Valve Adjust Confirmation Help Please

[Westfabulous]

So, as you may know, I have decided to teach myself how to service my own bus, and I have been plowing through Bentley and enjoying the work that I have been doing so far. In the past, I paid someone to work on my machine.

So, I will be doing my first valve adjustment and want to confirm that I have hydraulic lifters. After searching I have confirmed that I have:

An original 1979 GE code engine
A sticker indicating "no lash" on the fan shroud and on each valve cover
Spacers as opposed to springs on the rocker arms

And it appears that I have steel push rods, but I want to confirm that my assessment of the push rods was correct:

Here are the valves with cover off:

In order to test for steel push rods, I found that there was sufficient room to slide a magnet tool into the Push rod tube. It snapped ahold of all 8 push rods, so I concluded that they are steel. Based on everything mentioned above, I believe I am running hydraulic lifters. Is this reasonable to conclude?

So, if I am running hydraulic lifters, what is the best way to know when the adjustment crew has made contact, so that I can go two turns past? Just feel for it? Thanks for your help.

[1975 Kombi]

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/HydraulicLifters.html
_________________
Brett

“He’s decieving you boy! Reach into his pocket and take what he’s got.” Mr. Crabbs.

75 Westy auto
03 Jetta TDI
71 SB
74 Westy
2011 Touareg TDI
2001 NB TDI
Licensed pilot (single engine land VFR)
--
Rust In Pieces: 72 Bug, 73 Bug, 81 Rabbit LS D 2D, 83 Rabbit D 2D, 84 Jetta TD GL, 85 Jetta D, 68 Z28 RS 302, 91 Passat 16v

[MalibuLX3]

I'd say it looks like you have hydraulic lifters to me. 2 turns past zero lash however is too tight, I would go with 1.5 turns past zero lash. You will notice the the Bentley manual is the only one to instruct 2 turns past zero lash while everyone else says 1.5 turns. Maybe when the engine was brand new 2 turns was correct, but I found that to be too tight and 1.5 turns to be much more appropriate.

Also, just feeling when you have initial contact is sufficient. When you think you have it at zero lash (just touching) I turn it back and forth to confirm, then I use a paint pen to mark to position and go a half a turn at a time to ensure I don't get my starting point for rotation messed up. As long as the threads are clean on the screw, you shouldn't have any trouble knowing when you are at zero lash.
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1978 Westfalia

[Westfabulous]

[Westfabulous]

[MalibuLX3]

No problem! Let us know how it works out for you
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1978 Westfalia

[Westfabulous]

Can someone please confirm what torque to use on the lock nuts after finishing up with the adjusting screws? I think Bentley suggests 10 ft lbs, but I'm not quite sure if I've read it right. Thanks in advance.

[germansupplyscott]

10 ft-lbs is fine.

one thing you should do is remove the adjusting screws completely before you begin. you can do this on one cylinder at a time. look closely at the ends of the screws, these are a wear item and about 80% of them i look at should be replaced.

another point for me is to start with about 3/4 preload and work from there. be prepared to adjust them at least twice. on an older engine, for me it's not uncommon to have every lifter adjusted a bit differently. you can absolutely feel the correct preload point but the lifters must be well pumped up, so don't let the engine sit. i adjust hydraulic lifters hot or at least warm, but i am not recommending it, it's hard not to get burned doing it this way. depending on your engine it could be fine to do them cold but you have to know if the lifters have a tendency to bleed down and how long it takes them to bleed.
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SL

[mattcuddy]

[Westfabulous]

[Westfabulous]

[Wildthings]

Find the zero point by turning the screw in with your fingers. If the lifters have bled down at all it is not always very obvious when using a screwdriver. To tighten the lock nuts, find a wrench that will give you good leverage and not slip off.

[Westfabulous]

[gschoep]

Old thread but I wanted confirmation of one point and thought it good to post here.

When you are adjusting the preload do you run through the cylinders like adjusting valves on a type 1 engine?

What I mean is:
Cyl 1 set to TDC mark and rotor pointing at the small mark on the distributor which is also where the #1 spark plug wire is.
(distributor setup verified by using a flashlight to watch #1 piston move in compression.)
Adjust Cyl 1 to 1.5 turns of preload.
Move engine counter-clockwise 180 degrees.
Adjust Cyl 2 to 1.5 turns of preload.
Move engine counter-clockwise 180 degrees.
Adjust Cyl 3 to 1.5 turns of preload.
Move engine counter-clockwise 180 degrees.
Adjust Cyl 4 to 1.5 turns of preload.

This should work because the firing order is 1-4-3-2. Start at 1 and move backwards through 234.
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72 Westy http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5498034
79 CE2 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5476074

[Westfabulous]

[Thrasher22]

Bump as I have the same concern.
I adjusted the valves today but haven't started it yet as I'm worried I might have set them too tight.

For the life of me I couldn't feel when they were making contact, so I put the thinnest feeler gauge I had in between and tightened the screw until it was tight on the guage (more than you'd usually do for a feeler gauge) then went a tiny bit more than 1.5 turns.

Does this sound right? I can't go by ear when I start it, as the engine has been sitting for 4+ years, and before that only saw 30km after a rebuild by the PO before he parked it and moved across the country. I should also add that I've never adjusted the valves on any engine before...

[busdaddy]

[Thrasher22]

[Desertbusman]

I don't do T-4 hydraulic lifter/valve adjusts so that's up to you guys. Good for you Dan for digging in.

But I am an advocate of only turning the crank CW. Various reasons and I'll go thru most of them again.
You already know the firing order which is 1,4,3,2. No need to rethink it to 1,2,3,4 which isn't the firing order anyway. Just more added confusion. The more practice of understanding how it all works in the proper order is very benefical. The old normal 4 cycle compression stroke, firing/power, exhaust, and intake strokes. Doing it backwards does not gain the necessary understanding but totals up to the common mass confusion.

At least on a T-1, when turning the gen. nut CCW it is apt to loosen it which can be totally avoided.
Being in the habit of going CW like the engine actually turns when it is running will prevent the dist. drive gear from rising and jumping teeth if the distributor is removed. You know the frequent mess that causes and concern with dropping the washer and playing with trying to re-orient parts and doing the timing. (Seems like another guy this evening is having that problem. I didn't ask him if he turned the crank backwards).

The phony excuse to be turning CCW is when adjusting valves you have to switch from one side to another. Instead of just doing one side, buttoning it up and then doing the other side. Talk about being lazy What does it take, maybe 10 seconds from doing one side then rolling over to the other side? And you want to do all adjusts at one time and then do the gaskets and covers at a different time as a separate task. Sheesh

No big deal? Don't kid yourself. It's part of what adds up to many Samba threads about avoidable problems with simple tasks.


Carry on
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71 Superbug
71 Westy

[Wildthings]