About a month ago I had a 1776 eng. put in my 72 S/B, at around 350 miles I start hearing a clicking sound like a loose adj. on one of the valves, it has a 6 mo. or 6000 mile warranty, I took it back and the builder replaced some of the rocker arms and adj. the valves, about a hundred miles the same clicking, took it back, the builder said it sounds like all the rest of the VW bugs.
The car run's great, lots of power, and idles great also, I adj. the valves and found them to be a tight .006, I was afraid to go any tighter, the only time I can really hear it is when it's at idle and I have the window down or standing at the back of the car, will this damage the eng ?....any advice ?...BTW I'm using 10W40 which I used in the other eng. for 13 years, the builder told me to use 20W50....would that make any difference ? Thanks.
clicking noise
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Marc
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Re: clicking noise
Can't be 100% certain of the source of your noise from this distance, but other than you not noticing it until 350 miles it does fit one classic scenario.
Used rockerarms will develop a "bump" on the side facing the rockershaft stands (it corresponds to the slot in the stand - actually it's the rest of the rocker which has worn down over time, the bump is the non-worn spot). Any time the operating range of the rocker is changed, the bump no longer rides in the slot. Eventually it'll wear in and the noise will diminish, but only after the offending spot has turned into dust running through your oil. If you have a full-flow filter you could probably rationalize a wait-and-see outlook, but if not I'd recommend doing something proactive.
The stock valve lash spec was changed from .004" to .006" to add a safety margin - US drivers weren't accustomed to needing to do regular valve adjustments and too many engines were experiencing failures due to neglect. The primary problem was tight exhaust valves which wouldn't spend enough time on their seats to transfer heat into the head and were literally melting; there was never any intake-valve-related reason for increasing the spec by 50%. If you're certain that you'll always adjust your valves every 3000 miles, it's safe to use the old .004" spec.
Personally I set the intakes at .004" and the exhausts at .006"; more often than not the intakes will loosen and the exhausts will tighten, so even if I skip an adjustment they still aren't too badly out by the next time.
Since you didn't say anything about any non-stock valvetrain components I'm assuming they're all as-original; if steel or CrMo pushrods were used, those don't expand with the rest of the engine like the stock aluminum ones do so it's common to set them even tighter when cold, somewhere between zero and .002".
The recommended oil viscosity depends upon ambient temperature (among other things) so this time of year is when I switch over from the 20W-50 I run for freeway trips in the summer to a 15W-40, 10W-40, or lighter depending upon the local climate and what the car's usage will be during the winter...so you're probably fine...but going against your engine builder's recommendation gives him an awfully convenient way to weasel out of any warranty coverage. At least as important as the viscosity is the "ZDDP" package, was any mention made of what brands of oil he considers acceptable? Very few oils these days still contain sufficient scuff protection for flat-tappet engines, and that's particularly important during the initial break-in period.
Used rockerarms will develop a "bump" on the side facing the rockershaft stands (it corresponds to the slot in the stand - actually it's the rest of the rocker which has worn down over time, the bump is the non-worn spot). Any time the operating range of the rocker is changed, the bump no longer rides in the slot. Eventually it'll wear in and the noise will diminish, but only after the offending spot has turned into dust running through your oil. If you have a full-flow filter you could probably rationalize a wait-and-see outlook, but if not I'd recommend doing something proactive.
The stock valve lash spec was changed from .004" to .006" to add a safety margin - US drivers weren't accustomed to needing to do regular valve adjustments and too many engines were experiencing failures due to neglect. The primary problem was tight exhaust valves which wouldn't spend enough time on their seats to transfer heat into the head and were literally melting; there was never any intake-valve-related reason for increasing the spec by 50%. If you're certain that you'll always adjust your valves every 3000 miles, it's safe to use the old .004" spec.
Personally I set the intakes at .004" and the exhausts at .006"; more often than not the intakes will loosen and the exhausts will tighten, so even if I skip an adjustment they still aren't too badly out by the next time.
Since you didn't say anything about any non-stock valvetrain components I'm assuming they're all as-original; if steel or CrMo pushrods were used, those don't expand with the rest of the engine like the stock aluminum ones do so it's common to set them even tighter when cold, somewhere between zero and .002".
The recommended oil viscosity depends upon ambient temperature (among other things) so this time of year is when I switch over from the 20W-50 I run for freeway trips in the summer to a 15W-40, 10W-40, or lighter depending upon the local climate and what the car's usage will be during the winter...so you're probably fine...but going against your engine builder's recommendation gives him an awfully convenient way to weasel out of any warranty coverage. At least as important as the viscosity is the "ZDDP" package, was any mention made of what brands of oil he considers acceptable? Very few oils these days still contain sufficient scuff protection for flat-tappet engines, and that's particularly important during the initial break-in period.
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lboos
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- Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 3:59 pm
Re: clicking noise
I got a little over 500 miles on the eng. now, the bug has been running great except for the clicking sound, today I was driving in town and as I let off the gas pedal to slow down the eng. just quit, I started it again and seemed ok, it had never done that before, I stopped to eat, 1 hr later I got back in the car and in about 200 ft. the eng. quit again and this time it would not start, at 1st I thought it was the battery, you could hear it click but not turn over the eng. I went back to the eng. and could not turn it over by hand using the pulley, I'm sure the eng. is locked up, I have it on a trailer now waiting on Monday to take it back to the builder, any ideas or comments ? Thanks
Last edited by lboos on Sun Nov 16, 2014 4:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Leatherneck
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Re: clicking noise
What was your oil pressure before it quit?
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lboos
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 3:59 pm
Re: clicking noise
I don't have a oil press gauge but the oil press light never came on until the eng. quit, and the eng. was not making any noise except for the clicking I mentioned, and the eng. was not running hotter then normal, and had good power until it just stopped.Leatherneck wrote:What was your oil pressure before it quit?