Date:         Mon, 3 Oct 2005 14:57:43 -0600
Reply-To:     Dan Richelson <drichelson@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dan Richelson <drichelson@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Digifant timing issues- no idle -SOLUTION-
In-Reply-To:  <006501c5c836$9e5dbe20$0800a8c0@toshita>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Thanks to some quick responses I got the van to idle and now I am going to
take it to my mechanic to have him tweak the timing, idle, mixture, etc.

The obvious culprit was pushrods. These things are hard to get seated
properly, but they were ultimately easy to verify: when cyl 1 is firing
(crank at TDC and rotor on spark terminal 1) both valves are closed. This
means that both pushrods should be sticking out of the head the same
distance. Continue for the rest of the firing order turning the engine 180
degrees for each cylinder.

I also adjusted the valves differently than how Bentley suggests: I gently
turned the adjusting screws by hand until they hit the valve stem. Then I
made sure the other end of the rocker was touching the pushrod. Then I
turned the screws ONLY 1/2 TURN. Tiis got my engine to idle. I haven't even
checked the timing because I will let my mechanic do that.

By the way, this van will be for sale soon- it is located in Boulder, CO and
it is in excellent condition with the camper/interior in mint condition.
Probably asking $14k.


Thanks again,
Dan




-----Original Message-----
I recently did an engine swap in my '90 Westy Auto Trans. I replaced the 2.1
liter Digifant and put a 2.1 with only 86k miles on it. I did head gaskets,
water pump, and a few other seals.

I put everything back together and the van starts, but will not idle. This
is beyond a basic timing setup- Even when the van runs it does so very
roughly. There appears to be a vacuum leak as well, but it does not seem to
be on the outside of the engine.

My biggest suspect is valves. Does anyone have experience with the Bentley
procedure for adjusting valves? I suspect they go overboard when they tell
you to turn the adjusting screw 2x after it hits the valve stem. It seems
like this is too tight and keeps the valves open for too long. I did their
procedure but I will try again today with them a little looser.

The push rods appear to be seated properly, but if anyone has tips on
ensuring that they are in place (its hard to look with a flashlight because
there is oil in the engine) that would be great.

The van is circulating coolant and all 4 plugs are firing.

Thanks,
Dan


Dan Richelson
Broker Associate
Prudential Boulder Realtors
dlr@areadan.com
303-709-2214
www.areadan.com