84 Vanagon 1.9 WBX Push rod

[westina]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBznrHY7hfw
here is a video showing the engine operating

[westina]

I can go over one more time since its not a very time consuming job. Can you check my steps? If number 1 cyl needs to be at the compression stroke as starting point, how do we make sure it is?
-notch on the pulley matches the mark on the engine
- distrubutor cap crack opened. rotor pointing to #1
Thats where i thought i was at TDC for #1 cyl.
After that , engine turned count. clkwise 180 degree and i thought that would put me to the position to adjust #2 cyl.
another 180 CC turn and did the #3 cyl
another 180 degree CC turn and cyl 4 adjusted.
Engine starts as before, ne pusr rod and tube in place and operates normal.

[Aryana]

You can remove the spark plugs and turn over the engine by hand while you plug the spark plug hole with your finger to feel when it’s on the compression stroke on its way to TDC. It’ll blow air out the hole. Once it starts blowing, when you reach the TDC mark on the pulley aligned with the case mating seam, that’s TDC on the compression stroke for that cylinder. You must turn the engine the proper direction which is clockwise as viewed from the rear of the van.

[Wildthings]

Your engine sounds like the wires are probably located correctly, at worst two might be out 180° on the cap. Try disconnecting the wires from the throttle position switch and see if that will get rid of the surging and cut out for long enough for you to time the engine with a light.

Don't try to time it by the book, but set the timing at 26-28° BTDC at 3800+ rpms hoses off and plugged and the Digital Idle Stabilizer bypassed.

[westina]

[westina]

[Aryana]

[westina]

[westina]

Hi. I didn't have internet service, where i performed the valve adjustment so i may have missed few things. It wa easy to feel the compression stroke while the spark plug removed& finger in the hole. However the number 2 cyl. TDC didn't aligned with the compression stroke, or i somehow made a mistake noticing. Is it possible for that to happen? I also kept turning the engine counter clockwise, working on by order cyl1,2,3,4. Overall, i probably will have to do it again, trying different turn on the adjustment screws. A bit more, maybe 1 or 1 and 1/2 turns.
The other cylinders went ok. I gave them half turn after adjustment screw made slight contact with the lifter.
With this setting, the #3 and 4 CYL. are making much more noise compared to the #1 and 2. Also noticed that the valve cover on the #3, 4 side is much warmer to touch compared the other side. It might be due axhaust pipes layout. I am not sure.
I have also checked the compression(engine was cold) and the results are:
cyl1: 90psi .(prior to check, noticed that the push road tube was leaking and the further inspection revealed that the push rod itself was slightly curved, bent. Since i was in the middle of the process, i heated up the push rod and bend it back to the original shape. it looks almost straight but there is still might be a possibility that low reading is the result of the leaky tube and the imperfect push rod)
CYL#2 125 PSI
CYL#3 100 PSI
CYL#4 120 PSI
One simply question i should ask is, which valve represents intake or exhaust? I am guessing for cyl1 and 3: intake valve towards the front and for cyl 2 and 4 towards the rear?

[Wildthings]

The intakes are the two middle valves on each cylinder head, while the exhaust are the two outer valves.

It is not possible for your valves to not align properly, if one valve is correct then the others are correct as well. The only time this wouldn't be true is if the camshaft was broken which isn't very likely.

It can take a while for the lifters to pump up when you have adjusted them, especially if you went from a 2 turn preload to significantly less preload.

Lifter like thin oil, so if you are running a thicker oil they may not pump up until the engine gets nice and hot. Running your engine cold for a short period of time is a good way to get your lifters to leak down, a lot of times of course this can not be avoided.

Dumping a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil or some other upper cylinder wall lubricant into your gas tank "may" help bring your compression up.

The book calls for two turns of preload, which should mean that you can go a very long time between adjustments without worrying about the wear on the adjusting screw and valve stem tip. Your lifter will also be slightly lighter than if adjusted to less preload. Not sure why people so universally believe that 1/2 turn has magically become the best preload to use.

[westina]

[mikemtnbike]

westina your #'s are totally off if you're testing cold, throttle closed, and spark plugs in three cylinders you aren't testing. Yes try again.

I've never read anything about bending push rods back to straight and I would not do it. They're cheap anyway.

EDIT: Well, the internests tells me yes you can straighten but no it's not recommended. So, I guess there's that.
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1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual

[Wildthings]

[?Waldo?]

[westina]

[westina]

I went over every connection, replaced the vacuum lines, good and tight the throttle body to plenum and started up. Noticing the hissing sound is gone, i was sure to achieve better running engine and it was idling fine. Hopped on to the driver seat and and took it for a short test drive down the street. However it was running ok first and second gear, it stumbled and died at higher gears. got back to the garage disappointed and finished for the day. Next morning started with lots of questions, do i have a bad throttle body, MAF etc..Usual vanagon owner stuff. Staring at the engine, i have noticed that i forgot to plug the connector back to the MAF. Connected and did a victory lap feeling like a Julius Caesar in his charriot. Switching 3rd, 4th gear without a problem, engine pulling strong.
Few things still needs to be adressed though. My spark plugs, even with a very small use like 5-10 min, comes out dry fouled, covered with black sooth. How should i adress that issue? Is there a rough guide how many turns the idle speed screw should be set? How do you manipulate things with the allien nut located on the MAF?
Since i have the dasboard and gauges removed, i leave the timing check and adjustment to future.
I am starting to work on the body, getting ready for a paint job.

[Wildthings]

If you fixed a vacuum leak you may well now have an engine that is running too rich. The screw on the AFM will adjust the idle mixture, but count the quarter turns you make so you can put it back were it was if need be. (out is leaner).

The TSII sensor also need to send the correct signal to the ECU so that the ECU knows the engine has warmed up.

For the engine to really run right the thermostat has to work correctly getting the engine to operating temp quickly and the input from the TSII sensor needs to be correct, along with the O2 sensor needs to work well.

Best to read and reread the manual before attempting any adjustments.

[westina]

[Wildthings]

[Howesight]

If most of the running time on this engine to date has been starting and running at low speed for only a few minutes at a time, it is normal for the spark plugs to be sooty. During warm-up, the air-fuel ratio is rather rich, which will cause soot deposition on the spark plugs.

There is really no effective adjustment for this because the lambda system (meaning the oxygen sensor and the ECU circuitry associated with mixture trim) always adjusts the air fuel ratio to 14.7:1 by mass.

If the oxygen sensor is not functioning correctly (say, due to a wiring issue) or if there is a leak in the exhaust system or the engine has misses, then the mixture can be way off.

The AFM adjustment is only done when installing a new or replacement Air Flow Meter (AFM). The Vanagon does not have a Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor. The difference between these types of sensors is significant in that a MAF has no adjustment capability and is a vastly superior type of sensor with no moving parts.

The AFM adjustment is only required on a Vanagon to address the short time period on a cold start until the Lambda system takes over fuel mixture trim. Once the lambda system starts operating, (which is determined by the coolant temperature sensor reaching the threshold temperature) any adjustment you do to the AFM will be ineffective and will instead be overridden by the lambda system.

If you have not had the fuel injectors sonic cleaned at an injector shop, that is strongly recommended. Over time, injectors get clogged and the spray patterns and injection quantity will then vary from cylinder to cylinder which can cause a number of running issues.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX