Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

User avatar
sped372
IAC Addict!
Location: Waunakee, WI
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by sped372 » Wed May 30, 2018 7:41 am

Agreed... I can only vouch for the last 2.5 years... who knows what happened before then.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

User avatar
asiab3
IAC Addict!
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by asiab3 » Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:56 am

Three shops this year have mentioned to me that they think new hydraulic lifters cannot use the full two turns preload. If this is true, do we think new lifters have a shorter piston bore than old VW lifters, or do we think the oiling hole is located further out on the lifters?

Would a lifter whose oil port is blocked by the piston ever pump up at all? Short of removing the lifter for inspection, is there any test to tell if the bore or oil is compatible with factory settings? (Other than a nice drive after adjustment…) Is there any proof that new lifters are sized differently anyway?

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:42 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:56 am
Three shops this year have mentioned to me that they think new hydraulic lifters cannot use the full two turns preload. If this is true, do we think new lifters have a shorter piston bore than old VW lifters, or do we think the oiling hole is located further out on the lifters?

Would a lifter whose oil port is blocked by the piston ever pump up at all? Short of removing the lifter for inspection, is there any test to tell if the bore or oil is compatible with factory settings? (Other than a nice drive after adjustment…) Is there any proof that new lifters are sized differently anyway?

Robbie

Great question. Best experiment would be to line up a factory lifter with a new lifter to see if the oiling hole location differs.

Then a careful full crank-down of the adjustment screw to see what differences in range there might be.

THEN, we can speculate. I see no friggen difference between 1 1/2 and 2 turns as far as dynamic function. The lifter is rotating and moving in and out of its bore by a good 1/2" in normal operation. The oiling covers it all with a half crescent gallery lining up with a circumferential groove. The communication with the gallery occurs primarily at the closed position.

The piston inside the lifter gets pounded to the bottom of the lifter barrel if there is no oil. I do not know of a lifter that is designed to not open the port when the piston is down all the way.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
asiab3
IAC Addict!
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by asiab3 » Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:00 am

I am in the middle of assembling a type 4, and the valve stem ends check out perfectly while the adjusting screws screw with my head. "Three threads farther out" says one adjuster screw, but "perfectly level" say all eight valve stems (rockers removed) on this hydraulic lifter 2.0L engine.

I am wondering if there are differences between rockers, left to right, or something that is causing our distress in trusting this otherwise unknown engine.

While looking this all up, I couldn't help but laugh at this information:
http://haysvwrepair.com/new/
(read time, 20 minutes)

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jan 21, 2019 11:38 am

asiab3 wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:00 am
I am in the middle of assembling a type 4, and the valve stem ends check out perfectly while the adjusting screws screw with my head. "Three threads farther out" says one adjuster screw, but "perfectly level" say all eight valve stems (rockers removed) on this hydraulic lifter 2.0L engine.

I am wondering if there are differences between .... lifters.
Robbie
Try this . . . maybe a lifter was replaced.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
asiab3
IAC Addict!
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Hydraulic Lifter Adjustment

Post by asiab3 » Mon Jan 21, 2019 12:43 pm

Yes, that would make sense. The engine responded well with 1.5 turns in on all eight adjusters, so it will continue to run as is. If the pushrod tubes weren't so slathered in RTV but leak-free, we would have dove in more. Once the first drip of coil comes off the tubes though……

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

Post Reply