you reinstall the base nuts with a drop of Locktite Blue. I have heard 30 lbs of torque for the base but I just pull them down firm. Now oil the ends of your nice clean push rods. You did clean everything didn’t you? Put them back in the direction they came from. Be very careful they are properly seated as you can screw this up. A quick review of mistakes I know have been made here. Improperly seated push rods. This can break the end off when you tighten it down. One person broke a rocker arm adjuster I believe by tightening it too tight. It is very possible to pull the center valve cover stud out of the head. All of these may have you waiting for a slow boat from China. I used 25 ft lbs for the rocker arm stand bolts brought down very evenly, make sure the flat part of the nut is down. Then adjust your valves as in the article on OHV valve adjustment. It is best to use a new valve cover gasket and I like to use silicone sealer on these as it removes easily later. Be sure to seal the center bolt gasket. And a bit on those small studs won’t hurt. I also use RTV on my exhaust header as well as antisieze on the nut, I will safety wire these then I’m done. The muffler nuts get Loctite Blue and be sure you put your foot peg in the right spot to hold the brake pedal where you need it.