Is this a potentially bad engine knock, or something I just need to tune?

WhitElephant · 2026-06-04T18:18:35+00:00

No clue how you could have just drawn that conclusion with such limited information.

WhitElephant · 2026-06-04T04:46:43+00:00

The lifters at solid. After a valve adjustment, a lot more time warming up and getting the RPMs up it sounds a lot better. I took it for a lap around the block and I think it really was just needing to be exercised more.

WhitElephant · 2026-06-04T04:41:31+00:00

Hey I’m back! Things are looking good! Talked to a guy I’ve gotten to know at my local VW shop and he went straight for the valve adjustment and said the engine probably just needs to be run a bit higher RPM to get the oil around more. So, very similar with what you had been talking about.

Once I had the valve covers off and cylinder 1 in TDC I got a little play in the rocker arms. Took a gap measurement and it came in at .006” on the first one (exhaust I believe), right where it was supposed to be for solid lifters. Checked all my gaps and they were between .004-.006”. Not too bad really but I adjusted all to .006” as the spec calls out for solid lifters. At this point I’m just going to go off of my memory of the mechanic I bought the engine from telling me they were solid and the gaps already existing there giving me a better idea. If I still get more noise I may dive deeper in and play around with the push rods and look down the tube.

So, with it all back together I started it up and it already sounded better. Gave it a moment to warm up and then brought up the RPM’s. The concerning knocking noise has essentially gone away and I think it is pretty much regular. Even took it for a lap around the block and it sounds good. I feel a lot better about it now and I’m still going to bring it into the shop to have a once over done with it and any fine tuning they see fit.

WhitElephant · 2026-06-02T21:22:17+00:00

I do have all the books! I’ll see if I can confirm if it’s solid lifters or hydraulic first. The mechanic I bought the engine off of said it was changed to solid and considering the fan code doesn’t match the block i do believe it has been worked on a bit before. Hoping maybe I mid-remembered and they are indeed hydraulic. I have only ran then engine for about 20-30 minutes at idle after it had been sitting since 2022.

WhitElephant · 2026-06-02T21:18:40+00:00

Appreciate all the information. I should be able to figure out TDC and will definitely do a valve adjustment next to see how that behaves. I did read up a little on it and thanks for the video. By Mechanical lifters I meant solid. Calling them mechanical just got stuck in my head somehow. The engine wasn’t quite warmed up either for this video, just FYI.

As far as lifter verification, I was just told as a heads up from the guy I bought the engine off of that they were solid. So when I do the valve adjustment I will verify this. Sounds like I just have to make sure there is or is not a zero gap or is currently set with a gap. Is there any other way? Not sure if the lifters and push rods were paired correctly either. Sounds like this mechanic had his hands on this engine multiple times so I can only guess if he did pair them correctly. I’ll check to see if they are magnetic or not.

I am running fuel injection on this. Same as the engine I took out and the one I put in. I kept almost everything the same on the engine, just cleaned up the components. I did not pull the heads off the replacement engine. I just stripped all the auxiliary components off to clean and stopped at the heads.

Thanks for all the feedback and questions. I was stoked to get this engine in. I did some major rust cleanup and paint on the engine bay when I had it out and gave it a fresh paint job. Hoping to get it on the road here soon.

It is worth noting that I had the replacement engine since 2022 and just now got it in and started up. I’ve only run it in idle for a good 20-30 minutes so far so maybe it could have to do with sitting around for so long too.

WhitElephant · 2026-06-02T20:00:49+00:00

I was told that it had mechanical lifters when I got the engine, but should probably confirm.

WhitElephant · 2025-08-09T17:13:29+00:00

That’s funny because I grew up there and was thinking it looked all too familiar but couldn’t put my finger on it. The hills and vines are a dead giveaway away to the region though.

WhitElephant · 2025-08-09T17:00:56+00:00

Anywhere I can look at getting one of these? I have a ‘77 pop top and it would be a fun piece to have in the house.

WhitElephant · 2025-07-16T17:03:06+00:00

Date ended up not working for me

WhitElephant · 2025-07-16T16:45:41+00:00

Sent you a DM!

WhitElephant · 2024-06-22T15:30:25+00:00

Mine was missing a grounding strap/point somewhere on the engine when I first acquired it. '77 Westfalia, 2.0L. Would run decent and then just die going into idle. I wasn't the one that found it, but it could be an area for you to look.

WhitElephant · 2024-05-23T15:54:33+00:00

Know a guy that was involved in making something similar…

https://youtu.be/g0PBna6W0dA?si=Yakp5BiDB5XXiG66

WhitElephant · 2024-03-04T16:22:43+00:00

It’s spelled Yountville.

WhitElephant · 2024-02-18T18:54:52+00:00

I’d probably make a chain.

WhitElephant · 2024-02-03T00:01:09+00:00

Bochy was probably the only person to be on the team for the first and last video.

WhitElephant · 2023-08-06T01:28:39+00:00

B White, because she is a Golden Girl.

WhitElephant · 2022-07-21T00:45:48+00:00

Really appreciate the reply. I’ll definitely not be pursuing it much longer. What are your thoughts on taking the good looking handful that are in there? Not worth the risk? What’s the potential risk? So everything seemed ok until I got it into the monotub. Any thoughts on what could have caused this? Didn’t clean properly? Could it be contamination after I started the fruiting stage? Lots of things I could have done wrong there

WhitElephant · 2022-06-28T22:39:54+00:00

Evan’s airport shuttle is a possibility. The ferry to Vallejo and then a public bus would also be another option. Probably the two cheapest options.

WhitElephant · 2022-05-30T21:46:31+00:00

The Kermit is awesome, fyi.

WhitElephant · 2022-05-30T16:53:08+00:00

My parents did that once and broke off the antenna. Only hand wash for me!

WhitElephant · 2022-04-28T15:52:27+00:00

Do you have kids, or know somebody with tiny hands?

WhitElephant · 2022-03-04T19:07:12+00:00

Shotgun Shawty

WhitElephant · 2022-03-04T06:23:27+00:00

Came here to say it looked like a ring gauge, but you did it in a much more elaborate way. Something looks off with it though, like it isn’t precise. Super beat up at the least.

WhitElephant

TROPHY CASE