[T3] type3-vwtype3.org Digest, Vol 44, Issue 25

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Wed May 21 06:20:53 PDT 2014


On 21 May 2014 at 2:15, Fiesta Cranberry wrote:

> We used Febi lifters, German made. Lloyd said he can see them thru the sump
> hole, and they are OK.  We used as many German made parts as we could.

The lifters that failed on me were also German. They came wrapped in 
brown corrugated cardboard with a stamped notation "Made in W. 
Germany." They are known substandard parts. I do not recall seeing 
any brand markings on the package. I don't have much Febi experience, 
but what I have was poor. According to Berg, many years ago (so this 
could be different today) the only sources for good lifters are OEM 
VW (which could be Brazilian or Mexican) or the Brazilian ones 
marketed by T?? (sorry, can't remember the 3-letter brand this 
morning.) The T?? lifters are 3-piece parts that look the same on the 
outside but have a separate insert inside with a snap ring to hold it 
in place. They work the same, but are not recommended for hi-rev 
applications because sometimes the little snap rings work their way 
out and can actually weave their way thru the oil strainer and get 
caught up in the oil pump gears.

Someone help me with the T?? brand. I'm just drawing a blank on this 
30 year old memory this morning. All I can think of is TDC....

I suspect that the wear you've had here is too little to notice by 
looking thru the sump hole.

For the record, I've always just reused my broken in OE camshafts. 
They may be worn a bit, but they have already been broken in and 
don't fail like this. I generally replace the lifters with new ones 
that I buy from Gene Berg.

It's certainly possible that the problem is with the camshaft, but 
the distinction is moot since you have to crack the case to get to 
either of them. The problem is likely due to improper mating at the 
interface between the camshaft and lifter, and could be caused or 
made worse by the lack of ZDDP in the oil.

ZDDP is an oil additive that is important for engines that have cams 
using flat lifters like ours, but ZDDP has been phased out of modern 
oils since it poisons catalytic converters. You can buy additives, or 
I buy Diesel (C-rated) oil that is also marked with an earlier S 
rating.

This lubrication is most important during the break-in of the cam and 
lifter, as this is when the 2 surfaces are either going to work 
harden and survive, or start to wear down. It's probably very 
important with a refurbished cam.

I'm afraid longer pushrods won't solve anything in your case; they 
only clear up the symptom. Longer or shorter pushrods are used to get 
the valve train back to the correct geometry when the heads have been 
moved in or out due to flycutting the combustion chamber or changing 
the crank to a longer stroke.  

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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