jgkurz Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Hi all, I don't know about you folks, but I dread adjusting valves on my L28. I'm writing you all in hopes of identifing a flaw in my technique. I really am not a good mechanic so I am open to suggestion. My problem is it takes me on average one hour per cylinder to get the exact clearance with my feeler gauge. I start with the locking nut and the pivot point loose, but still requiring a wrench to turn. I adjust the rocker arm pivot until I get the proper clearance. I then tighten the locking not which changes my final clearance by several thousands. Finding the magical clearance that ends up as .008 or .010 prior to tightening the locking nut is extremely frustrating. !!! Is adjusting an L series valve train just time consuming to get perfect? Is there a better way? Thanks in advance for all your thoughts, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 John, your right about the clearance "changing" on you once the lock nut is tightened. I have found that it takes a little practice, and mostly luck, but if you leave the clearance a little loose before thighting the lock nut, and holding the pivot while tighting the lock nut, it usally ends up right on for me I don't think there is a magical way to acomplish this task..... just practice....... joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeder Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 John, Joel is right - With experience you develop a feel for this. Usually the clearance decreases as you tghten the locknut, so you want to compensate for that. Another tip is to only loosen the locknut enough to move the pivot - Leave the assemlby tight enough so that it feels firm as you adjst the pivot. That way the clearance doesn't change as much when the locknut is tightened. And, sometimes the error isn't as much as you think. When adjusting valves I usually have feelers that are 1 over and 1 under handy - If the clearance is within .001 I call it good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgkurz Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Thanks guys. I broke in my new cam recently and wanted the valve clearances to be perfect. After the 6th cyl I started getting much better. If I kept the locking nut just loose enough to turn the pivot I was able to make incremental adjustments more quickly. You're right. It just take practice. Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 John' date='Joel is right - With experience you develop a feel for this. Usually the clearance decreases as you tghten the locknut, so you want to compensate for that. Another tip is to only loosen the locknut enough to move the pivot - Leave the assemlby tight enough so that it feels firm as you adjst the pivot. That way the clearance doesn't change as much when the locknut is tightened. And, sometimes the error isn't as much as you think. When adjusting valves I usually have feelers that are 1 over and 1 under handy - If the clearance is within .001 I call it good.[/quote'] John, Try doing the valve ajustment when the engine is cold. Drop down 2 thou on the feeler gauges. intake = 8 thou, exhaust = 10 thou (COLD) This way you don`t have to be concerned with the engine cooling down on you while you do your ajustment. And the out come will be the same as if you did the ajustment hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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