Mark- Take it easy, there. No need to rip the motor apart. Drain out a quart of the oil, and add a quart of Marvel Mystery oil. Drive it for a few hours. That will almost assuredly fix it. If it doesn't, Drain half oil the oil out, and top it back up with 2 quarts of automatic transmission fluid. DO NOT DRIVE THE VAN WITH THIS BREW IN THE CASE. Allow the van to idle for 15-30 minutes, and *gently* rev the motor a bit from time to time during this. Drain the case, change the filter, and smile at the smoothness. The ATF has a LOT of detergent qualities, and will dissolve almost any crud on the lifters. Finally, if THAT doesn't fix it (unlikely) you don't need to disassemble the case to R/R the lifters on an '81 van. You can remove the pushrod tube and pull the lifter out. No sweat. Happy motoring, G. Matthew Bulley Bulley-Hewlett & Associates www.bulley-hewlett.com Cary, NC USA 888.468.4880 tollfree |
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