Well, I think they were used in the old days to cap the valve stem when a
divot was worn in it by the adjuster.   Shouldn't be needed with hydraulic
lifters, they just made adjustment possible with a feeler guage for solid
lifters. 

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Larry Alofs
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 5:05 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Low compression, more test results

" and adding lash caps."

Can someone explain about lash caps?

Larry A.

On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 10:56 AM, Tom Carchrae <tom@carchrae.net> wrote:
> Hi Stuart,
>
> My van had low compression on one cylinder when I bought it earlier 
> this year.  I took it to a mechanic (here in Vancouver) and he was 
> able to restore the compression on my engine by adjusting the valves 
> and adding lash caps.  This included adjusting one to 0 lash.
>
> I'm not convinced my engine is well just yet.  I've had a series of 
> coolant issues, possible minor head gasket leak, but not confirmed.
> Anyway, van runs quite well, although certainly not fast, it seems to 
> have a reasonable amount of power.  I did get overtaken by another 
> vanagon going up a very steep mountain hill; after that I started to 
> get engine envy/doubt again. :)
>
> The worst scare so far has been starting it after it sitting for a few 
> weeks.  Oh the horrid tapping!  A quick Google said lifters are prone 
> to draining if left sit, so I crossed my fingers and drove it for a 
> while and now it sounds fine again.
>
> Tom
>
> On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 7:52 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
wrote:
>> Well, for those who have been following by email thread about making 
>> the mistake of checking compression on my 140k mile original engine
>> (90-150-100-130) I�ve done some more tests.
>>
>>
>>
>> 1.       Valves were zero lash or 1 turn in, no valve noise, timing dead
on
>>
>> 2.       Manifold vacuum is 12� Hg with �1� tick (should be steady 17-21)
>>
>> 3.       No detectable vacuum leaks (propane test), all vacuum hoses new.
>>
>> 4.       22% leak down on #1, could hear leakage all three places, but
>> exhaust and intake were louder than the dipstick, with the exhaust 
>> being the worst.  (Should have used the decibel meter on my iPhone, 
>> but I didn�t want to get it greasy ;-) ).  Didn�t bother testing the
others after this result.
>>
>> 5.       Does not burn oil (in 1000 miles at least)  Plugs that came in
it
>> were clean.
>>
>> 6.       PO installed reman AFM recently
>>
>> 7.       Idles smooth (as any of them anyway), runs well, no coolant
leaks,
>> but has poor acceleration and poor gas mileage (~15 mpg highway).
>>
>>
>>
>> Looks like it�s got some leaking valves. No surprise this rig is worn 
>> out, I assumed it was, but I could drive it home at least.  I hope I 
>> can get a few thousand more miles out of it so I can save some dough for
a conversion!
>>
>>
>>
>> Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but never for long.  I waited until 
>> after my planned summer trips to check the engine condition, so I was 
>> blissfully ignorant on purpose.  I�m still planning a couple of fall 
>> trips nearby though.  What the hell, I�ve got AAA premier.
>>
>>
>>
>> Stuart
>>
>> �85 Westy, purchased in May