The symptoms of a loose valve set are these:
The engine starts and runs just fine and may be OK several days.
Then after you've turned it off and come back to it one hour or the next
morning it's real hard to start but eventually starts, then it seems OK for
possibly all day or even a week at a time.
Eventually the seat will drop out and hang under a valve, causing a piston
to hit the valve and get nicked. This doesn't ruin the piston and I've never
seen a seat drop at high RPMS. Seats tend to drop out when you first crank a
cold engine and it just catches and runs a few RPMS.
I've made 700 mile round trips with loose valve seats and then they dropped
first thing the next day.
I envision that the heat in the combustion expands the seats and hakes them
viable until the aluminum head just finally abrades away and the seat is
floating there.
I've bought and "Repaired" about ten VWs, Vanagons for resale and this is
often why Air Cooled Vanagons that are hard to start or finally just won't
start sell so cheap. This comes after the PO has gotten taken to the
cleaners on a pair of improperly rebuilt heads and is facing another $800.00
for a set of new heads in a box or $1200.00 + for a set of new heads
installed.
I've got one good used AMC head for $120.00 if you want it.
http://www.engineceramics.com/vw/vwparts2.htm

Stan Wilder
Engine Ceramics
214-352-4931
www.engineceramics.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Higginbotham, David A." <dhigginbotham@HAZENANDSAWYER.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: 82 won't start when hot

Stan writes:
" Check the compression.
You could have valve seats floating that just haven't dropped yet."

Well, that does kind of fit the problem. Let me ask you a question, if
I'm having low compression problems would I see power drop off when
going up a hill for example? I have not noticed any power loss seems to
be running OK otherwise, but my driving habits when in the van are
pretty tame anyway.

Clueless
82 Westfalia
Silk Hope, NC