Valve lash


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By yblock55 - 14 Years Ago
So after i have drived my y for a wile i desided to take of the valve covers and adjust the valves again, to be shure it got the right clearence. I tought this one was gonna be easy, but i was wrong. After i have adjustet the valve lash and was ready to fire the engine upp again, the valves was making that tic tic tic noise. This was the hot lash. So i tried again, and again, and again, but it was not going good for me.

This is what i do when i adjust the lash. Turn the engine untill both valves on the sylinder i am adjusting is closed. Then i adjust the lash 18-19 (Stock cam). and then its goin on to the next sylinder.

Is it another way to do it ? is it wrong what i am doing ?

Please advise, this valves are driving me crazy at this point.



Thanks Robin Norway
By charliemccraney - 14 Years Ago
They're going to make that sound. They're solid lifters. If your clearances are checking out, don't worry about it.
By yblock55 - 14 Years Ago
Yes, the mechanical lifter are making more sound. And i forgott to say, it seems to me that the engine was more difficult to adjust hot then it was cold. Couple of days ago i was justing doing this, and get pist beacause it not was going my way. So i let the car and my head cool down before i tried again, and then it was go much better with the cold lash. But today i was going to do this again with hot clearence, and it seems to me that the valves was making more sound when adjusted, but the clearence whas right. Another ting i found hard is the nut that tighten the adjust bolt. Some times the nut drive the bolt around, some times the bolt is standing still when you tighten the nut.

And, is it more common that you hear the tic sound more when you driving on high RPM than lower RPM ?



Thanks Robin Norway
By charliemccraney - 14 Years Ago
They don't seem any louder to me whether idling or cruising at 2000rpm. The jam nuts can be a pain until you develop the feel for adjusting them.
By yblock55 - 14 Years Ago
Okay then, i have to settle down with that answer. Give it another try tomorroow when the engine is cold. Thanks for the answer.

Robin Norway
By oldcarmark - 14 Years Ago
I adjust mine cold by using the firing order.Once you find TDC on compression on # 1 adjust in order 15486372 by turning motor 1/4 turn in direction of regular engine rotation.
By Doug T - 14 Years Ago
The problem you are encountering is probably caused by wear on the rocker arm pad that contacts the valve stem.  The valve stem is proan to wear a groove in the rocker that can be several thou deep.  When this happens the feeler gauge bridges the groove and you end up adjusting to the unworn surface of the rocker arm.  Take the rocker arm shafts off the engine and you will see the groove that I mention.  

If you don't want to do that you can probably get close to the proper lash even with worn rockers in the following manner.

Briing #1 to TDC with both valves closed (compression stroke).  Grasp the pushrod with your fingers and twirl it round as you tighten the adjuster.  When it just stops twirling you have established zero clearance within the groove to the valve stem.  Back off the  adjuster 1/2 turn to get the nearly the proper lash, tighten the lock nut if you have one. Repeat this step for the other valve of #1.  Crank the engine 1/4 turn and proceed to do the same thing with #5 and so on through the firing order.  I like to do this with the engine warm but not hot,  in actual point of fact hot or cold will not make enough difference to bother with if the rockers are this worn.

By Talkwrench - 14 Years Ago
Im with Doug T on this one. Is it half a turn or quater of a turn ..Can't remember?
By GREENBIRD56 - 14 Years Ago
Its a quarter turn Rob - and it works like a charm.Smile
By oldcarmark - 14 Years Ago
i looked at the 1/2 turn mentioned and thought it was incorrect.It is 1/4 turn.The theory is based on the pitch of the thread.How far the screw moves as you turn it.
By yblock55 - 14 Years Ago
I used the 1/4 turn, it worked great. Thanks you all for the advise.

Robin Norway

By charliemccraney - 14 Years Ago
1/4 turn.

The thread pitch is 20tpi, so that is .050" per thread (1/20). 1/4 of that is .0125, multiply by the rocker ratio, 1.54 and you get .0193" For low ratio rockers it comes to .0179"
By Ted - 14 Years Ago

Here’s a link to a past thread discussing several different methods for adjusting the valves.  The quarter turn method is about as simple as they come though.

http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic8614-3-1.aspx

By yblock55 - 14 Years Ago
Ted, that topic was a nice one. When i adjustet my valves i sett it to 0,020 cold, to be shure the hot clearence would be enough. But i see it would have worked out with 0,019 cold as well.

Robin Norway

By Doug T - 14 Years Ago
This is the reason valve lash on old engines is difficult to adjust, the rocker on the left has a wear depression of about .010.  Normal feeler gauges will bridge this depression and prevent accurate adjustment.  The rocker on the right has been ground by hand with an angle grinder and 80 grit wheel. This engine ran well for several more years before replacement.