valve adjustment

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rixm37
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valve adjustment

Post by rixm37 »

I am getting ready to do the valve clearance. Can anyone add any tips to doing this ? I have the fender and wheel off to make it easier. Gonna be a hot experience. Never done this one before.
Thanks
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Post by Carter »

Avoid this: http://news.webshots.com/photo/29931851 ... vhost=news
do them cold.
Charles has the best method to avoid errors, after I healed from this I set them per Charle's instructions painlessly and accurately and got just the right SHHHHH sound to the valve train when the engine is warmed up and running.
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Post by DaveO »

Ow! Was that you Carter?

I agree that Charles has a great cold set-up procedure. I used it the last time I set mine up. This was after I tried doing it hot. I think I likened the job to eating peas with chopsticks during an earthquake with your hand in the oven. Let us not forget the lovely oil mist wafting into your eyes.
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Post by Carter »

Yup, that was me, took about 4 months to grow skin over it again, burned it into the muscle a bit.
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Post by rixm37 »

HOLY CRAP that must have hurt!!!!!! I thought there were no cold settings exept to get the engine started then the only option was hot settings . Welding gloves maybe?? :o

I like your little power wagons and WC also. I got a few too. :wink:
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INFO

Post by ELBUFO »

Is there a secret hand shake required or can anyone get the specks for the cold valve lash adjustment??? Information please....John
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Post by rixm37 »

I went back through notes and printouts from the old forum and found an entry from last year from Charles Talbert. He says for cold settings new valves and tappets use .009 inch intake .011 exhaust. He also states that you must take into account tappet wear and tear and make adjustments accordingly for used tappets and valves. Maybe he will read this today and add some to this.
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Post by Carter »

The cold valve adjust info I used was posted by Charles about the time the pic was shot and I don't have a link. His cold specs were used after I had lapped the valves and didn't want to burn again. Try a new forum posting question directly to Charles, just ask, I'm sure he'll help.
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Post by sbaumgartner »

I too would like this information. I searched on *another* M37 message board (hopefully not breaking protocol here) and got this info from one of Charles' posts, but would like to know if there's anything else we need to know:

"Forget about doing a valve adjustment with the engine running too, set them with the engine COLD, intake .010", exhaust .013". They will tighten slightly when hot. Did you resurface the top of the tappet adjustment screws to get them flat again? If you over looked this when the engine was disassembled, it will cause you not to be able to do an accurate adjustment of the valves because of the indent in the top of the screw from wear. In this case you will have to go at least .001" tighter (maybe .002") on both adjustments to make up for the indent factor. If you don't, you'll have excessive valve ticking & an accelerated wear rate."
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Valve adjustment

Post by MSeriesRebuild »

If everything has been renewed & properly lapped into their seats with the tappet screws faced flat, .010" intake & .013" exhaust is a good COLD set up. The actual hot setting you need is .009" intake - .011" exhaust, the cold settings will tighten to the proper hot setting as the engine warms to normal temp due to heat expansion. These cold settings are also good for use in engines that have been run many miles & simply need a valve clearance adjustment when performing normal maintenance. If the tappet screws have not been faced flat, you will need to set up COLD at least .001" tighter on both intake & exhaust. The reason for this is it is normal for the face of the tappet screws to indent slightly, this is normal wear. When this happens a ridge around the outer edge of the screw face where the valve stem never hits becomes very evident. When adjustments are measured with a feeler gauge, it is on top of that ridge instead of where the valve stem actually contacts the screw face, thus the adjustment will be wider than the feeler gauge says because of the indent. In engines with a LOT of wear or indent in the screw surface, it may be necessary to bring the COLD adjustment as tight as .008" intake - 011" exhaust, but in most cases only .001" tighter will take care of it & produce a good running non-ticking set up. Remember these guidelines are for engines that are in good condition as far as the valve train is concerned. Ticking can also come from worn tappet bores in the block which allow the tappets to be pushed side ways slightly instead of straight up by the cam lobes. This condition will also produce a ticking noise that can be mistaken for loose valve clearance adjustment. If an engine has excssive wear in the tappet bores, the ticking noise will continue no matter what the adjustment. Also remember that a too tight adjustment can cause leaking valves & eventually burned valves. When your engine is started after adjustments are completed, it should be warmed up to normal operating temp. If all looks & sounds OK you should be set, go ahead with closing everything up. If you feel further fine adjustment is needed, let the engine COOL DOWN THOROUGHLY before readjusting, always remember you are working with COLD settings. If you feel you need further information, feel free to call the shop or e-mail us via the contact us link on our website. I will be glad to help you out.
Last edited by MSeriesRebuild on Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by knattrass »

Charles = Priceless!!
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Post by rixm37 »

Charles thanks again for your help. I acutally just came in from running my old engine for the first time. Messing with this one is a fun challenge.
I am going to print out this thread and put it in my engine notes.

Charles you are the M-master !!
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Post by M-Thrax »

When I reset my valves at 2000miles after rebuild, I set them hot, I bought a pair of heavy work gloves and cut the finger tips out, this let me work with my fingers and protected my knuckles from any real burns. I set my valves as per "Change One" order (1952) to .015 for both intake and exh. My truck never ran better. I didn't reajust my valve at 2000 miles because of clatter but because I had a slight miss (shimmy) from the valves being to tight as I had set them to the old specs ( .010 & .014 ) when I rebuilt my engine. But to each his own
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Post by Cal_Gary »

Carter's scorched hand took me back to my fast-lube days, as I collected some wounds just like that one. Of course, just as I was finishing that career they came out with Kevlar-laced gloves and arm protectors that saved tons of skin. Before we got those tools, I still recall one of my teammates one morning swinging the filter wrench around and forearmed an oven-hot Accord exhaust. The 4x4 waffle-shaped cross-hatch pattern on his arm looked like a tattoo and was still in place a year later. Ugly.
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? for Charles

Post by 52m37Hal »

Charles
In your post above you mention facing the adjusting screw.
Please describe how this is done. Does the head need to be removed or is there another way to access them?
Thanks
Hal
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