It's not really a ball, the adjuster 'balls' have a flat spot on them that contacts the stem, the contact area looks to be about the same size as the diameter of the stem. Its a flat surface contacting a flat surface. There is no damage to either of these two contact areas. The damage is further from the end of the stem, maybe a mm or two in from the end. At that point the diameter of the stem is less than 1/2 that of the rest of the stem. In profile it would look like a T. I don't know what the rest of the stem looks like as I couldn't get the keepers to come out, they don't move when I push the retainer towards the head, or when I pull it away from the head. (the valve is kept in place by the compressed air).
I pulled the engine and began dismantling so I can remove the heads, but my front exhaust nuts are rusted beyond all get out and I can't get the heat exchangers off. I'm soaking in liquid wrench and will try heat and pounding. Most likely I'll have to resort to grinding them off then extracting the broken studs. That's what usually happens anyway. New York winters aren't any kinder than Michigan winters. I shoulda moved somewhere warmer. Dean On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 6:59 PM, Chuck Kuecker <[email protected]> wrote: > The point contact of the ball might have aggravated a soft valve stem. > Take a close look at the others - might be a lot problem. > > Chuck Kuecker > > > On 3/31/2013 10:16 AM, Dean Johnson wrote: > > Yes, a lucky catch. I still had plenty of thread on the adjusters and > didn't notice that valve being excessively loose the last time I adjusted > the valves. But perhaps I didn't adjust them as often as I should have. > Still, I don't think I had to turn it in any more than the others the last > time I adjusted it and that couldn't have been too long ago. I had swapped > my dual carbs out for a single carb sometime a few months before it died on > me and I'm sure I adjusted the valves then. I was driving all through the > New York winter, 70 miles a day up to 65 mph. Which explains the transaxle > failure. > > There are no caps between the adjusters and the valve stems. The flat area > of the ball contacts the stem directly. > > > On Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 9:10 AM, Chuck Kuecker <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Tried the link again, got through. Looks like the end of the valve was >> not hardened correctly, and just got eroded away. A little longer and the >> keepers would have nothing to keep them in place except friction. A lucky >> catch! >> >> I can't imagine that happening quickly. Did you notice that intake >> valve's lash getting loose on every check and just reset it? That adjuster >> would have run out of threads pretty soon. >> >> Chuck Kuecker >> >> >> On 3/30/2013 9:14 PM, bill may wrote: >> >> Do you have the adjusters going direct onto valve stem? Or are there >> caps between valve and the ball foot adjusters? >> >> >> >> > -- > Visit the VintagVW archives at > http://mail-archive.com/[email protected] > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2012.0.2240 / Virus Database: 2641/5719 - Release Date: 04/01/13 > > -- > Visit the VintagVW archives at > http://mail-archive.com/[email protected] > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw?hl=en. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- Visit the VintagVW archives at http://mail-archive.com/[email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VintagVW - Air Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintagvw?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
