They might be holding air..thus if you leave them at .006 and come back in a few days after running the car, they may have pumped up...........

----- Original Message -----
From: Blake Thornton
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 1:48 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Soft lifters (was: clarify .006 on lifters)

So, what does it mean if you have a lifter or two that are "soft?"  I
think a couple of mine are.  Does this mean that they should be replaced
at some point, or will they fix themselves?

Blake

On Wed, 9 Jan 2002, Robert Donalds wrote:

> Walt
>
> I would start with an inspection of the the rockers arms when the engine is
> cold looking for broken wave washers and to see that the clip are in place.
> next I would look to see which valves are fully open and make a note Its
> common for the lifters that have been holding the valves open to be soft if
> the van has sat for a few days  its common for the #2 ex valve to be one of
> the valves that remains open and is often the one that makes the ticking.
> next I would turn the engine by hand to tdc # 1 (that where I always start
> when I am looking at the valve train otherwise I tend forget where I
> started) and pry on the rocker to check for soft lifters. you can spend a
> lot of time fooling around with preloading the good ones and checking the
> soft ones to see if its time to preload or you can set them to 006ths cold
> and forget it for a while.  If the noise of the 006ths clearance gets to you
> then you could adjust the the valves hot and go to 000 clearance as Adam
> said worked for him. I like to see that the push rod can spin when I get the
> clearance this close that way I am sure there is no preload
> Bob Donalds
> http://www.bostonengine.com
> as always
> all rights reserved
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Walt Spak" <wnsopc3@3rdm.net>
> To: "Robert Donalds" <bostneng@FCL-US.NET>; <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 8:46 AM
> Subject: Re: Re: clarify .006 on lifters
>
>
> > Bob,
> >
> > All of this valve adjusting procedures talk can be confusing.  When I
> > installed your rebuilt engine, I adjusted the valves as per your
> > instructions.  This predated the .006 clearance theory.  I believe you had
> > me set them at 1/2 turn preload.  In any case, it worked just fine.  The
> > valves were always quiet.  I now have about 45,000 miles on this engine
> and
> > for the last few thousand miles the valves are noisy on start up.  Not all
> > of them of course, but certainly one or maybe two are.  What can I do?
> > Should I set them all at .006 clearance, let them pump up & then set them
> at
> > zero lash?
> >
> > Walt Spak
> > Pittsburgh, PA.
> > wnsopc3@3rdm.net
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Robert Donalds <bostneng@FCL-US.NET>
> > To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 8:14 AM
> > Subject: Re: clarify .006 on lifters
> >
> >
> > Myron
> > I am not sure you need to do anything to the valve adjusters on a good
> > running engine. if it ant broke don't fix it. my recommendations are for
> > engine that have been taken apart for what ever reason or for engines that
> > have symptoms. The newest Bentley book says preloading is optional. this
> is
> > because of the problems that can go along with it. lifters with air in
> them
> > can hold the valves open when the engine warms up, lower the manifold
> vacuum
> > at idle and shorten valve and valve guide life
> > B.Bob
> >
> >
> >
>