

| Subject: | RE: lead & valves |
| From: | Will Wood |
| Date: | Sat, 23 Nov 1996 00:11:12 -0700 |
>>Are you sure? When I drive more than five upfilled tanks with >>unleaded gas I start hearing the work of my vents. When I filled >>up with leaded gas it stops. So I'm driving with relations of >>1 leaded to 3 unleaded. Lead lubricates and quiets the valves where the valve contacts the seat. = The issue is when using leaded gas, the lubrication will somewhat = buffer the noise. However, from your symptoms of running unleaded only, = I wonder about clearances or if you're experiencing valve float. Some = of the 2000cc motors I've rebuilt had hydraulic and some solid lifters, = but in the case of hydraulics and the age of the engine, there may be = more noise than one would normally consider. If your engine has solid = lifters, then check the clearances every 3000mi (4800km). =20 Every Type IV head I've every taken apart has had steel seats with = either the tri-metal or sodium exhaust valves which work fine with = unleaded fuel. Also, Gene Berg writes this in his Tech Specifications. = *(for those of you unaware of this person, he had done probably more = testing on aircooled VWs than anyone outside of VW) "The VW factory head offers the best of everything from cooling to life. = I must say that VW has done some fine engineering when it comes to a = product that does the job. In about 1967 they made a transition to = chrome stem valves with the tri-metal exhaust valve. This, along with = the steel seats and brass guides that have always been used, allows = these heads to run unleaded fuel from that time forward with no adverse = wear problems." - GB 801-Heads Our leaded fuel had about 3 grams of lead per gallon (when it was = available) since I don't know what your leaded content is, I can't = speculate on your amout when mixing, but it's obviously only 1/3 that of = the fully leaded mixture. I hope this helps, like I said, even in 72 Type IV's I've always had to = run unleaded. The heads that I've torn down and rebuilt have come from = Germany and Brazil and all exhibit the same characteristics that allow = them to run unleaded fuel. Since I'm in the U.S. there may be some off = derivitive that VW built, but I doubt it. The steel seats and chromed = valves offer the best life but it is always critical to check the = clearances when using solid lifters in an aircooled motor. The 1700, = 1800 and 2000cc aircooleds all had problems with seats dropping out. = This became worse in the 2000cc heads. So, I hope you're not dropping a = seat! Regards Will 61 Single Cab 63 23 Window 64 Crew Cab 93 Euro (my wife's) 80 Rabbit 81 Rabbit
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