Date:         Tue, 2 Nov 1999 12:03:17 -0500
Reply-To:     Nathaniel Merrill <sugarmaple@DELLNET.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Nathaniel Merrill <sugarmaple@DELLNET.COM>
Subject:      Re: Bad valve? Lifter? Help!!! TICK TICK TICK!!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Mike,
I am in the middle of the very same situation, and at 125K mi. to boot.
What I found was this.  You can remove the valve cover and rocker arms
easily.  Then the push rods can be pulled out.   After removing the bottom
shield, the push rod tubes can be yanked out (only by destroying them as far
as I can tell)  With the tube off the hydraulic lifter can be removed.  No
head removal required!  I ordered collapsible tubes from the bus depot which
can be installed with the heads in place - unlike the stock tubes.  This is
in spite of the fact that Bentley pretty clearly says on page 15.25 you can
install new tubes (stock VW I only assume) with out head removal.   After
talking with a friend/mechanic and looking at the stock tubes I don't
believe it is possible.  The collapsible tubes are expensive but saving the
trouble of removing my exhaust system and heads which would cast $$$$ in the
end I think they are a bargain.  I asked the list and a few indicated they
had used these tubes with success.  As for the lifters,  They are cheap -
from the bus depot anyway- $10 each ( apparently OEM) whereas the dealer
wanted $60 each!  If one is gone the others are likely on their way as far
as I can tell.  Might as well do them all on that side anyway, I figure.  As
far as identifying the suspect lifter for fun- Bentley pg. 15.24 is a good
indication.  If you can squeeze the lifter by hand/thumb then it is dead or
collapsed as the saying goes.  *As far as I can tell* when the lifters wear
out the oil no longer helps support the lifter spring and the spring gets
beaten.
Good luck!
Nat
91 Syncro Westy soon the be cruising the Vermont back roads again.

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Ray <Mike.Ray@AMMOBILE.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 11:03 AM
Subject: Bad valve? Lifter? Help!!! TICK TICK TICK!!


> Thanks all for the info on the drain plug... I now have a real problem!
>
> TICK TICK TICK. Valve probs! They are loud and came on instantly. I parked
> the van after coming home from work (1/2 hour trip) Had no problem.
Started
> it the next day to park in the garage. Ticking. hmmmmm. Started it up this
> morning. Ticking. I crawled under with a screwdriver to my ear, Pass side
> valve cover is really loud. You can hear it in the house over the engine
> running. The other side is quiet and it's never made any noise prior to
> this. I unfortunately, don't know much about the maint history of the
motor.
> Doesn't leak and is real clean w/ 120K miles on the van. May have had a
> motor swap in the past.
>
> So where to start? I've never worked on VW horizontal motors.
>
> 1.. I assume a lifter or pushrod. I haven't opened or verified which valve
> it is. Assuming that while hand cranking the motor, I don't see anything
> weird, how can I tell which one it is? Should I change all the lifters and
> pushrods to be safe?
> 2.. Could a rocker arm have gone out of adjustment overnight?
> 3.. Can the lifters be removed w/o head removal? I assume not, but the
> Bentley is unclear.
> Can you just remove the pushrod tube w/o the head?
>
> I've done head work on American mid-cam cars and several overhead cam cars
> but never a horizontal motor. Any help on where to start would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks, Mike
> `87 Westy