Date:         Sat, 11 Apr 2015 13:02:37 -0400
Reply-To:     Stuart Fedak <ve3smf@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart Fedak <ve3smf@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Post winter storage sticky valve noise
Comments: To: Richard Smith <richard_smith@gnwc.ca>
In-Reply-To:  <D14E9DEC.801C0%richard_smith@thecdm.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

I did some more searching on the Internet at there was some mention of Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) in Vanagon.....  Some sites mentioned putting some in the gas tank, and in the oil, then running the engine for about 300 miles before changing out the oil.  What is the experience on the group for this practice?
Stuart
ottawa

Sent from my electronic umbilicus

> On Apr 11, 2015, at 12:52 PM, Richard Smith <richard_smith@gnwc.ca> wrote:

> 
> Mine developed this noise, too, after a long storage the winter before
> last. It would *sometimes* go away if I got the engine warmed up
> completely and then shut it down for 20-30 minutes. A more experienced
> engine person than me attributed this to different metals all getting to
> the same temperature and then cooling together.
> 
> I was assured by the mechanic that it wasn¹t harmful (the noise is valve
> ³lifters² not the valves themselves), and lived with it for quite a while.
> During a recent major tuneup and oil change, the mechanic added some
> Automatic Transmission Fluid to the engine oil and let the engine idle for

> an hour (!). Then he drained the oil and replaced it. The noise has
> (almost) completely gone away.
> 
> You may find that your noise goes away by itself after driving it for a
> few days. I would certainly try that first before doing any more serious
> things. And the Automatic Transmission Fluid ³fix² may or may not have
> been a real thing, but it cost next to nothing and seems to have worked
> for me.
> 
> The best way to keep it away is to drive it regularly, if find.
> 
> 
> 
>> On 2015-04-11, 9:01 AM, "Stuart Fedak" <ve3smf@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>> 
>> I just picked up my 1986 Vanagon Westfalia GL 2.1 from storage, where it
>> has been for the past six months.  The engine started up fine, but it now

>> has a sticky valve type sound on the driver side of the engine.  This
>> noise was not there last fall when the Vanagon was put into storage.
>> 
>> Is this something that has to be corrected right away, or is this
>> something that will go away with time?  What could cause this noise from
>> happening, right after longer term storage?
>> 
>> Your thoughts?
>> Stuart
>> Ottawa, ON
>> 
>> Sent from my electronic umbilicus
>