Tmistry

Hello,

Are there any obvious signs that a valve adjustment is required? I have a 90, c2. Runs amazingly strong and is a pure joy. I have 95k on it and its new to me. Records don't indicate the last adjustment, so I'm interested to know when I should do this.

Thanks!

Vandit

Every 15k miles. Your car is probably due.

Tmistry

Is there danger in not doing the adjustment? Is there a physical symptom that presents itself, indicating adjustment is needed?

I don't want to do unneeded maintenance and have a mechanic potentially do harm when it's unneeded.

Any thoughts are welcome?

911Jetta

+1

Probably not at this point. Since you recently got it; it probably sounded OK during a PPI.

Loose, clanking valve noises. A mechanic can hear it right away. What I would be more concerned with is, tight valves. You can't hear that.

Don't take your car to anyone who you would think could harm your car. Period.
You've got to have a high level of confidence in your mech., or find another one. Too much can go wrong, and everyone hates the blame game.

I know it's much easier to feel like you are getting your "money's worth" if hear tons of noise and everything needs adjustment... I'd be happier if everything looks great during a big service.

My mechanic recently did my valves and said he only had to do a slight adjustment to two valves. Everything else looked great, and no tight valves (=;>). I was happy knowing that the engine was holding it's tune so well, as I had over 5+ track days and lots of spirited driving since my last adjustment.

Makes me feel good knowing my engine is ready for the next 15,000, high-reving miles!

Rocket Rob

Is there a danger? Yes. If the valve clearance gets too small (tight) then the valve may not close fully and you run the risk of overheating (burning) the valve. My recommendation is to follow the maintenance interval of 15K miles.

xeps

I would expect the chance of a mechanic doing harm via valve adjustment to be very low. Many rennlisters (myself included) have done the job themselves without issue.

With no history of when they were last done, I would plan to get them adjusted at next oil change and either do the procedure yourself or take it to a reputable shop to do the work.

springer3

OK, but I would put "reputable" before "mechanic". There are terrible things that can go wrong from neglect or mis-adjustment.