Cary's Garage: VW Valve Adjustment

by Cary Hubbard

Published: November 21st, 2022

Cary,

I have a 1981 VW Caddy with a 1984 turbo Jetta engine and trans. I rebuilt it 20,000 miles ago. Do I need to adjust the valves? If you could give me some tips, I would appreciate it.

Thanks, Brian

Editor's Note: This is running a bit late thanks to the LA Auto Show madness last week.

Greetings Brian,

Thank you for sending in your question about your Volkswagen Pickup! Those are amazing little vehicles that really are multipurpose. Many years ago, I had a 1982 with the NA 1.6-liter diesel engine and have messed around with my fair share of these over the years, so thankfully I have some decent experience to be able to pull from for this one.

As with any engine that has been apart and rebuilt it is a good idea to keep an eye on things such as torque and lashes on items that you can check. I do remember that on the 85-86 they had a sticker in the engine bay that said to adjust the valves every 15K miles. From my personal experience and other people that I know in the VW diesel world, some of them have never had to adjust their valves over 100k+ miles, but always something to check.

My suggestion to you would be at that many miles since the rebuild it would be a great idea to pull the valve cover and at least check the valve clearance and see if it is within spec still.

On that engine it is best to check with the engine warm, the coolant temp should be at least 35C (95F), and with the engine warm the Valve Clearance should be:

Intake 0.20-0.30 mm (.008-.012 in)

Exhaust 0.40-.050 mm (.016-.020 in)

All this information is from a Bentley's manual that I have sitting on my shelf.

Best of luck with that one and again thank you!

Please email me at Carysgarage@gmail.com with any questions you might have!

[Image: CEPTAP/Shutterstock.com]

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Cary Hubbard

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2 comments

Lou_BC on Nov 21, 2022

Wow. Rare and cool little truck.

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FreedMike on Nov 21, 2022

On the subject of VWs, I'd suggest the next chapter be head gasket / water pump repair on the E888 motor. PLENTY of them to do...

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