Howdy Volks, Just thought that I would let you all know how things with my lifter cleaning and adjusting. I kind of wimped out on the ATF cleaning and used a diluted mixture. I ran/drove the van for about 10 minutes to warm it up. I added 1 quart of ATF to my existing oil (which happened to be about 1 quart low) and ran it for 10 more minutes. I was planning on running it for 20 minutes, but I panicked when the oil light started to flicker and shut it down. Drained all oil. Replaced filter with Mann/Mahle. Filled oil with 20W50 Castrol and around 6oz of MMO. I didn't get around to running the van for another 18 hours and when I did - TICK-A TICK-A TICK-A. Louder than ever before and on all 4 at the same time!!! I cautiously drove it and after about 10 minutes, it was quiet as a church mouse. Then, aout two days later, we jumped on the lifter adjustment. My experienced air cooled buddy and mechanic, Gil actually did the adjusting while I eagerly observed, taking mental notes for later adjustments. Under the covers there still were a few spots that the ATF didn't get clean. Some soft black crud could be found close to the rocker assembly and a few spots on the heads as well. But overall I thought that they looked clean. If I ever do another clean again, I would try and run the engine for longer. ANYWAY, since there was so many varied opinions as to the correct adjustment, we kind of took the middle road and turned them 1 & 1/2 turns. All went well and it was sooo much easier than I expected. I feel pretty confident that I would be able to do this on the road if necessary. I just have to remember to keep setting TDC for each cylinder. ; ) Pepe does seem to be a little Zippier and some of my hesitation problems have gotten better (but some still there). I have various sensors on order to try and remedy the cold hesitation. There was one thing about the adjustment that had me a little concerned. On both #2 And #4 intake valves the adjustment was "different" than the others. After backing out the screws and then tightening them back down, they just didn't tighten as smoothly as the others. Like, you know that point that you start to feel resistance and you know that you are up against the lifter? Shouldn't the rocker assembly be firm at that point? When we took these two to the point of resistance the rocker assembly it still had a little wiggle. With the 1 & 1/2 turns it did snug up, but I just thought that that was a little strange. Do these two share the same cam? Is it possible that the cam is messed up? If so, any ideas how long I can run like this? Maybe just tighten these two a little tighter? Sorry if I got a little long and daffy with this. TIA Peace - donna '84 Westy (Pepe) |
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