First, remove your dist. cover. Find the notch on the top edge of the distributor body. This marks where the #1 cylinder fires. Match that up with the plug wire that sits over the mark when the cover is on. That's your #1 plug wire. Attach it to the right rear (as in rear of the car) plug. Now going clockwise around the distributor you'll have the 4, 3, and 2 wires. They go, in order, to the left front, left rear, and right front plugs. Good to follow the wires with your fingers from one end to the other. If you just eyeball it, sometimes you wind up looking at the wrong wire because they crossed behind something.

Yes indeed I was on vacation.  Linda and I went to Tucson Az to visit and do a little picking with old friends. It was nice to breath clean air for a change. We felt good until we got north of Birmingham coming home .Yuk!!  It wasn`t any hotter in Tucson than it is here with the 7% humidty. We saw a few Bugs and Buses and a lot of 50`s and 60`s American iron all original and in great condition running around . No rust out there. When was the last time you sat at a traffic light and had a unrestored damn near mint 1959 Oldsmobile 98 conv. pull up beside you with that 8 zillion cubic inch V8 purring like a kitten. Dang thing must have been 20 feet long. Talk about flashbacks!  :lol:

Thanks , Glad to be back except for this weather.  Linda and I needed this little break and to let the board regain some kind of sanity from my antics.  :wink:

Zen,   I just put the motor back in last week. Jimmy Crickets.  I want a second opinion.   This is what I  really need to hear... Nylon tubes are great!  better than OEM.  Its a wonder why VW did not install spring loads on all the bugs.   I really want to go for a ride in my bug.   There is already one metal replacement tube under ther so I need to see if it is loose or something.   I read that the tubes displace alot of heat and I can see that plastic tubes won't wick the heat like aluminum.   If its is a cracked tube  and not a seal ,   it would be great if I can wrap some tape around it.  duct tape matches the color of the  block.
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If you want a 3rd opinion, do like Zen suggested and toss the spring loaded tubes. You won't regret this advise.

If you do it right the first time you won't have to go back and do it again. :?

OK, you win . . . IF you have a push rod tube that is leaking because it's damaged or the seal is bad and you are not in a place where you can pull the engine and FIX it, you can possibly stop the leak or slow it down a little with a spring loaded tube.  But it's a very temporary fix.  The leak WILL be back.  I've seen the cheap nylon tubes warp and twist into all kinds of shapes, and if it's not round, it's hard to seal it with and O-ring.

I don't remember where I saw them, but I have seen some two piece tubes that were adjustable.  Instead of being spring loaded, they were threaded and had a jam nut so you could run them out and then lock them in place with the correct pressure on the seals.  They had double O ring seals.  Those would probably work about as good as stock tubes . . . but for what they cost, you could buy stock tubes, a seal kit and new pistons/cylinders . . . throw in 4 exhaust valves and a little elbow grease and you could have a new top end for about the same price as fixing the leak the "easy" way.

Personally I'd use the duct tape.  If it's still gonna leak, no need to spend a lot of time and money on it.   :wink:

Good Morning,  . after a lovely time at 6 Flags over GA,  spending a days pay. meeting interesting people in 70 to 120 minute que lines,  getting beat to death on rollar coasters that are designed for bodies 5'8" or less,   enjoying refreshing $3.50 cokes,  then trudging a torrential down pour from the Scream Machine to our car,  ending with a relaxing  drive  thru  Friday evening Atlanta traffic....   (Maybe 6 Flags would like me as thier spokesman instead of the dancing Grandpa they presently use )    

I slid my worn broken body under the car this morning.  

The number 1 push rod tube has a orange rubber washer that is no longer en-circling its designated tube at the head side.   Any body got a trick to seal that? I'm thinking that cutting small strips of bike innertube and wrapping  it around broke unsealed end.

Does the oil drool from the heads back to the sump or are the tubes plumb full of oil when the motor runs?

The number 2 push rod tube has a fancy replacment tube, Just like Zen described  .  I cant tell if it is leaking because I think the #1 tube is blowing oil all over it.  Once everyone in my hood wakes up and I start hearing lawn mowers,  I'll crank up my little scream machine for a visual.  Some how sticking my head under a running VW that splurts hot molten oil
does not seem so un-pleasant after day a 6 Flags.  S/c