FLOODED Corvair oil leaks fixed! Change pushrod tube seals in a couple hours!

Is your Chevrolet Corvair smoking, but not out the tailpipe? Get a face full of oil smoke when you turn on the heater? On today's video we're changing the pushrod oil tube seals in under two hours with simple hand tools.

I ordered a complete Viton seal kit from Clark's Corvair, and it's only about $10, and installed it in only a couple hours (taking my time).

You will need a torque wrench, basic SAE socket set, and just a couple hours of your time.

Afterwards, all of my leaks have been fixed, and it's almost ready for daily driving duty! Another one brought back to life by Auto Anatomy.

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Thanks for watching, God bless, and we'll see you later!

Sean, Christie, and the Auto Anatomy team

[mcm]

I’m getting ready to rescue my great grandfathers Corvair Spyder from the garage it’s been sleeping in since 1985, I’ll be sure to come by when I get myself stumped.

[tomhughes]

Being a lover of all things Corvair, I am thoroughly enjoying your videos. I noticed you jacking up the car from under the PowerPack (engine/diff/trans). That is not recommended due to stressing the engine mounts. There are jacking points on the body just in front of the rear wheels. It adds an additional step to the jacking process, but is worth it to spare the life of the rubber mounts.

[Djinantonek]

I did those seals 40 years ago on a Corvair 95 horse before transplanting it into my 1969 VW Bus. I remember the satisfying snap it makes when the tube slips in. Made me smile. Really enjoying your Corvair vids. I am a VW guy but also appreciate the Corvair. Have owned and driven several over the years. Love also the great Corvair engine sound.

[tomhughes]

Some helpful hints on replacing pushrod oil drain tube o-rings. 1. hold each stud with vice grips to keep it from rotating out of the block while you're removing the rocker arm stud bolts. 2. use a small, worm-gear hose clamp around the tube to pry against without risking damage to the tube. 3. slide the inner end of the tube through the outer hole before putting that inner o-ring on. It reduces of the risk of nicking the o-ring. 4. a little Loctite should've gone on the threads of the long stud where it goes into the engine block.

[rupe]

Have done several of these pushrod tube jobs and made a tool for taking the tubes out. Recalling from memory (made it 20 years ago) a 3/4" piece of conduit and slice it lengthwise about 2+ inches down one end, then cut one side off so you have a half-round, which you can bend about 30 degrees so it looks like a tongue sticking out. The curve of this tool will be the same shape as the end of your tube flange so now you have something you can put up behind the head to give it a few taps with a hammer. Also, clean / wash the bottom of the engine before the job to reduce the chance of grit getting into the seal area. Assembly tip... that air flap on the back is a royal pain to reconnect and if you stretch the t-stat bellows you just threw away about $80. Remove the hinge pin out the side, connect the linkage, then reassemble the hinge pin and bend the tap back. The end of that linkage should have a clip on it. (available from Clarks) BTW, if you are doing the shift linkage you might want to replace the seal at the rod sticking out the front of the trans. They are under $10 from Clarks and takes maybe another 2 minutes.

[HAVOCRISING_]

I just bought a 65 about 6 months ago. This video and how you explain and show step by step is very helpful for a brand new guy like me. You get in there with the camera, point stuff out, actually let the camera focus on in what your doing before taking it away. I need all the help I can get and great vid nan.

[schminglemcchrissle]

Perfect timing for this vid! I just purchased a ‘65 Corvair and the pushrod tubes are DRIPPIN’ with oil. Stinks so badly in the passenger compartment once the oil dropping onto the exhaust manifold heats up. There really haven’t been any comprehensive videos on the pushrod tube project until now. Viton O rings are the only way to go. To add one more piece of info as others have done; once you have the push rods out, roll them along a piece of glass (like a picture frame) to make sure they are still straight. Thanks to Davemotohead1’s corvair channel for that. So, it’s not necessary to drain the oil before this project, eh? Great vid and thank you!

[bradcaldwell]

I did this to my '63 over 1970 Christmas break from college in my brother's unheated garage. I'm almost thawed out now. Those old o-rings were like iron. Sure slowed the oil leaks. Thanks for such a personally relatable series, Sean.

[paulvaneeckhoven]

Very well done video ...
FYI - you might try a little J-B Weld on the exhaust tube. There's no back pressure and a VERY LIGHT coat of oil in the manifold will keep the J-B Weld from attaching to the manifold - just clean the tube well and lightly clamp it on and let then tighten. I've been "playing" with Corvairs since the sixties .... I'm a glutton for At least my wife knows where I am - IN THE GARAGE.

[joeG]

I remember doing that job more than once in the 70's as I had 3 Corvairs over the years. I don't remember it being that complex, I do remember it took quite some time to complete. If you wanted a heater and no oil leaks you had to do it. I bet the new rubber seals may be much better now with synthetic rubber or Teflon. You may only have to do it once, . Nice video.

[howardkoster]

Sean, very good idea, cleaning around those pushrod tubes!! Making it "sanitary" so you can easily spot any possible leaks....

[servicetechnician]

Hello Sean, that was a real nice repair you performed. This car will be very reliable when you are done with it. Thanks for showing this!
George B. in Michigan

[douglaslambert]

Like the smoke trick, always heard of it but not seen it in action. Thanks.

[scotthendricks]

Good work! I could really smell that oil the day I saw you at O'Reilleys!

[porterscott]

I owned a Corvair and I had the same problem. Also, it would blow oil out the rear grills and splatter the back of the car. I did the same thing you did with one exception. I used Permatex non hardening gasket sealer as an additional precaution. I drove the car another five years without any additional issues.

[arrowblockentertainment]

Thanks for showing this. I haven't had to adjust a lot of the inner parts of an engine and this will help in the future if I have to with your great explanations.

[SD-rltv]

For the exhaust tub they are very easy to change easy to remove and replace. All the tube are the same except for the 140.

[erneststorch]

I noticed the rocker covers and the heads were designed for six screws but they only drilled and tapped for four . At some point the engineers decided not to go that way. I personally would rather have six as rocker covers are prone to leeks. Nice job on sealing up your leeks.

[danr]

Speaking form experience, the heater is very poor at best. You want the old leaks so you can see if the heater is working!😂 Wow you still have the the exhaust heat shield and working thermostats! That the wrong muffler, it's for the 60-64. The correct one is oval.

[shin-pad]

Well done Sean, great episode, from Shaun in Norwich 🇬🇧