OK, no one's fault at all, because I know things can change on valve lash, but 500 miles ago, I got it done, and the car may have not been stone cold like we are supposed to do.

OK, so sue me. Not my mechanic.

I went under today and all the valves were about .006 and 004, exhaust and intake.

I was getting a little troubling noise, so I never put any miles on it after I got home after a warm run. So it goes.

Now they are all in spec, triplechecked and done according to Pelican to the tee.

I was just a bit more than shocked that the car was so out. I will check it again in 500 miles.

I know it can burn a valve or drop a seat, but the noise is gone. Is there a specific sound that tight valves make? I wondered if anyone knew? It only showed up at the end of the run, and I know the sound is now gone at warmup, and truly only when the engine was warm. Only once. Then I fixed it. I started the car 3 times but did not let it warm up. The sound never showed up on the warmups. And it never lost power.

Just a strange light noise that did not stay. You could let it go to idle and it would go away. It only occurred on deceleration, and it was not the decel valve. I have 2 working ones, and I know what it can cause with a busted vacuum hose or a dead diaphragm.

I know someday I will rebuild this engine and tranny, but you know, maximum fun and miles till I have to.

Maybe I just have 914 rocks in my head, but I heard a slight noise, and at least the lash is perfect. Not my first lash, and I will definitely do it from now on instead of farming it out.

Thanks for any comments!

John

With original sodium filled exhaust valves, the settings are .006" intake and .008" exhaust. Otherwise, all are set at .006" with stock pushrods. Anything else is too tight or too loose. Tight valves don't make any noise unless they're so tight they're staying open.

The Cap'n

Interesting! I don't know the original owner, but the second one said a valve job was done. Maybe at 80k miles. I know he had it to 97k miles, then the second PO put 4k on it. Then I got it at 102000 verified.

I am now at almost 108k.

I drove the car and there is something wrong, and it sounds flappy valvish.

All power is there, but there is a sound, but if it was a broken crank, I would know. I checked all the cylinders and there is at least 125 each. This sounds like a sticky valve or a seat going bad maybe? Never heard a seat going bad, but there is no power loss at all. But, I am not revving it like I did before the sound.

The people at Penguin and George at AA all say .008 for exhaust on the 73 2 liter, .006 on the intake. They were real specific on it. That is what Skip at Steve's Independent set them at, but man they seemed to tighten up on 1 hot day.

Never lost oil or pressure or anything. No metal in the oil. Maybe it is a valve guide loose and not a seat? I am not tempted to start it again till I fund a rebuild.

No good to throw a rod or suck a valve, is it?

I think I need a real mechanic to come on by and listen. I am 8 miles from the repair shop. I was not planning on a valve job this year. I was planning on doing the entire engine and then a Dr. Evil tranny revitalization no sooner than next year. The best laid plans of mice and men........................

Maybe my plans are changing. I need to sell a kidney to keep my teener habit funded!

Thank you, Cap'n!

John

"Just a strange light noise" A dropped valve seat will be loud as hell. An exhaust leak at the header/head connection can sound just like a loose valve. Especially on deceleration. Sometimes a re torque will quieten it up.

I tried all the nuts. I may have to pull them all and get new ones. They are pretty nasty, but seemed tight.

Man, I have no idea what the noise is. It is definitely exhaust-related, but seemingly coming from the engine.

I will order studs, nuts and gaskets soon. No driving till I get this solved.

So much for summer!

Thanks!

John

i wonder if the valve seats are lightly sinking (beaten in). this tightens the lash. i would experiance this everytime i took my solid lifter isuzu p/u on a hard 1200 mile trip to the inlaws in az.

it wouldn't tighten them much, but it (rough idle) was always cured with a valve adjust when i got home. aluminum heads are suseptable to valves beating the seats in... not sure about type IV, i think they just fall out

oh yeah, check the valve stem height across them with a straight edge.

mike

I would not worry about a problem yet, right now all that can be said is they were not in spec for whatever reason, adjusted warm as you stated ect.. every 3000 miles, .008/.006 exhaust/intake...

Hmmm .... well John, if this turns out to be the need for a new motor overhaul, might I suggest that you have McMark do a Raby 2056 on it & it'll give you 110-115 hp on the D-jet (125 IIRC on carbs, but IMHO keep the EFI as stock).

I am considering things, Tom. Thanks!

I will have a go at the tranny at the same time, so it may be a winter project to get it all done and paid for.

Not sure what I want to do yet. I doubt I will do things separately, so maybe 7500 is the deal.

That is a lot in this economy, but for me, business is better in 2010 than in 2006.

Strange.

Thanks!

John

This can and does happen on a 914. I had a exhaust valve do this on a 2.0 engine. Didn't figure it out for a week. Kept readjusting the valve. Finally pulled the exhaust and I could see the metal mushroomed out around the valve seat. It was a very old head with lots of miles on it. Not repairable.

Just had it show up again. Travis Howard's 914(thoward914) lost power and compression from one cylinder. He was smart and stopped it immediately. Turns out that one of the intake valves was sunk in and not sealing, and the other 3 were on their way. Lyle Cherry (VW Machinist Extrordinare) says it could be two things... 1. Overreving the motor, but that wasn't the case with Travis' car( MSD with 5800RPM pill), or too heavy of aftermarket springs. Travis' car has some really stout springs on it, which Lyle says aren't needed with a stock FI, as the engine won't flow enough air to turn fast enough to float the valves with stock springs.

I would suggest checking the valves again after a week and see if they tighten up.

I will do this, Clay. I will start it, get it warm, shut it off, then check.

It may not be critical yet, but it would suck to have to buy a new set of heads or something.

Just cannot figure out the sound. Nothing like a piston slap. Know that one. Might be a sinking valve guide.

Only happens when the engine is warm. Thought it was an exhaust issue, but no leaks that I can find.

My ass is draggin from laying on the garage floor under jackposts for 3 hours on Saturday.

I put dents in my head, and both my arms feel like I fought in a boxing ring.

Thanks!

John