I continue to have off and on lifter noise and would like a further explanation of Bob Donald's zero-lash method. I have new lifters installed in my '85 1.9l. They have been in for about a year. I sometimes get noise on start-up, sometimes not. It is by far the worst thing about the whole vehicle. It sounds like you-know-what and is particularly annoying pulling out of a quiet campground. The performance is noticeably better when all is quiet. My oil pressure is low when hot, so I would expect some lifter noise when pulling off the freeway and coming to an idle. This I can understand. I've seen it with Corvairs. (The also went from the factory 2 turns to about 1/4 turn in the real world--but never zero lash.) I realize that at zero lash the lifter can fully expand and purge any air bound in the lifter. Can you just leave it this way or do you then go back and pre-load some amount of turns? I am running at around 1 turn. Unless I am missing something, less pre-load would be horrible at a hot-idle. I suspect my lifters are partially collapsing when hot because I get a rough idle and it will sometimes stall--really annoying when trying to maneuver into a campsite or parking lot. Is this engine going to be like this until I rebuild? I am guessing better oil pressure help all of this. Since the lifters are new, I don't think MMO will help. I actually tried it once before, but noticed a slight oil pressure drop. I may put some in right before my next oil change and then get it out. Any first hand experience would be appreciated. Jay '85 Westy (The Hindenburg) |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.