On Fri, 26 Aug 94 12:35:59 CDT CAP'N HOOK, THE SOFTWARE PIRATE said:
>If I let my 78 Van sit for more than a week or so, it inevitably develops
>a loud tappet noise on one or two cylinders. The last time it did this
>I put some oil treatment in that was supposed to free loud or sticky
>hydraulic tappets. I then changed the oil to 20-50 Castrol, and the
>problem went away after a few minutes of running. I haven't been
>running the beast for the last few weeks, and now it is doing it
>again on two cylinders. Any suggestions, help etc.?
>How'd you fix this?

i guess you could replace all the hydraulic lifters and it would be 'better',
but my 'newer' 88 bus will do the same thing if i let it go for more than
a week. and if i park on the side of a hill overnight, it really sounds
loud next morning. it's just that the lifters are bleeding down and have to
be pumped back up with oil when you start the engine. so far it doesn't seem
to be doing anything damaging or dangerous (other than to my peace of mind).

if it is only on two cylinders, see if you are parking the bus with that
side tilted down (up? can't remember). it really was a helluva racket when
it happened to me.

joel