A problem with the cams

[stinkysGTI]

Over the weekend, I got the set of new cams in my car. I started it, and it's making a horrible noise. It sounds like it whapping on one or more if the lifters. I had 3 other people listen to it, and they think the same thing. The noise is definitely coming from under the valve cover.

So, what I was going to try was buying new lifters, and hope they seat to the new cams. I didn't rev it over 2400, and the only time I went that high was when I was trying to break them in. I held it there for 2 minutes like the manual said; so I'm really hoping the cams are still ok.

I didn't even bother trying to put the old ones back in because one of the guys I talked to rebuilds big blocks for boats and said the lifters are probably gonna be a little off from where they were now that they've been worked by the new cams.

I guess I'm just one of those rare cases where I should've replaced the lifters also. Everyone I had talked to that changed them out didn't replace them and was fine, so I wasn't worried about it.

Anyone have any suggestions on this? My only plan for now was to get the new lifters and install them with the new cams in it. Would that be a problem? It would really suck to do all this work and spend the money only to go back to where I was with my old cams to begin with.

[Mr_Diesel]

Are you sure that sound isn't the pistons hitting the valves? Get a wrench and turn the engine a couple times (clockwise) and see if you can feel any kind of "out of the ordinary" resistance. Whenever you do anything that involves the timing of the engine you should always turn the engine 360 degrees atleast a few revolutions to make sure there won't be any piston/valve contact.

Are those three other people reputable sources? It's hard to say what it is without hearing the noise, but if they say it's the lifters, then it probably is. First thing I would do is check to make sure the timing is EXACTLY where it is supposed to be. If the chain is off, by even one tooth, the results could be a disaster. Check the timing again... you have to remove the valve cover anyway.

Lucky for you, your engine is a 12V and not a 24V, which means lifter replacement shouldn't be too expensive. Perhaps you could try consulting the company you purchased the cams from... maybe make them a sound recording so they can give you an accurate diagnosis. Chances are they will know exactly what you should do next.

By "Big Blocks" I am assuming the boat guy works on American style V8's right? If that's the case he probably doesn't have a clue what's going on since his V8's don't even have lifters, but a 100 year old push rod design. Anyway, sorry man... :sad: That's truely the pits. It sucks when crap like that happens... Just don't get frustrated, make a proper repair and it will be sweet when you get it running good again.

[stinkysGTI]

I turned the crank over a couple of revolutions to get the engine to cycle while my dad watched to make sure nothing got jammed or anything like that. I didn't notice any out of the ordinary resistance, just the usual compression.

The Bentley manual was surprisingly confusing/un-useful when it came to the timing, but everything appeared to be lined up just fine. However, I'll definitely check it again. If it does turn out to be the timing, I guess I wouldn't be too surprised since that was the most confusing part and I used a bungee to keep tension on the chain so it wouldn't move. Then pulling from the lower sprocket side, ran the chain back on. Doing it that way, it didn't seem like the chain could move, and didn't seem to. We made sure the recesses on the cams were up and the engine was at TDC.

Yeah, the big block guy is an old timer, but he was saying he always changes lifters when he replaces cams to avoid things like this. So I assume he works on newer engines that have em. One of the other was the guy at the shop I got the cams from. He was surprised because he didn't change his lifters either and it worked fine [he also has a GTI, slightly older]. I had him listen to it over the phone and he said the same thing... lifters.

About the cost. I think they were 70 bucks and through the same guy, I can get free shipping and 10% off. At least that'll help ease the blow.

[Mr_Diesel]

That's a good deal for those lifters, man... when will you receive them? Keep us posted on the repair!

[stinkysGTI]

whew, I just got off the phone with a 2 hour conference call. The place I order from can get em to me by 2 days. That's great, cause I really need em by this weekend.

I had to leave my car at my parents' house and my dad called me a little bit ago. He had an interesting question regarding the timing...

When we had looked it up, the manual seemed to say to line up the recesses on the sprocket side, making sure they point upwards. However, were they really talking about the opposite side of the cams?? That side [crankshaft side] has indentions also that run all the way through the width of each cam.

Did I get them mixed up??

[stinkysGTI]

THE VERDICT :)

all that mess because the chain was off by 1 tooth on the sprockets. double damnit... but at least it's fine and no need to buy lifters at all.

so all in all, everything worked out and it turned out to be a stupid mistake. typical user error :)

[zukgod1]

Glad you got it figured out :)

Did it fire up?

Man I cant wait to hear my mk2 come alive!!

[Mr_Diesel]

THE VERDICT :)

all that mess because the chain was off by 1 tooth on the sprockets. double damnit... but at least it's fine and no need to buy lifters at all.

so all in all, everything worked out and it turned out to be a stupid mistake. typical user error :)

I knew it. I've done that many a times before... only with belts and not chains. Did you take it for a drive yet?

[stinkysGTI]

Well, whaddya know, when I went to start it... dead battery LOL

Got it started and vaarooom :twisted:

Runs just fine and hauls ass. No need to buy anything else either, so I'm really happy about the whole thing now.

Something I should've done and don't know why I didn't in the first place... make a mark on the chain and sprockets to line up when done. duh :)

[Mr_Diesel]

EXCELLENT! Get it dynoed now man. You should be able to get a few runs for like 50-100 bucks. Also, I'm curious to know which cams you did... brand/degrees?

[stinkysGTI]

I doubt I'd be able to get a few runs for that much out here in San Diego. I'm just assuming though since everything's expensive out here unless you know someone, unfortunately. I'll look into it though and let you know what the going rate is here.

I got some Autotech 262's - $270 [discounted 10%]
I wanted to go more aggressive and get the 268, but I also wanted it to still run normal and not have a rough idle. It was really tempting though :)

[stinkysGTI]

I found one that was 50 bucks for 2 pulls, BUT it was because they were doing an event on the 19th; the regular is $104 from the same place :( However, I did find this one:

Power Verification - 2 pulls w/ printouts. horsepower and torque with air/fuel
Walk-in = $95

Slightly cheaper, still more than I'd like to pay :D but I'm really curious what it's at now.


Hey Diesel, maybe you'll know this. I was told to get my ECU reflashed for the new cams. Is that true? Would it use them more efficiently and produce slightly more HP or something?

I tried googling it, but I guess I'm not using the right terms :?