Shimmed lifters on MK2 GTI

I am after some advice in regards to the lifters in my GTI. When driving along the cam is ticking so loud that i thought the lifters had gone so i brought some hydraulic ones.


Came to fit them last week to find that they were shimmed buckets!


Can iconvert them to run on hydraulic lifters or do i need a different head as the Kent cam i have is also for the hydraulic type and that doesnt fit the shimmed buckets as there is about a 5mm clearence between the lobe and shim at TDC!


Lastly how often do the shim type need re-doing as there is a big clearence between the cam and the shim at TDC.


Cheers Mike
Edited by: TurboCavGsi

 

As far as I recall the Mk2 should all have hydraulic lifters. Might be worth checking the engine code for reference. You cant comvert it to hydraulics without swapping the head I beleive. As you probably know by now, the hydraulic heads are easy spotted though, they have a 'missing' cam bearing and an oil squirter in its place, mechanical heads have all the bearings.

 

It is an early Mk2 1986 it that makes any difference, i did notice on the first Mk2 i had the cam cap was missing and i thought that it was broken


So got hold of another head and that was the same, you live and learn.

 

Early K-Jet heads were solid shim rather than hydraulic.



Later K-Jet and subsequent Digifant heads were hydraulic.



As far as I am aware, the heads are diffferent and therefore you will
need a hydraulic head to use a hydraulic camshaft etc. (I stand
to be corrected! )

 

hmmm an early Mk2 8v will probably be an EV code engine. Should be hydraulics then unless someone has fitted shimmed lifters (dunno if you can do this but its very probable) or it has the wrong head. I dunno how much info you can get from the head casting numbers though. Anyone.... Bueller....

 

I tried to fit the hydraulic lifters as i also thought they might be inter-changable but they sit to high on top of the valve (they came higher than the cam runners!) so i did risk it and but it back together standard.


Out of all the parts i had to fit to it the only thing i could change was the cambelt as every thing was different even the tensioner.

 

Early 8v EV engines WERE solid lifters. Hydraulic lifters came in late 86 (i think)

 

were they, I probably figured that because my early EV was a hydraulic one (sounded like a bucket of spanners though)

 

Can you still buy the shims.

 

I'm having a similar prob at the mo, im trying to fit a shimmed tappet head onto a digifant engine that origonally had a hydralic tappet head.


I need to know what to do to make it work.


If anybody knows anything PM me.


I'll pm you if i find anything that may help your prob


Good luck

 

You do have a similar problem.I tried to fit the the hydraulic lifters into the head but there is no chance, the valves might be shorter in the late type head not sure, also the cam was a mile out but im not sure about the injectors?


Mike

 

Ive just been out and checked the cam to lifter clearance and they are all within tollerance if not slightly under, what i cant understand is why it sounds so tappy (as if it had knackerd hydraulic tappets in).


Does anyone know if it could be something else top end or are these just normally that bad?


Mike

 

Anyone?

 

Hey mate,


Heres some info i got off the engine boffin i got my pre '86 stageII from, i asked him for some info on hydraulic vs shimmed tappets,thought you might be interested to read it!


>>If head is and early VW head(1986). This means it has solid
>> lifters... whatever you do DON'T put hydaulic lifters in it as
>> they won't get the oil they need to operate. Solid lifters have
>> the advantage at higher rpm as they will not 'give way' like
>> hydraulic lifters. At higher rpm hydraulic lifters can lose the
>> oil pressure needed to keep the valve lash in tolerance, (valve
>> lash is distance between the cam lobe and top of the tappet).
The
>> advantage of the hydraulic lifter is that they don't need
setting
>> as they set themselves. That is the pain in the bottom with solid
>> lifters, you need to get them set. It's not hard, your haynes
>> manual will show you how to do it. If not your local garage will
>> do it for about fifty quid.


Hope this helps


Geordman

 

Cheers for that mate,


Everyone i have spoke to has said the same and also that the shimmed type can be quieter than the hydraulic type,but what i cant understand is why mine sounds so loud with the correct spacings in?


Mike