I was thinking of a valve adjustment on my 95 960, and am less sure if they are hydraulic and therefore not adjustable. What service can/should be performed on valves to be sure they are clean, and adjusted for maximum performance and fuel economy?

You cannot adjust the valves on your car, they are hydraulic lifter making the noise sometimes they dont pump up properly. If you start to hear the noise mostly cold starts try to run the car at norm operating temp for about 10 to 20 minutes for the lifters to get pumped up.

If you notice your still having the problem you should replace the o-rings in the oil pan for the pickup lines to the pump, very common problem with hydraulic valves, same on an 850.

960 Brick, This technique of cleaning valves was taught to me back in the early seventies when I was working on Chryslers. You remove the vacuum hose nearest to the thottle body, take your windshield washer hose and connect it to that vacuum line, add cold water to your windshield washer res. and put 5 or 6 ice cubes in it. You don't have to worry about the washer fluid that might be there allready. Warm engine up to normal, then get on a highway somewhere and keep your engine at 3500 to 4500 RPM. Hit your washer button untill engine speed decreases a little, let off and let stabilize , then do it again. Keep on doing that twenty or thirty times depending on how dirty it is. When you get back to the house reconnect everthing, and change your oil. Add one quart of Marvel Mystery oil, top off and drive for the next 500 miles or so. Change oil again. Then keep it changed at regular intervals. This procedure has been used by me on almost everthing including lawn mowers and it will clean out the carbon. I have yet to have seen any engine damage caused by this clensing.

I understand the power of steam as a cleanser, and have heard this on the board before, but I am less clear on why injecting water into the lines is not harmful! How would the fuel injectors, valve seals, an piston rings be affected by the water, and how would one know when there is too much water?

These cars are prone to the "sticking valve" condition in which deposits build up on the valve stems and they quit seating properly. This causes loss of compression in the affected cylinders, and then you can't start the car. It's happened to me twice. Clean oil (preferably synthetic) and occasional high RPM help prevent the condition.

I've also seen reference in these posts to a water injection treatment in which one of the hoses of the engine is disconnected and put in a source of water for brief intervals as the engine is running. It siphons water into the cylinders to "steam clean" the built up carbon. I'd like to learn more about the process, especially any risks it may have. Supposedly, the engine runs much better after the treatment. Can anybody give the details of this?

Robert Reagan
'94 960 140K

Thanks for the post. I have heard of the high rev, and I understand it involves shifting to L gear and driving with cruise at 55mph or 90kmh for a period of minutes. I too would be very interestd in learning about the water treatment. Has anybody on the brickboard the specific instructions on thie procedure, and risks?

I think the 'Italian tune-up' is described in the 700/900 FAQs, but basically, you need to get the RPMs up to about 4200-4500 which is about 55mph in 2nd gear. I haven't done it for a few months, but as I recall you need to slow down and shift into Low and then into 2nd, as it won't downshift low enough if you try to go from Drive to 2nd. So, just fiddle with it until it get the proper RPMs, with a reasonable speed for the road, and run it for about 5-7 minutes. Done!
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John Shatzer, '97 V90 @ 94K

hydraulic. change the oil a lot. perhaps a bottle of techron fuel cleaner some people say run the engine at 5000 rpm once in a while, it might spin the valves a bit.