Engine rebuild

Top end of engine is very tappety when trying to run, could it be as you mentioned nicci21paul the hydraulics is the issue & if so how can I check them?

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You might want to pull all the injectors and make sure they are flowing fuel properly.
Could be you have an air-leak somewhere. If you have any carb cleaner, spray that near each one of the inlet manifold tracts (where it meets the head) in turn, and also on where the injectors go into the manifold.
if the engine starts to run a bit better then it's pulling air in where it shouldn't.
I can't see how the valve lifters would cause any kind of running issue to the extent you have seen.

I never use the dots on the Crank or pulleys…

I have the tranny finger at 0 (crank is then at 0tdc.)
I have the Cam gears dot on the back side even with the valve cover tin.
I have the rotor in the middle of the HASH stamped on the side frame of the DIZ.  Yours looks a wee bit to the right of center which could be 6 BTDC. I usually rotate the Intermediate shaft to align the DIZ..

For Hydraulic lifters and tappet noises the are filled with oil, the issue is that they gumm up and make noise at starts..
1. you can remove them and clean them and refill with fresh oil.
2. you can run MMO (marvel Mystery oil) in the oil pan and it tends to clean internals and lessens the tappet noise after about 250-500 miles, that is about 1/2 a pint in to the oil…I do this and SeaFoam prior to a oil change.

SeaFoam Engine Cleaner is another thing I do about 500 miles prior to oil change as it tends to clean things as well.

Bought a car that had a heck of a noise from the tappets at start and 2 or 3 doses of MMO for the first 3 oil changes prior took care of that.



 

solvent in the intake my solution
to many problems paceman good
call but i do not think we are going
to sort the issue the difference is
when you are hands on you have
a chance but sitting typing you
have not got a chance in hell

Nicci21paul others have other responsibilities not just sitting there typing and do nothing. This is my second mk1 golf and a lot of ppl on here help each others out, so if u think that i am not doing anything to my cat but just typing then you are totally WRONG.

has it got hydraulic lifters for sure or
shims mate

nicci21paul said

has it got hydraulic lifters for sure or
shims mate

Very easy to tell, if you have 5 cam caps mechanical.
If you have 4 cam caps and missing one between the number 3 and 4 cylinder you have Hydraulic.

Its hydraulic

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I did speak to the engineer and told me to turn the cam so lobes are facing up and try to spin the caps on the hydraulic lifters, if they hard to spin they are no good so nerd to get this done when weather gets better.

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Hard to spin indicates to me that they need to be overhauled and not replaced.

You can easily blow them apart with forced air and clean the junk out of them…. Then use fresh oil and reassemble.

Guide: How to clean/service your tappets | VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum

Not saying they are all bad, some may need a little bit of a cleaning.

Ok so took the rocker cover off and spinned the hydraulic lifters one by one turning the cam and they all were spinning freely.

nicci21paul said

That is a Solid lifter head.

A hydraulic head looks like this.



See the missing cam cover?

If the engine has not run properly since the rebuild then the tappets might not be full of oil hence the noise.

I guess the oil light comes on and goes off once started?

It does take a few minutes running above idle speed and reving the engine to quite down the tappets as I found when I took my engine and tappets apart.
I also find when the oil is old/due for oil change my tappets are noisy when started and I can sometimes drive a couple of miles before they quite down.

How old are the HT leads, dissy cap and rotor arm?

Are the injectors pushed all the way home?

The problem is working out if the running problem is ignition or fuel side of things…. It easier and cheaper to replace old HT leads, dissy cap and rotor arm than start messing with the fuel injection system…

Double check all the wires, air pipes, sensors etc are fitted correctly as it's all been pulled apart to remove the head.

Last thing I would do is pull out the injectors and check the spray pattern, measure the amount of fuel from each injector, check the injector seals. I guess you have the later air shroud injectors with the "top hat" on them and an air hose from near the throttle body to the head between cylinders 3 and 4, make sure the top hats are still on the injectors as they can fall off…. (guides on the web and here to testing K-jet fuel injectors)

I'm on my 3rd set of injectors in 300,000 miles as they don't last forever but last resort as they are getting expensive now…

More things to check fuel side is the warm up regular (WUR) as that adjusts the fuel pressure when the engine cold…

Sorry if not that clear on things as just thinking out loud…

Just making sure your 1991 car is K-jet fuel injection and not digifant fuel injection as digifant is a different animal and a lot I've mentioned above is not relevant.


FYI… 1984 ish is when VW changed from shims to hydraulic tappets so if original engine and head your is well into hydraulic time. 

Ok i think i ve got another problem with it now there is no oil getting to the top had a turn of key whilst rocker cover was off and no oil was getting to top end. Now need to start from bottom up again. Is there a way to check if oil is getting to bottom end before I take sump off?

I see in your pictures on page 1 you took the oil pump out, did you fit the old one back in or buy a new one, if you got a new pump did you prime it before fitting?

Bit of info here…

https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=chat%2Fmk1-golf-chat_2%2Foil-pump-priming


 

I put the old one back in left it in oil primed it turning the stem and then put it on. Is there a way of checking where the oil is going up to?

you have a headache not go and track
your steps back one simple error sit
back and think things out no one knows
what you have done  it is all guess work
figure it  out 10 minutes 2 days no body
can tell you what is because they are not
face on with the problem  you have two
eyes two hands same as every one else
sort your problem  think about it mate

Is it possible to put the head gasket on the wrong and block the oil ways?
Is the dizzy fully seated as that is what drives the oil pump via the intermediate shaft.
It's very hard to trouble shoot something without seeing it first hand, and you seem to have number of different problems. Personally, I'm not sure what problems you've resolved and which you haven't.
I would sit down with a bit of paper and write down each issue and then what steps you've taken to resolve. Try one thing at a time, you have to be methodical about it, think logically and don't jump from one thing to another. Don't take this as being negative, it's the only way to fault find any system. If necessary go right back to beginning and check again. Timing, electrics, fuel. Make sure each checks out before moving on.