Coñaripe y Lago Calafquén
We camped and soaked at the Termas de Coñaripe. It was fine, but overpriced and the hot springs aren’t all that great. At least they had llamas.
While there, I discovered an oil leak and was just a little disappointed when I saw it was coming from the push rod tubes. I’m not planning on dropping the engine again any time soon. I pulled off the pristine little cover plate to discover that all four push rod tubes were dented flat across the bottom and one of them had split with a tiny hole it. All four flattened? Behind a cover plate? Someone please explain this one to me.
I gently rotated the tube with the hole 90 degrees using vice-grips, cleaned it up with some carb-cleaner, globbed on some high-temp RTV, and called it good. I’m not even going to look at it for a week. Then, I noticed that 3 of the 4 new CV boots had come off. As far as I can tell, the clamps that are included with the new boots are completely worthless. I shoved the boots back on and strapped them in place with advanced zip-tie technology. Done.
We visited Coñaripe a bit farther down the road and stocked up on supplies. We thought we’d stay here a while, but a quick trip to the beach was all it took to change our minds. The beachfront is nice enough, but the giant black fly-like biting insects have a taste for the gringos here. They say they are only around for one month, but this is it.
It all worked out in the end. We drove the north side of Lago Calafquén until we lucked out and found an amazing place to camp at Centro Eco-Vacacional Camping Calafquén. REALLY nice. You might have to be members here, but they let us in anyway. It was pricy at 15,000 pesos, but we pulled into a beautiful spot in front of the lake and enjoyed every minute of it.
Guesses on the banged up pushrod tubes:
(1) Overzealous border inspector looking for contriband couscous knocking around with a mirror on a stick or a Maglight under there?
(2) Would anyone have tried to hook a chain as a tiedown anytime recently (like on the Ferry?) and mistakenly thought the pushrod tubes were much more solid than they are? But still, to get around the cover plate to get to them… Hmmnn.
PS: Went back to work today. Looking at your gorgeous photos in this post is doing nothing for my post-Holiday motivation!
i don’t think anything could have physically touched it, so somehow the entire assembly must have been stressed.
It’s a mystery to me.
i bought the same CV boots… at least, they can be repair by the easy way..
I recently read an article saying that some of the new pushrod tubes out there are too long, and can also cause torquing problems on the heads. Perhaps the tubes are being crushed lengthwise because they are too long? They make spring loaded o-ring tubes that can be replaced w/o pulling the engine. Beware of Chi knees products, where were the boots made?
Nice Trip – in Colo. My dad bought a brand new VW camper 1971 model, in year 1972. We camped alot in the rockies outside Denver. We never left the states.
He owned it ’til 1982. I myself was 14 0r 15y/o in 82 – Busted rod pocked thru cranckcase. So he abandonded it in the UP. or upper penninsula of Mich.