Cheers, that looks neat. What spec are your spacers? My engine is a CU 2054cc, one of the heritage ones offered about 15 years ago
Maybe, maybe not, the slight difference in casting and machining could mean the difference between leaking and not when the fit is marginal.
The billet alloy ones are slightly longer ( not being a smart arse) for stroked and slightly wider than standard engines ..
I considered the solution of using a spacer at almost no cost or spending circa £300 on longer alloy tubes and for an engine that is only around 4mm wider than standard, I couldn’t justify the cost. However, if I were someone (like you?) who could machine the tubes myself my decision might have been different.
The problem has nothing to do with the crankcase code. Your tubes probably don’t fit because you have non standard AMC heads, mine don’t fit because I have 2mm spacers under the cylinders. JK will tell you that they have never heard of the problem before.
and back-to-front-sliding-door-seal-gate - that must have gone on for a decade! I even showed them one when they came to visit, they were fitted to every other van than came to my workshop. Deaf ears, the guy was still claiming he couldn't see what was wrong with it.
Haha, yes I’m under no illusion regarding JK making them available, but I thought I’d press a few buttons!
It will be interesting to hear what JK say, but rather than supply spacers the tubes should be the correct length (for a completely standard engine).
They do tend to be on the short side, it really would not hurt to make them 2mm longer. That would also help people like me with old heads that had suffered some corrosion in the seal area.
I wonder why VW changed the length of the tubes from the early 1700 to all other Type 4 engines. And presumably the early ones were longer, they couldn’t have been shorter or they wouldn’t fit at all.
My poor old memory is now harking back 25 years (gets easier as you get more senile) to when I replaced my 1700 tubes - the case was WO series (Porsche?) and they plopped right through the head so the o-ring was just the wrong side. All I did was pull 'em back a bit and I never had a problem. I was VERY new to that kind of thing so I had probably already gummed them up with blue hylomar which no doubt helped them stay put.
I’ve had a search and so far, short of going to a machine shop, I have found a 21x27x1.5 copper washer, so I’m guessing two of them per tube will space me out enough for the tube to fit?
