I just bought a '68 Bug for my daughter. Chilton's manual says the valve clearance is 0.004. Everyone else and their grandmother says the clearance should be 0.006. It runs terrible at 0.006; beautifully at 0.004...points and timing is correct. What's the story? Thank you in advance for and information..
Fran
Roseburg, Orego
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is 0.004. Everyone else and their grandmother says the clearance should be 0.006.
It runs terrible at 0.006; beautifully at 0.004...points and timing is correct. What's the story? Thank you in advance for and information...
Listen to Grandma.
.006" is correct for that engine. Don't rely too much on Chilton.
Setting to .006 shouldn't make it run poorly. I think something else is going on here.
Can you post back exactly what "runs terrible" means? Idles poorly? Won't take off from light? Poor accel on hiway?
Speedy Jim
Frank,
I run my engine at .004 but I change the oil(and check the valve clearance) every 1,000 miles. If you are good about changing your oil and staying on top of the maintenance requirements, .004 will be okay. I think the main reason VW went to .006 was the fact that a number of owners did not maintain their vehicles and let the valves go to the point that one got tight and burned. .006 will be a little noisier(in my experience) but I have never observed a performance hit when running at the larger gap.
"It runs terrible at .006" is a little vauge. What exactly happens?
Chris
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