i have the noisy tapping sound in my engine that (have been told by someone) means my tappets need adjusting. how do i do this? can i do this by myself? what are they?:alien

mmmm tapets, they are things that go tap!!!!


well take the rocker (or tapet cover!!!)off. The push rods push the rockers which then push the valve. there is a slot and a nut on the valve side which adjuts the clearance between the rocker and valve, which needs to set at a gap. undo the lock nut then adjust the tappet, then retighten the lock nut. I sugest you get some vw manuals, or mabye john muirs book. I have 4 different manuals for my car and john muirs and they are of great help.

gap depends on model also try a search for valve clearance or rocker clearance or tappet clearance there was a post only a few days ago.

and we will forgive you, you are young :P

[Edited on 17-6-2004 by BiX]

ok i have the john muirs book so i will consult it tomororow morning and perhaps give it a go

thanks drew

Muirs book is fantastic for this and for anyone new in the engine bay! Follow it and don't start thinking till you've done it a few times without mishap

so when i take the rocker cover off will i need a new gasget for when i put it back on?

you could get away with not replacing it, if the current one is new, but yes you may need one.

well the motor was rebuilt not long ago i will have to see what condition it is in i suppose....thanks drew i think ill have a go at this on saturday arvo thats prolly the soonest i can do it without work commitment in the afternoon or something....ive read the muirs explanation and i think i understand it all pretty well and ive got feeler guages so ill give it a shot

go the vw shop and but about 10 tappet cover gaskets, get a spare fan belt and a throttle cable. just all the little spares that are good to have on the car or at home. and while your at it get a few sump gasket kits. its always the sunday arvo that you do an oil change and u have no gaskets

i need to drive my car to work today and then to peachester tomororow where my girlfreinds dad (mechanic) can have a look at it...........im not going to bend a push rod or something am i? please tell me im not

John muir book is great I just used it to learn to time my fastie and to adjust the valves.So now my new motor is all ready to go in sunday week
Who said you can not teach an old dog new tricks

[Edited on 18-6-04 by Midlife crisis]

nope!!!!! its very simple and easy. I reackon ur gf could do it!!!!

Yeah mate, tappets is a piece of piss. I got muir's book, and a few days later I was on me back under the bus pokin' and scrubbin' 'n' stuff!

Seriously, it's pretty easy. Although I reckon I stuffed it up (I'm used to that). Near cyl 3 there's now a really noisy tapping that wasn't there before. I hope it's a valve that I did wrong: it won't take long to set aright then. If it's INSIDE the heads/cylinder, then I'm in trouble.

I took off and cleaned the carbies today - another first for me (and these carbies I reckon, by their state!) My hands now smell like fuel and latex, really quite horrid - and yes, I used soap afterwards, for about 10 minutes, that didn't work, so I moved up to clothes washing powder (OMO!) that normally cleans ANYTHING. Still latexfuelly. Oh well, better than carcinogenifying my hands hey? The engine seems to run a little better now, but still quite rough. Sigh... How can I help you, I ask her, but she just misses and rumbles and tells me (in her own way) that I don't take care of her ( I do try ).

Um, not sure what I'm on about really, sorry guys. 'n' gals too, oops. I guess I'm bored. Ya get that.

Aurel

its not that i couldnt do it i dont have the time untill the weekend and im going to be there n e way so A TRAINED MECHANIC may as well look at it lol......oh and i looked at my feeler guages and i dont have a 006 :cry soooo....saturday it is:bounce

well you don't get 0.006, mabye add some up, eg 0.003+0.002+0.001=0.006?

get eirrinn to sing to you whilst driving. You young luvbirds... her sweet songs of admiration ( or kinky hate??) will drown out the tappets.... you will forget all about them.... till she asks for a float tow..........

peace lurve and mung beans! ciao from the big $2..lol

Yes I know where they are, no I don't adjust them as mine has hydraulic lifters.

Mike

Yes, You will need a few packets of oil change gaskets etc
very cheap...
andl tappet cover gaskets... its always best to replace them to make sure they don't leak oil... although if they are not leaking now... You could reuse them and just replace them when they leak... MY Son replaces His tappet cover gaskets every time He does the tappets and they leak ALL the time....
If You aren't sure with 006" You can do them .008" and if they are a little tight.. it won't matter.. I know a fellow with 2 beetles and He always does them to .008" just to be on the safe side... {Tight Tappets are a worry} ...

Lee .. 10C all day...