GregBBRD

Can't hurt. Unless she hits you.

GregBBRD

Yup, those are the ones that have "issues".

I'm thrilled when I can get 75% of them to pass testing....I've had that "number" fall below 50%, at times.

Maybe you can sell my rejects?

Right now, I throw them in a box and smile....or just toss them directly into the trash can....thinking about how much I need to charge for the good ones to compensate for the bad ones.

What can one expect for $10-$20? And they have to be shipped from either Brazil or Germany, depending on how you order them!

You are making money, the guy that sells them to you is making money, and the guy that buys them from the manufacturer is making money. The people that ship them have to make money....hell, the people that make the container they come in have to make money. What's that make the production cost? $2.00 each for the Brazilian ones....$3.50 each for the German ones? Less than that?

Can one seriously expect high quality pieces of steel for that kind of money?

Well, you can, but you need to be prepared to throw a certain percentage of them away....which I do.

Fogey1

Greg,

What is your testing procedure for the lifters?

And do you run _every_ new lifter, regardless of source, through the same regimen?

I heart the depth of expert knowledge on this forum, even when the experts disagree.

And, Jeff, your wife will kill you if you use lapping compound on polished marble. That's what 1'x1' chunks of plate glass are for.

I once bought a couple of machine shop grade flat granite slabs. The testing paperwork that came with them in their custom wooden crates looked like one of those peripheral-vision-tester graphs you get at the eye doc. But you could see the surface didn't vary by more than .0001", iirc. (which is why they were cheap, that's grade B.)

Glenn M

What causes the lifters to leak down, I have this issue on the 87.

If taken apart and cleaned will this fix it? 70K miles on the motor.

Thanks

blown 87

I am pretty sure that the lifters on a 928 are flat, no crown, unlike many other lifters where the cam lobe is flat.

The reason I bring this up is do not try lapping lifters on a American V8, it will not work out well for you.

I personally would not worry much bout it IF the lifters on a 928 got mixed up, but I still mark and bag each one.

With most flat tappet cams the risk is lowest with used lifters and used cams, second lowest is new cam and new lifters, almost a promise to fail is a new cam and used lifters IIRC.

Mike S or Greg B know far more about this than I do, so listen to them first.

blown 87

You guys are going to think this is morbid, but a tombstone is a cheap, solid, flat plate.

jeff spahn

Well I can tell you for sure there are two guys named Greg on here that I listen to.

jeff spahn

True. I should clarify that I meant to use the glass on the counter. then lapping compound on the glass. I think I'll just leave well enough alone and not touch them.

blown 87

Do all the Porsche lifters come apart?

GregBBRD

No, I don't think the early lifters (same as the 944 lifters) come apart.

All of the 32 valve lifters come apart...some are tougher than others.

GregBBRD

It actually takes a fair amount of running to get the lifters to "pump up". It's very common for these engines to have lifter noise, if started and moved for a few days in a row...without running the engine until it gets warm.

So, if this is what is happening, just ignore it or try to run the engine for longer periods of time.

If you experience this problem after running the engine until it gets hot and then letting it set overnight, then you have a "lifter issue".

The first thing to try is adding a bottle of Swebco 502...which is generally a miracle for these lifters. I'm not a "big" fan of additives....as a matter of fact, I'm against almost everything...but this stuff will sometimes "cure" a 928/944 lifter problem in a matter of minutes.

GregBBRD

No, I install the "real" lifters that are made specifically for the 928 model directly.

Each of the "cheaper" VW "lightweight" lifters get completely disassembled, measured, and then "tested" to see if they qualify to be used or are rejected as scrap. The "testing" is pretty involved and changes them in an obvious enough way that they can not be re-assembled and returned.

That's about all I want to say on the subject. There's too many "ears" on this forum, and some things need to be kept proprietary.

slate blue

If an engine has had some sort of blow up, debris will be in the lifters. Also I have my lifters super finished when fitting a new cam, it is around $10 per lifter and you get a better than new surface.

jeff spahn

But how are we supposed to learn your secrets if you won't tell us them. Where is your sense of community, of socialism. It's not fair that you spent all that time learning special things and then won't give it away for free. Obama would be ashamed of you. It is obvious you have never worked as a social worker giving away other people's stuff.

ROG100

Very interesting statement about the VW lifters.
Dozens of customers using them - I have them in my own cars - no issues - no problems - no returns.
Talked to all three wholesalers and no returns or issues.
VW forum reports no issues that I can find.

Yet 50% that you use Greg are scrap - surely we would all see that level of high failure reported everywhere. I drive my GTS very very hard - surley one of the lifters would have blown up by now with a 50% failure rate - there are 32 of them after all.

Very puzzled by the facts. Always a believer but need substantiation to stop selling them.