I have found that a good 1/2 hour drive with some highway speeds will quiet
the lifters and make everything OK.  We have hard winters up here in
Northern Indiana and the buses often go a month or two before the roads are
cleared of salt and it is above freezing.  Last winter, I placed two 100w
light bulbs under each engine block to keep things a bit warmer.  Even after
2 months of sitting, both buses fired right up.

Pete
'79 Westy "Aardvark"
'87 Westy "JoesVan"
WWW.Busesbythebeach.org <http://WWW.Busesbythebeach.com>

On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 09:09, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:

> I'd like to hear this, also.  I usually do drive my van just for its own
> good every couple of weeks when not camping.  Due to a lot of family health
> matters over the past six weeks, I haven't given it the attention it needed.
>  I started it Friday, and the lifters are really loud.  During the time I
> idled it, it did not quieten down.  What do I do?
>
> DMc
>
> ---- Kevin Gilbert <kggilbert@MYACTV.NET> wrote:
> > Greetings,
> >
> > I just got my 84 Westy back from a shop after having seam rust and
> > rocker panel attention, plus new paint. But since the guy was a little
> > slow (7 months slow), I'm wondering what you all might suggest for
> > spring maintenance items for a van which sat idle over the winter. It
> > sat in a paint booth since Halloween. It was started occasionally (so
> > I've been told).
> >
> > Most years, I drive the van 12 months (western Maryland). 1.9L 2 wd
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Kevin
>
> --
> David McNeely
>