Date:         Sat, 4 Mar 2006 11:01:12 -0700
Reply-To:     vanagonvw@GMAIL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Brush <vanagonvw@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Noisy Lifter Solution, nothing great, just FYI
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Roger Sisler wrote:
> Also there is a product by Gunk at flaps ,called Valve Medic. The
> bottle says it can fix it in 5 minutes, or you have mechanical
> issues.I have used it a couple times with good results. It must be a
> solvent that disolves the varnish and crud that collect in  and on
> the lifters.And somekind of lubricant too.

Yep, I have mechanical issues. My lifters are worn out, but they are not
about to get replaced. I haven't seen the Valve Medic stuff, but there is a
lot of advice in the archives about how to 'unstick' the lifters, and none
of it has helped long term. At 200K miles, its time for new ones, but this
hokey method seems to mask the problem quite well, at least for me :-)

One of the noisiest instances over a  year ago went on for 45 minutes, so I
did the MM Oil deal, and about 15 minutes later, it quieted down. So, just
like with a headache and aspirin, did the pill cure the pain, or did it go
away on its own <shrug>

I will look for it, and give it a try tho. Thanks for pointing it out. More
than the bad lifters in the first place, its somewhat embarassing to drive
the van through the neighborhoods when it is making such a death rattle,
jack hammer sound, so I am happy to have found a way to "get out of town"
without waking the neighbors :-)

John