911 Valve adjusters

[BKOMAR]

I had heard at some time in the past that I could put the swivel type adjusters on my rocker arms. I have a 73 2.0 in my 75 and it has the "small screws" Is this an "upgrade" that is worth it? What is the benefits of these screws? Just by their nature...it would seem that they would be "weaker" because of the narrowed portion of the screw where the swivel is. I have already had one of the tips break off of one of the adjusting screws and it wasnt real confidence building... I plan on pulling the engine and doing a few maintenance items...and want to hear your input...as this would be a perfect time to switch over.
Thanks, Brian

[SteveStromberg]

I use them on All my motors, The area of contact is so much larger that stem tip wear is reduced , Steve

[BKOMAR]

With the swivel adjusters...is there ALWAYS contact with the valve? My thinking is that when the valve is at "rest" the swivel is angled and the edge would rest on the valve...does this make for a less noisy valve train? Am i on the wrong track? B

[kuch]

From what I read on the web, the 911 adjusters are supposed to make the engine "really quiet", and reduce wear. I have read that the push rods must be cut down as part of the conversion. I am going to install them on my 914 this month.

[Joe Ricard]

And experience. I believe I have the 911 adjusters which are pretty beefy and much longer. P.O. had put washers under the rocker arm mounts. Also noticed that the valve covers had major ding marks from the longer adjusters. Quite sure this is wrong. how wpuld one cut down a push rod? Have access to a lathe will one of the ends pull out?

[SteveStromberg]

I use 911 and My NOS Big Foot adjusters. The 911 are longer and have a slot for screwdriver to adjust. The Bigfoot are shorter and use an Allen wrench to adjust. In a 914 there is little room to get a screwdriver in to adjust the screw, the Bigfoot makes adjusting much easzier. With the 911 screws I dimple the cover to keep the screw so that they dont hit.Steve

[philinjax]

On the 73 914, and earlier, the valve adjusters are smaller and I think the rocker arms are lighter than the later models. I any case, I have used the swivel foot adjusters on my last two cars and they work beautifully. If you have the smaller stock adjusters, you can buy the swivel feet made for the VW bug, cost about 25.00-35.00 bucks a set. The sets come with a selection of rocker arm spacers in order to set the rocker arm geometry and the adjusters are short enough so that it isn't necessary to change any other parts. I beat the hell out of my cars on the street and autox, never had a problem with the swivel feet.
I is necessary to prelube swivel feet before initial installation, otherwise, they will fail in very short order (That's what the instructions say).
Phil

[BKOMAR]

That is what I was hoping to hear...I have the smaller adjusters...and I was hoping to not have to change the pushrods. Steve...have you had to change the pushrods? Or do you just add the new adjusters? Brian

[Bleyseng]

I tried those bug swivel adjusters and prelubed em and they still failed in short order! I run only 911 swivel adjusters now.
To install you need to grind off about an 1/8th of an inch of the rocker arm. This is on the side facing the valve. Then drill into the rocker with a fairly large drill bit (3/8ths) to radius the rocker for the swivel adjuster.
I had to shim the rocker arm stands with the thinnest shim. Be sure to trim the shims so they don't rub on the rocker arms as the shims are too big for a type 4.
While you are at it switch to the late bus solid spacers too. Get rid of those spring spacers on the rocker shafts.
You don't have to cut the pushrods at all.
All in all it's still a pain to adjust the valves but they seem to stay in adjustment alot longer than with the stock ones. Plus you never see a mushrooms valve end using the swivelfeet.
Geoff

[retro74]

This has been high on my list of reliability enhancements for a long time. Jake notes that the 911 adjusters can stretch the adjustment interval a bit longer than every 3000 miles and he says they are quiet.

I have a 1974 2.0L. I don't know anything about swivel feet adjusters or machining stuff down. German stock adjusters are noted to be strong and reliable. Existing push rods are mated to the cam from wer-in and they must be kept in order if machined. So...

Any advice on doing this with the shorter swivel feet adjusters or the 911 modifications? Can anyone describe the process or pros and cons of each for reliability? What is required for the machining? What is required to get the 911 adjusters in place?

Thanks
Joe

[Ron Meier]

haven't looked at a pushrod for VW in a while, but most have ends that are pressed in a tube.

On our race car, we measured the excess length of the pushrod with the adjuster in the rocker (set at mid thread), then chucked it up and with a cutting tool, cut behind the button tip (carefully), removing the desired amount (length) and then smacked it on the table to reseat the button = shortened pushrod.

The tip is a rounded head with a shaft protruding into the hollow shaft (about 0.250"). We never pulled the tip from the pushrod.

You just have to be careful as I don't know the pushrod tube wall thickness.

[kuch]

How much did you cut off the length of the rod ?

[larrym]

i've done a couple of these and also seen several "customer" cars where they were done wrong; on some engines i have seen ZERO clearance available with the swivels in place, even with the spacers from the VW kits (which worry me due to the lack of thread catch on the rocker studs); vw bus hydraulic pushrods are 10mm shorter , but that is too much short; so the only right way is that of the previous posts: shorten the pushrods!

[john walker's workshop]

bleyseng's way is the best and easiest way to do it. we used to do the same on hotrod bug motors. it's best not to change the operating geometry of the rocker very much, as you would with short pushrods or a big stack of shims under the rocker stands.

[mike mueller]

I'm missing something here, how do you know how much to remove from the pushrods? There should be an excact measurement. I guess I have to visually see what is going on

[MASSIVE TYPE IV]

I religously use the real 911 adjusters..

decking the rockers about.060 really helps with the adjustment....

[jabez]

One more question here. Do you use the small 73 and earlier rockers with the real 911 swivels, or can I use my 74 rockers. Did you know that a standard 3/8" flat washer is 0.060" thick?

GS

[dman]

Jabez, you might want to be careful, the standard spec for a 3/8 washer is .064 to .080 in thickness. If you need accurate spacers Mc MasterCarr.com sells shim washers +/- .0005 in many sizes.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The threaded holes in the 73+ rocker arms are too large for the 911 adjusters. 74 rocker arms will not work. You need the 70-72 rocker arms.

...It is possible that 73 1.7 rocker arms might work, but I'm not certain about when the 1.7 changed to the later-style rockers.

--DD

[BKOMAR]

My 73 2.0 (GA) has the small rocker arms... I do believe they are stock....but my 75 (GC)definitely has the larger ones....can the whole rocker assy. be transferred from one engien to another? Brian