Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 18:12:05 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Subject: Re: Bent valve push rod
In-Reply-To: <001701c32ecf$be0f7d60$8001a8c0@nrockv01.md.comcast.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
My guess is that the push rod was bent during engine installation-start
up or shortly there after, possibly by a valve sticking in the valve
guide. An overheating situation may also cause this. I would replace the
bent rod and all the valve adjuster screws. Set them 1 to 2 turns in and
see what happens.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of Ed Lloyd
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 5:40 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Bent valve push rod
Should I drive this vehicle?
Two weeks ago I got back from a weekend trip driving 5-6 hours each way
through the mountains of West Va. The 87 2.1L watercooled van preformed
well, and had no problems, but after I got home I noticed a small oil
leak had started. I traced it to a push rod tube, and ordered a
collapsible replacement tube from Bus Depot, along with the seals.
This weekend I tore into the project and got a rude shock. When I
pulled the #1 cyl pushrod out of the tube it was bent! Curved into a bow
shape. Not kinked or creased, but so far out of line that it had rubbed
a hole in the thin wall of the tube, thus the oil leak.
Looking further, I checked the other pushrods, and all were straight and
true, but I found problems with all 4 of the valve adjusting screws It
looked like Stan's cats had chewed up the ends.
History: the heads were replaced 3 years ago by a VW dealer, using AMC
heads. Four months ago I checked the clearance, after reading about
Boston Bob's .006 setting. I found the pre-load to be very, very tight,
so loosened them and set them to .006. I did not bother to check the
push rods or the ends of the adjusting screws at that time. Don't know
if they were already in that condition, or if the damage is recent.
This is a daily driver, so I just put everything back together, and
started the engine, which ran fine for a few moments before I shut it
down and began to wonder, should I drive this? Will this cause more
damage? Can the adjusting screws just be ground smooth? Can a
replacement push rod be used? The manuals all talk about putting the
same ones back into the same place, so I'm worried about improper mix
and match. The top of the valve stem ends are fine by the way.
Any info about what may have caused this problem and what to do about it
is appreciated.
Ed in Aspen Hill
87 vanagon
