I'm glad you chose to save some money.
About the only thing that can really hurt the valve train would be if the
adjusters were so loose as to let them hammer the valve stems (this would
be very noisy and you'd know it).
Try running a quart of Marvel Mystery oil in your crankcase for about
three hundred miles and see if it will not farther quieten the valves and
lifter. (Do not over fill the crank case, remove some oil to get a quart
out).
I pre-load my valves by 1 turn but that is a matter of choice.
It sounds like you've got everything under control ....... the valves
should quieten in less than a minute after a cold start in the mornings.
For other minor problems arising here is a quick check list:
#1. All fuel lines should be Fuel Injection hose (not regular fuel lines)
#2. Minor engine racing or rich running is normally a vacuum leak or two.
#3. Misfiring is normally poor grounding of injectors.
#4. The VW emblem goes up on the valve covers and the gaskets need to be
glued to the valve covers.
#5. Put hose clamps on every hose in the engine compartment, replace
damaged hoses.
#6. To check for pinhole fuel leaks use a bright flashlight to shine on
fuel connections, the leak will flicker in the bright light. You can also
wrap connections with a paper towel to find leaks.
#7. Don't ever overfill the engine oil, check your oil after the vehicle
has been sitting 30 minutes. Often if You check it immediately after you
stop it will be down 1/8" when its actually full.
#8. If you're going to be running the van real hard always keep your back
window clean, if you spring a big oil leak it will show up there long
before the idiot light or your gauge shows loss of oil.

Stan
On Mon, 18 Feb 2002 22:50:31 -0600 "Jon Joyce" <okartguy@hotmail.com>
writes:
> Stan-
>
> Just to let you know, I printed off your instructions and crawled
> back under
> the Vanagon tonight. I marked the (approx) rotor positions for each
> cylinder
> on the dist. rim, and went to work on the rockers. As I suspected,
> the
> valves were indeed preloaded by the PO, and I set the new clearance
> at .006
> per Boston Bob. The bus fired right up (had a HELLUVA time getting
> the new
> gaskets to seal, though!), and while I wouldn't go as far as saying
> I only
> hear the exhaust, it's much quieter in regard to lifter noise. Now
> it's more
> like a steady mechanical hum. SO, I guess I'll run it like this for
> a couple
> of weeks and reassess at that time. Am I endangering anything by
> running the
> valves looser? I drove it for about 20 min. tonight, and it seemed
> to run
> great... Thanks again for all your help-
>
> JJ
>
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