If you have an o/p gauge to keep an eye on things, then I think you're right - drive it,
get it nicely warmed up (at least 30 minutes) then see how things are- that's a long
time to sit, possibly with dirty oil... The one year I drove mine with 20w50 dino oil, it
could take 20 minutes of running to get rid of the lifter noise if the van sat a few
weeks. Back to synthetic, and the noise was gone. Is 8 psi normal for these at hot
idle? My TD was about that, but it had problems. My current 1.6NA makes about
30psi hot idle, 75psi hot @3000. I never did put a gauge on my wbx, since it ran so
well, I never suspected a problem. As long as you're getting 35-40psi hot at 3000rpm
or so, you should be fine.

On 8 Jun 2005 at 0:06, tabe johnson <xtabe@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I have Mobil 1 in the crankcase and a Mahle filter.
>
> I think I need to reserve judgement until I've driven
> the van a while.  I've run it less than an hour since
> I put it in, and it's been sitting ~6 months with me,
> and was in storage when I got it.
>
> Oil pressure seems good, ~8 psi at idle with a hot
> engine, if you believe my gauge.  (I know it was
> hot because the thermostat was stuck closed!)  I
> checked the oil pressure right away after the
> engine was in because I don't know its history.
>
> I had tons of trouble setting the valves initially
> and the thing clattered like a beetle when I first
> started it.
>
> It never ends, does it?  I know, just get a Subaru
> or a Diesel...
>
> Sigh,
>
> --tabe
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >Date:    Tue, 7 Jun 2005 07:53:44 -0700
> >From:    Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
> >Subject: Re: Hydraulic Lifter Week
> >
> >Tabe,
> >
> >What oil are you running? The one time I ran regular dino oil (Castrol 20w50) I
> >got terrible lifter noise until the engine was fully hot, sometimes taking 20
> >minutes or more. I went back to Mobil 1 15w50 or Amsoil 15w40 and the lifter
> >noise was gone. I ran it this way 8 years, and even if the van sat for 3-4
> >months, lifter noise never lasted more than a few seconds at startup with
> >synthetic. I used to just change the oil and filter once per year, since I only
> >drove it about 10k per year. Sounds like you should check your oil pressure for
> >sure though...
> >
> >On 7 Jun 2005 at 6:16, Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote:
> >
> > Lifter click at idle is due to a bad lifter (stuck ball check) or
> > insufficient oil pressure.
> >
> > Dennis
>
>
>
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Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
'85 Jetta D
'88 Westy 2.1L, soon to be 1.6TD 5 speed
 (see progress at http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels)
'82 Diesel Westy