Stiff/Stuck Rocker Arm - Now What?

Hey guys. Only got a few months of riding in but looks like I'm finally back at it...

Had a tick develop the awhile back. From what I had read it sounded like a bad valve but when I got into the top it turned out to be a stiff rocker arm, right side exhaust to be exact. It wasn't completely stuck, just real stiff. Popped it off, oil pathways were clear and i didn't see any signs of scoring on the arm or what I'd guess you'd call the bushing.. so what's the next step? Could i take some light steel wool to the bushing and see if that frees it up? also the adjuster and valve are pitted, actually all the adjusters are pitted but only this one valve. Don't have the means to grind anything down, nor would I trust myself to get things level..can I reuse these?

A bit of polishing on the pivot shaft and the inside of the rocker arm won't hurt anything and should help. Judst don't be to agressive, To much play and things get noisy.
You might want to cinsider doing the Porsche elephant fott adjuster mod. I did on my 75. Even with slightly pitted valve stems it don't matter.
The stock adjusters put all the pressure on a very small area of the valve stem. This causes the pitting and I think it increases the valve stem to guide wear.
The elephant ajusters have a very large surface area that cover the whole end of the valve stem. This spreads the pressure over the whole valve stem. Elimanating the pitting and reducing the side pressure of the stem to guide.
Here are a few pics. The one shows how the two adjusters compare and how much needs to be ground away to fit the new adjuster. The other shows how the foot fits over the stem.
You can also cut the adjuster shorter so it weighs less, like in the second pic. Cut off with any cut off wheel in a dremel tool or angle grinder, cut a slot for a straight screwdriver for adjustment.
I did this to my 75 when I had it apart. The valves adjust easier and run quieter. The foot holds a bit of oil and works like a hydralic adjuster to keep things guite.
Leo

In your second pic it looks like the rocker hasn't been ground at all..is that right? I guess that's the way I should go - cost seems to be about the same for the elephants or stock..anywhere where I can buy them individually for cheap? the best deal i can find is $37 for 8 or like $18 a piece..

I think he ground out the hole at the bottom with a cone shaped grinding stone. You have to provide space for the upper tapered part of the "foot" so you can loosen the adjusters enough for assembling the head. That means either grinding 4mm off the bottom like I did or grinding a taper into the bottom of the hole so the adjuster will retract up into the rocker.

The ones I used were the EMPI brand. You can get them for about $10 cheaper on eBay .....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-ELEPHANT-FOOT-SWIVEL-ADJUSTING-ROCKER-SCREWS-EMPI-/120906516084

I can't remember right off who I got mine from. Cost around $3 each but cost about $12 for shipping. So I spent around $25 for a set. You can find sets around what i paid and they come with 8 adjusters, that's enough for two engines.
$37 for 8 is not $18 each, $34 devided by 8 is $4.25 each or $17 for a set of four. You need four to do your engine.
In the pics I showed are two different ways to install the adjuster. The right pic is just grinding it flat about 4 mm thinner to allow room for the foot to pivot. The second, I have to amit I snagged off someone else, and yes he ground a taper into the rocker arm to do the same thing.
Leo

I found the original thread for that second pic - I like the idea of grinding the cone shape out better.

Leo; the 18.95 I'm referring too I pulled from an old thread of yours -

http://www.pap-parts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=901 105 370 02

If that price is for all 8, which I sincerely doubt, then its the best deal yet. I'm bad at math, but not that bad.

That was the place, price has gone up a bit. I dug through my old receipts, Found it, I paid $3.13 each or $12.52 for 4. with $14.20 shipping. total of $26.72.
Can't say why they increased that much, but I guess I got them cheap.
Leo

Find an older parts store that specializes in VW stuff and you may find an old set on the wall at the old prices.

Took 5twins advice and ended up going for the ebay ones - price was right and they should get here pretty quick. one more question non related - since I've got this whole top end off what seals should I be replacing? I have the jugs off cause I went 4th over so I plan to do gaskets but what about the camshaft seals etc...? thanks guys

Valve guide seals are about the only "must do". The cam seals only need replacing if they were leaking. The points and advance housings can be removed to replace those seals with the engine in the frame so no need to do them now.

Funny, I just did this yesterday! I ground the rockers without removing them from the rocker box. This was tricky to do. I held my angle grinder in my vice to do it.

I looked at the different adjusters and thought these were the best without buying Porsche ones, "BugPack 4010-10 Swivel Foot" I'm looking to sell the half the set of four in the Classifies.