Club 80-90 Forums

Hello,
One of my tappet adjuster screws sheared off. I have replaced it but unfortunately I over tightened the adjuster screw and I think I have damaged/broken the valve. Thought I was adjusting No. 2 but it was set on TDC to No.4 and the one I should have adjusted was No.1. I'm soooo upset. the engine was running beautiful. :0( I'm going to have to take the engine out.. I don't know if I can do it myself but I guess I'm going to have to try.

So I was wondering, are there any chaps here who live nearby (uxbridge area) that might want to earn some money and help me remove/repair and refit my engine?.. I would do it alone but I'm not sure I can manage to do it by myself..

I'm not keen on asking a mobile mechanic as I know they would charge a lot and I would rather ask here first.

Thanks

Katherine..

I'm wondering, is it possible to take the head off without taking the engine out?

It's a 1.9 DG water cooled.

That's quite a "woopsie" Kat.
You must be strong as an ox to shear an adjuster.
When you say "damaged/broken the valve", is the valve stem mangled? bent? snapped? or do you think you've forced the valve down onto the piston? Is it stuck down?
I have heard of folk removing the heads without removing the engine but general consensus seems to be it's easier with the engine out. there's not much room to swing the spanners in there.
Also I've heard it recommended to heat the head studs cherry red before removing them as they can shear if you don't. that would be tricky with the engine in.
Make sure you absolutely have to take the head off before going in there.
Hopefully someone who's done it will be along shortly.

Thanks BBB,

I don't know how the adjuster sheared..that was the beginning of my current troubles!

I'm not sure if I have damaged the valve/piston actually, today I have re checked the spark plug/dizzy cap and restarted it, it ran on all four cylinders but there is still an awful tappet noise, even though I have adjusted the tappets correctly and changed the oil. So my next steps are to remove and change over the push rod tubes (as they are leaky anyway) and take a look at the hydraulic tappet (the noisey one) to see if it is blocked or needs replacing. I'm hoping that that is the problem.

I have a slight temptation to take the whole engine out at somepoint, give it a good clean and check over and paint with detailing.. :0) Maybe a few BHP improvers!.. one day!..

Don't rush into anything. The hydraulic tappets take a while to pump up when you've been adjusting them. Sometimes they don't even start for a day or two while the pressures equalise. Take it for a decent drive, at least 10 miles away. Then see if it still rattles once its good and warm. I know it sounds bad but as long as the adjusters are all showing similar amounts of thread and its running on 4 you should be good to go.

I have taken out 2 of the hydraulic lifters where the noise was coming from.

Both are hydraulic but the piston does not seem to want to move at all - how much pressure should I need to be to move the piston in the lifter?

I'm thinking I should maybe purchase a few new ones!..

You'll need a vice to close them
Did you drive it around first as suggested?

No but I have put in 2 new lifters and spark plugs and push rod tubes (old ones were leaking) and adjusted the tappet adjusters to 1.5 turns and have done a compression test on all cylinders, that was all good. it sounds much better although still tappety, so I'm going to take it for a drive sometime soon and hopefully it will quieten down..
My tinware that protects the push rod tubes is knackered.. and original ones are £50 each!! Brickwerks do stainless ones for £80 a pair but I still think that's a bit steep..hmmm if anyone has any other ideas/options, would be grateful to hear. Cheers for any info..
Kat

If a compression test shows good readings and it runs on all four it really would not be likely that you have damaged a valve. They only need to be bent by a few thou. to give nil compression.

As for the pushrod guards it's what you have to expect owning an obsolete VW
They cost money to run.
Used ones may be cheaper...but not much

btw, I had to replace all of the Hydraulic Tappets and that seemed to resolve my engine woes. Amazing how much difference a new set of tappets make and they are not that difficult to replace or that expensive.
My Push rod tube covers are holding up for now.

Tip: DO NOT use synthetic engine oil thinking it is better quality. It has cleaning agents in it, that for a new engine is great but for an old engine, it eats away at the carbon deposits that seem to hold the engine together! and you end up with oil leaks from old gaskets and the tappets seize up as the cleaning agents try to remove the deposits that sit on old tappets. This is the reason I had to replace mine.