1600 air cooled valve clearances

[bobbybrown]

Hi all,
Can anyone confirm what the valve clearances should be?
Power was down again yesterday on the first drive for a year so I would like to double check the clearances before fiddling with the fuel regulator again!

Cheers,
Dan

[wizrod]

6 thou (0.006") is the official VW figure.

[bobbybrown]

Thanks Paul I thought it was but wasn't sure

[wizrod]

They say that you can run a 4 thou gap, or even smaller, if you keep an eye on then regularly & often. The VW figure assumes that they will be ignored for extended periods, so added in some extra leeway.

Basically, the valves stretch over time, especially in hot environments and/or if the engine is thrashed. The larger the gap, the longer you can go between checks/adjustment, but the more valve train noise you will get (and loss of valve lift, too).