valve clearance

[hoppo4.2]

ok im about to take on adjusting the clearances on the cerb must say seams a lot of work for somthing that is very easy on nearly all other cars.


has any one done a walk through on hear or got any tips

[brogenville]

Have a search for a thread about this from Longbow. He made some good notes and took plenty of photos, so should help a fair bit. Dont forget there's the workshop manual too, free to download from Dave's website.

[hoppo4.2]

ok so i removed the inlets and cam covers today just to see how bad it was to sort the shims.

its realy not that bad so long as you mark up the chainand sprockets cairfuly.

found that all of my inlet valves are spot on one is even a touch tight. but all of the exhaust valves are 2 thou to big. i have rebuilt it for now as i could not have the car out of action for a few days while i sort out the shims. but i must say im not so scaired of it now. as soon as i got a few days free ill change them and hopefuly it will be a bit quiter.

on a nother note welded up my cracked manifold while i was at it.

but found ill be needed a new exhaust system cat back very soon

any one got anything for sale??

[FarmyardPants]

hoppo4.2 said:

ok so i removed the inlets and cam covers today just to see how bad it was to sort the shims.

its realy not that bad so long as you mark up the chainand sprockets cairfuly.

found that all of my inlet valves are spot on one is even a touch tight. but all of the exhaust valves are 2 thou to big. i have rebuilt it for now as i could not have the car out of action for a few days while i sort out the shims. but i must say im not so scaired of it now. as soon as i got a few days free ill change them and hopefuly it will be a bit quiter.

on a nother note welded up my cracked manifold while i was at it.

but found ill be needed a new exhaust system cat back very soon

any one got anything for sale??

but remember to err on the side of too much clearance, too little can damage the valves/seats.

[350Matt]

Its well worth checking the cam timing if you're going to the trouble of doing the valve clearances, mine was 10° out on both banks! Made quite a difference to the performance once it was put right


Matt

[hoppo4.2]

thanks for the info buts whats the best way to check the cam timing as i cant see any marks to line up to.

[Tanguero]

Equal lift on overlap at TDC on the firing cylinder is what was recomended by Joolz at TCS. Worked a treat on mine. He also suggested slightly larger clearances than the book (+2thou), so it sounds like yours is spot on. They are meant to sound like agricultural machinery when they are cold! When it goes quiet you want to start worying.

[hoppo4.2]

not quite sure what you mean by equal lift on overlap??

however i no that there noisy when quiet but mine sounds like an old fiesta even when warm

[Tanguero]

Equal lift on overlap means the folower buckets are level at TDC in the cycle when both valves are partialy open.

If you turn the crank you can see the cam follower buckets being pushed by the cam lobes, most of one rotaton of the crank the cam lobes will be away from the followers with the valves closed. As you continue to turn the crank, the exhause valve will open then start to close as the corresponding inlet valve starts to open. That is the overlap period. When both buckets are exactly level, the piston in that cylinder should be at TDC.