I know guys that won’t touch the spring loaded tubes because they think they won’t seal right. I know other guys that use them all the time with no problems.

That said, we know what the VW engineers used. If you want to stay with stock tubes, it really is not that bad a job to change them.

To replace the stock tubes, you don’t have to actually pull the heads. You do need to loosen them and pull them back about one inch.

Remove the valve cover. remove the rocker arm nuts (they are 13mm) and the wave washers. Wiggle the rocker arm assembly and slide out the push rods. Keep them in order. You want to replace them in the same positions.

Remove the head bolts. With a rubber mallet, GENTLY tap on the head fins to release it from the cylinder barrel. Wiggle (lots of wiggling going on here) the head back one inch and the tubes will fall out. Replace the tubes, with new rubber seals. Slide the head back down to mate with the cylinder barrels. Bolt the head back, torque the bolts to 17 – 20 foot pounds.

Slide the rods back into the tubes in the same position they came from! They will naturally rest on the cam. Slide the rocker arm assembly onto the head studs.As you do, tilt the rocker arms’ cups so you can set the push rod ends into the cups. CONFIRM this step! They need to be centered in the cups, not pressing against the lip or edge.Tighten the 13mm rocker arm assembly bolts. And check those rod ends again! Check the valve adjustment. But it is likely you will have the valve adjustment spot on where it was before you disassembled it.

Should be less than an hour for each side.

Does anyone know if you can replace the head gaskets when you slide (wiggle) the head back that inch or so? I’ve had limited success reusing head gaskets. Does VW use copper gaskets or any at all?

Chuck