Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

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chriscburgess
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Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by chriscburgess »

Morning,

As in the heading, should the tappets be adjusted with a cold or hot engine please?

Thanks
Chris
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bigherb
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Re: Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by bigherb »

Cold
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Re: Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by davidoft1 »

Cold, however they need to be fully pumped up which can usually only be achieved by running the engine

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Re: Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by ajsimmo »

If one or two have drained down they can still be adjusted properly. No need to run the engine first. You will need a more sensitive feel when screwing in the adjuster to "just touching". If you back it off until it rocks with obvious free play, then use fingertips on the screwdriver shaft to turn back in, you can feel that point much more easily (unless any clips have come out of your lifters - then the plunger has moved and you've lost your starting reference point). VW specify 2 full turns in of preload. I find that when resetting preload on worn lifters, 1.5 turns works better, as per Ratwells guide.

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chriscburgess
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Re: Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by chriscburgess »

ajsimmo wrote: 08 Apr 2021, 06:52 If one or two have drained down they can still be adjusted properly. No need to run the engine first. You will need a more sensitive feel when screwing in the adjuster to "just touching". If you back it off until it rocks with obvious free play, then use fingertips on the screwdriver shaft to turn back in, you can feel that point much more easily (unless any clips have come out of your lifters - then the plunger has moved and you've lost your starting reference point). VW specify 2 full turns in of preload. I find that when resetting preload on worn lifters, 1.5 turns works better, as per Ratwells guide.

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Thanks. What is Ratwells guide?
 
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ajsimmo
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Re: Tappet Adjustment - Hot or Cold?

Post by ajsimmo »

https://www.ratwell.com/technical/Hydra ... adjustment

It's written for bays, but it's essentially the same setup and the same principles apply.

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