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