Re: [T2] Re: Valve adjustment question

["George Lyle" <glyle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> Greetings, Will:
> 
> I adjusted the valves on my 69 Transporter just yesterday, which was my absolute FIRST try at doing
> anything to ANY engine and environs.  I too used that Muir book, and found it very clear... For what
> it's worth, I think it was a success - almost all my valves were tight, and after I had them
> adjusted the bus ran a lot quieter and had more power...Who would've believed it, I fixed my car
> myself! ; )
> 
> You might check out Sean Bartnik's guide to valve adjustment in the type2.com library under
> "maintenance"...His instructions plus Muir's made it all extra clear...
> 
> Muir recommended gluing the new gaskets onto the valve covers when you're through with the
> adjusting, but Sean advised just applying some wheel bearing grease (I had a tube for bicycle ball
> bearings) to the gaskets, which made more sense to me and seems to work fine, no visible leaks so
> far... Also Sean says use steel wool to clean the covers, etc., not sandpaper as Muir says.

If you use a non-hardening sealant (Hylomar, or heavy grease) you don't need to use any abrasive to
clean the cover.  A paper towel will clean it up fine.  I think that keeping the paint coating on the
sealing surface helps prevent leaks, at least if you have newish covers.  I prefer the Hylomar to grease
as it is non-soluble in oil.

> I had to PUT the paint marks on my pulley, but per your question, my pulley has a v-shaped notch on
> the inside edge (the edge closest to the front of the car) where I painted my TDC mark.  I would
> swear that on mine there's only one notch, but Muir's drawing on page 97 (14th ed.) shows three, as
> you say...  You just line up the paint mark with the crankcase crack and that's it for #1.  I didn't
> seem to have that "file mark" on my distributor rim either, but the drawing in Muir on page 98
> bottom shows where it should point for all four cylinders...

There are a remarkable variety of timing marks on various VW pulleys.  A '69 should have three
notches on the pulley.  The leftmost is TDC, the rightmost is 10 degrees BTDC, and the one
in-between is 7.5 degrees BTDC.  This assumes that you have the correct pulley, which is a bit
of a long shot on a 30 year-old car with an appetite for engines.  My '71 has a stamped TDC mark on
the front (FIF) side of the pulley and a single notch at 5 degrees ATDC.

George Lyle