They should be hard during/ after running; they will leak down over time
just sitting. The adjusters must have been improperly set, if the lifters
pumped up to the point where the valves were unable to fully seat.  Now that
they're fully 'pumped-up', you should be able to set them a little looser,
which you seem to have already done. The lifters have a non-return check
ball that allows oil pressure in, but won't let it out.  The lifters are
basically a small 'piston' inside of a 'cylinder'. The inner 'piston' can
get stuck on varnish deposits or dirt particles in the 'cylinder', rendering
the adjustment capabilities useless.  Hydraulic lifter engines need to have
the oil/ filter changes done religiously due to this fact alone.  Dirty oil
will force you to overhaul these delicate mechanisms before the normal
timeframes.  Some people pour in oil additives to 'clean' their lifters.
Maybe this is good remedy for your engine?

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Zoltan Kuthy" <zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:54 PM
Subject: Why are the lifters so hard?

I must have done something when I was working on the engine, because the
lifters got pumped up so hard, I had to adjust the valves to zero turn.  If
I just put on even a quarter turn, the valve would leak, would not close.
Is there a pressure release valve that is not working now?
Anyone knows this?
Air cooled engine.
Zoltan