Club 80-90 Forums

my main concern is fuel economy

My van has got twin solex carbs, standard dizzie and only ever sees over 20 mpg on a motorway run under 60mph. Around town and up and down the hills of the SW it manages 16-18 mpg. The only saving grace is that the van is always full of toys, food and booze. If I wanted to squeeze a few more mpg I could probably dump a couple of hundred kilos of crap out of it but if I was worried about mpg I wouldn't have bought a 2 ltr air-cooled van.

BOXY wrote:

my main concern is fuel economy

... but if I was worried about mpg I wouldn't have bought a 2 ltr air-cooled van.

or any T3 for that matter!
LPG makes it cheaper to run, sameish mpg but 1/2 price fuel

kevtherev wrote:

BOXY wrote:

my main concern is fuel economy

... but if I was worried about mpg I wouldn't have bought a 2 ltr air-cooled van.

or any T3 for that matter!
LPG makes it cheaper to run, sameish mpg but 1/2 price fuel

Unless it's a diesel. + Dr evil laugh

kevtherev wrote:So you set the gap to 6 thou, Can I presume you discovered and confirmed if the lifters are solid then?

because hydraulic lifters are zero lash minus a turn and a half

Thank you for that, the website I got the information from said 6 thou for post 1976 vehicles. So I need to close them right up? Turn and a half out? Still, all mine where pushing on the valves so they have all been set up very wrong

Anyone mind confirming valve clearances? Thank you

If you've got hydraulic lifters
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/HydraulicLifters.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If your engine has been re-conned you might have solid lifters.

BOXY wrote:If you've got hydraulic lifters
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/HydraulicLifters.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If your engine has been re-conned you might have solid lifters.

Thanks for the link. I'm not sure, when I tighten the flat head screw so it's touching and then turn it in you can see it pressing on the valve spring and opening it. The inside of the heads is absolutely immaculate, I've never seen such clean heads, almost like no oil has ever passed through there.....

Any idea of the best way of finding if I have hydraulic lifters? Thank you

z3i wrote: Any idea of the best way of finding if I have hydraulic lifters?

Yes, see if it sounds like a Beetle ... if it does someone's monkeyed around with it.

A 'legendary' reconditioner North of the border (go on, have a guess ) once 'reconditioned' a friend's 2.1 and 'put a hot cam and solid lifters' in it ..... we tried adjusting the tappets and found that 3 were still hydraulic and therefore quite clearly the engine case had never even been split or he'd be able to get the tappets out easily. It succumbed to low oil pressure almost immediately but the 'legendary reconditioner' was not answering his phone.

Isn't there something on the Ratwell page about checking the pushrods with a magnet to check if solid or hydraulic?

Hello,

To avoid endless speculation.. where are the photos..

On the topic of hydraulic cam followers..



Here is a head.. complete with (utterly vital) wongly spring..

With a lamp you can look down to the bottom of the pushrod and see the cup and circlip of the tappet to see if it is hydraulic..

or of course if it is squooshy when you try the valve settings.

These engines are not rocket science....does not stop you from wasting loads of money though..

If it runs it is saveable..

As for tuning correctly at the cost of a twiddle or 2


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qayyc9Z4E0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

then..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfo5ATgBp0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You have not turned blue yet..

Cordialement

I think you should be utterly sure what lifters you have.
So follow the advice here.

It could be you're right to set the gap at 6 thou.
If it's wrong then you'll beat the valve stems to death.

As said, it would help you if you would post up pics of your van. You would get more precise responses. By the way, did you say there was no oil when you removed the rocker covers, that would be unusual. Did you ask about that.

sarran1955 wrote:Hello,

To avoid endless speculation.. where are the photos..

On the topic of hydraulic cam followers..



Here is a head.. complete with (utterly vital) wongly spring..

With a lamp you can look down to the bottom of the pushrod and see the cup and circlip of the tappet to see if it is hydraulic..

or of course if it is squooshy when you try the valve settings.

These engines are not rocket science....does not stop you from wasting loads of money though..

If it runs it is saveable..

As for tuning correctly at the cost of a twiddle or 2


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qayyc9Z4E0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

then..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfo5ATgBp0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You have not turned blue yet..

Cordialement

Thank you for that mate, I will hit some pictures of mine up, I have those springs fitted, not sure if they are fitted correctly. What are they for? I have access to a bore scope so I'll have a peak down the push rod, if it's solid will there be no circlip?

Also is there a chance my hydraulic tappets have collapsed or damaged? If I have them fitted.
I just thought it's really strange that if I adjust it so it touches and then 2 turns in. It pushes down the valve, rather than pushes back in the rocker arm onto the tappet. It just pushes on the valve. Which surely is opening it?

I will get photos up and have a look down my push rod tubes. Thanks again guys

Sorry for poor photos, I tried to get a photo with the straight edge across the inlet valve on number one. But I drove her to my girlfriends and it's dropped cylinder number one again did some research and come across valve recession

Whipped the rocker off. Set up cylinder one as if im setting clearances, and yep there it is. Didn't really need a straight edge, was so obvious that the inlet valve was beating it's way back through the head it's nearly out of adjustment and I imagine the valve looks so shroomed. Not long till it snaps or I run out of adjustment.

Only cure is head off and new head :/ the heat exchanger is rotten and it's rotten to the silencer which is rotten to the other heat exchanger. Touching any off it will obliterate it so I'll need a whole new exhaust, and heat exchangers. £700 ish for the lot? New head £350? By that point it would be silly not to just pull the engine and rebuild the lot

God I feel exhausted. I can't sell it to someone like this as that's what's been done to me and it wouldn't be fair

Feel quite passed off looks like my mk1 golf won't be going on the road this year then

Would also explain why there are so many spanner marks on the adjuster nut from where people have kept winding it out

Thanks Taylor

I had issues like you are discribing on a 2ltre aircool engine T25 .First inspection looked liked I had valve seat recession on one of the valves.You mentioned there was a grey metallic deposit in the oilThe 2ltre engine I had worn camshaft bearings comtaminated the oil with a grey sludge.Take any adviced offered by sarron1955 as his knowledge is first class on these engines.Its a shame that Volkswagon don't supply these engines new like they did years ago as they where plug&play.