Lifter tick

[Matt Suffern]

----- Original Message -----
From: Huw Powell <audi at humanspeakers.com>
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 2004 21:40:42 -0400
To: Matt Suffern <msuffern at lycos.com>
Subject: Re: Lifter tick

> 
> > After some enlightenment by listers and some careful listening under
> > the hood, it definitely seems to be the vacuum pump.  I should've
> > known regular ol' lifter tick wouldn't make that kind of noise.
> 
> > That said, what are some of the pro and cons (if any) to removing the
> > pushrod from the vacuum pump?  Will it hinder braking performance at
> > all?
> 
> What the vacuum pump gives you is braking boost when there is no intake 
> manifold vacuum - ie, when your right foot is down, too.
> 
> On my 82 coupe, which has no pump anyway, and on my 89 90Q, which lost 
> its pump years ago due to ugliness, if I experiment with braking while 
> revving at 3k or so, I get about 3 pumps before the pedal gets much stiffer.
> 
> In "normal" driving, there is no noticeable effect at all.
> 
> If your racing plans involve heel & toe braking, etc., you might want to 
> consider having it in there.  You could, as you say, simply reinstall it 
> for race days.  You could also try to fix it.  I have read in these 
> pages that the clatter is due to oil building up on the other side of 
> the vacuum pump and that it can be cleaned out.
> 

Thanks Huw.  I removed the pushrod last Saturday and presto, no more noise (it's kind of a cool little Audi artifact, too--
it's sitting here on my desk).  I heel-and-toe religiously anyway while driving and I have noticed a very slight loss of 
braking power when I blip the throttle in between shifts, but it's nothing major.  I'll take a look at possible oil buildup, 
too.

Matt
'86 4kq