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Date:         Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:19:50 -0700
Reply-To:     Leonard Anthony <whitewatering@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Leonard Anthony <whitewatering@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      84 1.9 lifter collapse & CA smog - HC's issue (sorry it's so long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi, I'm new, please go easy on me....

After replacing: FI harness Fuel Regulator 3 injectors Cat Distributor Hall controller coil ECU Fuel pump pressure reg. 02 sensor plugs, cap, rotor & wires. All intake gaskets compression 150 on all 4. fairly new AFM all this on a VW reman with less than 15,000 mi.

My immaculate baby blue Westy will still not pass CA emissions. Running problems were never an issue. It ran great, & I haven't noticed any change since replacing all this stuff. In fact, I cannot believe how powerful this little 1.9 is driving up the mountains where I live. The problem is the HC's. They passed at idle, limit is 120ppm, ave is 37, mine measured 94. even though it passed this seems high to me. then, @ 2500 RPM the limit is 150, ave is 31, mine measured / FAILED at 169, just 19 little ppm's over. The engine sounds as if I have a (barely) very slight miss at this RPM, although with any load on the engine it sounds great. So I was playing with this extra AFM I have trying to fine tune it to remove this slight miss sound, (didn't) & had the engine idling for probably 30-45 minutes (temp was fine) then suddenly VERY loud engine clatter. I shut it down, thinking great, It's going to throw a rod. I had a lifter problem before, if the van sat for more than a week or so, a lifter would bleed down, making a similar, but not as loud noise, from the same side of the engine. So I pulled the valve cover off and sure enough the intake valve on #1 had a huge amount of play. (I suspect this is the lifter that occasionally(rarely) bled down. I tighten the adjuster, and per the Bentley "2 turns" I could see the valve beginning to compress. Also, the adjuster screw has barely a thread left to adjust, unlike all the other valves. So I back it off and set it to .006, start the engine and thank goodness it sounded much better, just a very slight tick form the .006 adj. So...

Is this normal at all? has anyone had a lifer evacuate completely in a split second? should I see if it pumps back up after running? (it hasn't, but I haven't run it very long for fear of doing more damage, in case the lifer broke apart). Could a sticky or malfunctioning lifter cause the high HC's? Per the stout design it seems failure unlikely, has anyone had an instant lifter failure and if so what did type of damage did it suffer? I'm wondering if the little snap ring let go or something like that. I don't want to remove it until I have a collapsible push rod tube and seals in hand. And about that, Bentley says the tubes are replaceable without pulling the heads, yet nothing about needing a special collapsible push rod tube in order to do so. I pulled a lifter out of my donor vanagon, there was no way to remove the tube without breaking it out. And about that, can I use a used lifter / push rod or should I get a new one?

P.S. every time I work on this thing I think "What a POS I'm going to sell it as soon as it's fixed" then I drive it and think "this little rolling apartment is really comfy & fun to drive I think I'll hang on to it" Is this normal? It's becoming more of a puzzle than a vehicle it seems, and I'm becoming obsessed with "solving" it.

BTW, this list is great, seems much better than other westy discussion boards I've visited. I particularly enjoyed the blinking low level coolant light discussion(s). (Mine stays blinking whenever it rains, until the interior warms up). I have read through the archives but sadly the search feature does not seem to work for me, perhaps it's my slow satellite internet connection. (I'm off grid in the Sierra's) Sorry if I'm repeating other posts.

PPS: I called the CA bureau of automotive repair. They claim these engines simply run dirty, are very difficult and sometimes just simply impossible to bring them to spec. They would prefer I scrap it or put a turbo diesel in it.

One more thing, thankfully I found a smog place that will exempt the evap test. I did replace all the hoses and grommets, no dripping or fumes, but I don't get that suction sound when refueling like you do on "better" cars. Bentley makes no note of the roll this plays with the FI, but I found a VW "ProTraining" Digijet service manuel. (looks a lot like bentley FI section but better. I can send the PDF if anyone wants it). It has the evap function in the FI section and recommends checking that before moving on to engine management. It doesn't seem like it to me, but could a minor air leak in the evap system send unburnt fuel out the tailpipe? all vacuum hoses had been replaced and I was even careful to make sure the air restrictor was still there in the vac line from the charcoal canister.

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts, musings or ramblings!

Leonard


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