Valve Adjustment - Doing it myself!

AirCooledExcellence · AirCooledExcellence's Garage

Right that's it!

I've been thinking about paying to get my valves adjusted, frankly the thought of doing them myself scared me

Last night I was looking through 101 projects and re-read the valve adjust procedure thinking hey it doesn't look that difficult. So, I've just ordered the valve adjust tool and I'm going to do it this weekend!

My question before I start is how easy is it to really mess up and cause damage to the engine?

Cheers,

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

dickster · 10-10-2002, 04:24 AM

tim

lol

get outa here, i'm doing mine this weekend. spooky.

i share your thoughts on this, and i read the procedure......

the only way your gonna really mess up is by doing them too tight (valve won't seat properly). make sure you've got enough clearance. recheck your work when you finish.

and from what i've heard be careful you don't drop any bits off the feeler into the engine (nuts etc). i'm gonna glue mine.

friday night i'm gonna drain the oil, remove airfilter box, plumbing on left side for heater, remove all valve covers.

then it should be free of dropping oil by sat. morning, and ready for action.

get yourself a mirror to work with.

i've done plenty of valve adjustments, but the 911 engine isn't so accessible, so thats the main difficulty to overcome.

i'm leaving my self sat. free to complete it and change a oil return tube. don't rush it!!

footie on radio and plenty of coffee - SORTED.

i'm looking forward to it!

good luck.

AirCooledExcellence · AirCooledExcellence's Garage

Dickster, That is spooky!

I was also planning on doing all the prep on Friday night. What sort of oil are you planning to use? I'm thinking about Castrol GTX Magnatec.

Good luck with yours as well!

Cheers,

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

dickster · 10-10-2002, 04:45 AM

yep, thats the oil i have always used.

don't forget new gaskets/nuts/washers (preferably)

i had to buy a new torque wrench as well 'cause mine won't go low enough!!

jlex · jlex's Garage

Good luck, guys. I did mine for the first time this Spring & spent 9 hrs. playing with it. Came out just fine, though. I'd recommend getting the longer valve adjust tool in addition to the shorter, factory model. Could NOT have done the job without it. You can't see to adjust the intake valves... if you can't reach them, you've really got a problem.
Island911 re-engineered the tool & I bought mine from him before I started. Check out this post:
That Cool Valve Adjustment tool - New Source

If he doesn't have any more, all I can say is good luck!
regards,
jlex.

RSW · 10-10-2002, 04:49 AM

I've adjusted my tappets a few times and I'm just a novice. Once the job was done it still had a tap to it so I'd do it again and again. I recently bought Waynes 101 book which describes how to turn the crank and do certain tappets at cetain points - this helped a lot (and could have been half my problem)

I would not think you'd do any damage to your motor if you're carefull and don't adjust in the wrong sequence.
The issues I had with it was knowing when the feeler gauge felt right. I could set it to a tight 0.1 or a slack but which was right?

I now have the engine out of the car and i'm checking my work with a dial gauge to see what the feeler should feel like. I'm told from some feed back I had in my post called "Tappet Gap" that the gap should be such that you should still be able to get the feeler gauge in to the gap - thats good enough. which suggests that it isn't such an exact sience.

My advice would be to do the easiest first and see how it goes, see what the gap is like before and feel a few before adjusting any. Don't remove the spark plugs (so nothing falls in) and follow the sequence, Good luck

Richard

dickster · 10-10-2002, 04:55 AM

thanks guys. now you mention it i wish i had that tool............

don't know about you tim, but i've only got the small tool (ooeerr)that i bought from pelican. i'll see how i go.

you want to get the gap to a "snug" fit. if you have to really tug that sucker to get it out its too tight. it should slid in with a little resistance only.

AirCooledExcellence · AirCooledExcellence's Garage

Thanks for the support guys!

Dickster, this is the tool that I've just ordered:

Not sure whether my tool's bigger than yours or not but hopefully it'll get the job done

Cheers,

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

dickster · 10-10-2002, 05:10 AM

thats the one!

just wondering, is it better to take rear wheels off for access - anyone???

i was going to but if it ain't worth it.....

BGCarrera32 · 10-10-2002, 05:37 AM

I did mine as well for the first time a few months ago on my '84, and although it took me longer than I thought it would, it is actually pretty straightforward. When I finished adjusting everything, I cranked the engine around 2 complete cycles and rechecked all of it. I did find 2 valves that didn't feel right and required me to those again.

Plan to do your spark plugs at the same time, as you will want them removed when you do the adjustment. Removing them obviously makes the engine easier to turn over by hand.

Pull the rear wheels...makes it easier to get at the exhaust side covers via the wheel well. If you have a 3/8" air ratchet or such for spinning off the nylock nuts that hold the covers on, I found that it speeds things significantly. Not necessary, but nice...

Good luck!

AirCooledExcellence · AirCooledExcellence's Garage

Hi BGCarrera32,

I thought it was BAD to remove your plugs before you start, just in case any crap gets caught up in the valve?

Cheers,

Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

dickster · 10-10-2002, 05:57 AM

thanks BG, but i 2nd that!!!

i'm leaving mine.

Doug Zielke · 10-10-2002, 06:19 AM

Heh...heh...heh!!
I hope all you Limeys have a great time adjusting the valves this weekend. If the going gets rough, just hop on down to the local for a pint or 6.
As the F.O.T.B.B. (Friends Of The Blue Bomber) prepare to drop her motor on Saturday, we'll be thinking of you guys.

dickster · 10-10-2002, 07:24 AM

hehehe.

i'm on frickin medication (twitch, twitch) so no frickin beers

i thought about dropping the motor to do the valves - not for long though

David Ceruti · 10-10-2002, 07:29 AM

Good luck guys!

I'm doing my first engine drop this weekend which will include setting the tappets. I thought I wouldn't need the tool with the engine out but after 101 projects arrived through the mail and I looked at the pictures, I' running around like crazy trying to find or make up a tool (mines too big).

Live and learn!

Tim - I'm using Shell helix ultra. Its fully synthetic, about the same price as Magnatec and about half the price of M1 and Castrol (at least it is over this side of the world) Had it in the car for 5k miles and very happy with it so far

DC

Siena911 · 10-10-2002, 07:51 AM

Well done guys, your'e all going to have sore necks on Sunday.

Take it slowly, a mirror will help and so will jacking the car up. I cant say that removing the wheels would have made any difference for me.

One more thing, on the lower side make sure the area is quite clean, when I was working around there I wished I had given it a blast with a steam cleaner or something, quite a bit of grit around there.

I'll be thinking of you guys as I sit with my feet up, relaxing.

Cheers Jakes

AirCooledExcellence · AirCooledExcellence's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Siena911
I'll be thinking of you guys as I sit with my feet up, relaxing.

Cheers Jakes

Why thank you Jakes, you're all heart!!!

On Saturday keep watching this web site, just in case we get stuck, and need some advice from a pro

Cheers,

Dr Tim.
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1983 SC Targa

Siena911 · 10-10-2002, 08:06 AM

LOL, but you won't need help,

I will keep an eye out and then find how you guys rave about the difference.

It is a confidence builder, thats for sure.

Jakes

skinnerd · skinnerd's Garage

I've done this a few times recently. Shouldn't really take more than a couple (2-4) hours max. I've always had trouble getting the blade of the feeler gauge inserted, so I usually back off the adjusting screw to give me excess clearance, insert the blade, then tighten the adjusting screw until it starts to bottom. At this point, I try to get a consistent feel from valve-to-valve on how hard it is to slide the blade beneath the adjusting screw. You want to feel some drag, but not too much such that the feeler gauge blade is too difficult to move. So it really takes some "touch." When I finish adjusting all 12 valves, I go back through the cycle again checking to see that each rocker "rocks" when that particular cylinder is at TDC. In this way I'm confirming that none of the adjustment screws have been over tightened.

Otherwise, should be a fairly straightforward task. Make sure you use new valve cover gaskets, nylocks and crush washers (these normally all come in the kit). And don't over-torque the nylocks.

Oh, also.... only turn the engine over in the correct direction!!!! I believe you can get in a lot of trouble by turning it in the wrong direction.

It's really just as easy to do the valves with the spark plugs in.... so you don't need to remove them just to adjust the valves.

Dickster.... wait until you're off medication to do the valves. It takes a good 3 beers to complete the valve adjust process.

Good luck

Superman · 10-10-2002, 09:03 AM

Do not remove the spark plugs. I also do not remove the wheels. Instead, I use them to turn the engine, with the transmission in 5th gear and one wheel blocked.

Novices tend to get them too loose, resulting in some valve tappet noise. Not harmful, just noisy. So, try to get them snug, but BE SURE to MAKE SURE that the feeler gauge fits in the gap. If it fits in the gap, your adjustment is not too tight. Too tight would be the worst result.