all of my valves seem to be way too short. what gives?

[Master ACiD]

been messing with the cylinder head off my engine. the valves spec out ok on their length, but when installed on the head the clearence beteen the lifter and the cam is way too excessive. i have a 3.85mm shim installed and i still have almost half a MM of clearence. whats up with that? could this be a hydraulic head that someone installed solid lifters in or somthing crazy like that?

[vwmike]

On the front of the head there should be a big oil drain in the middle and if it's a hydraulic lifter head then it will have an additional oil return on the front of the head but closer to the timing belt. It's not as big as the center one, but still sizeable.

[Master ACiD]

i think i ahve it figured out. i didnt realise you could get shims up to 4.25mm. do they go higher than 4.25mm?

after checking my valves twice i came to the conclusion i need some shims.

where do i get shims from though? i called my vw dealer and they said "we dont service those old things". none of the auto parts stores carry them either.

the clearences are not THAT bad, but not that great either. in some lifters im .25mm out of spec....

[vwmike]

They should be able to get them for you - the part numbers start at 056 109 555 for the 3mm thickness and run to 056 109 580 for the 4.25mm thickness. The downside is they'll probably want about $15 each. Otherwise, try vwdieselparts.com.

[Master ACiD]

thanks man.

[QuickTD]

Did this engine lose its timing belt? If so I'd guess that some or all of the valves got "shortened" by piston contact. Not unusual to bend at least 4 when a timing belt breaks. Check the valves carefully for bending by rolling the stems on a flat smooth surface.

[fatmobile]

Welcome to the forum.
 Please put your location in your profile.
 If you are near Chicago I can send you to a place that has them for cheap.