Valve adjustment problem
 

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Did you double check everything - plug wires all back on the right plugs?

Yeah

I did my first valve adj. last night as well and it went smoothly thanks to Waynes book and this board. Anyway, here's some stuff to look for:

1. Make sure that your crank pulley notch (labeled Z1 is pointing up). This confused me because my Z1 is under the 1st notch and the one in Waynes book is under the 2nd.

2. Make sure your dizzy rotor is lined up with the notch on the housing. This + Z1 on the crank is TDC for #1 piston.

3. #1 cylinder is the one on the passenger side closest to the rear.

4. Make sure your using .004 inches NOT millimeters on your feeler gauge. I heated mine up and then bent a 90deg angle in it. Made the job much easier. Just don't heat the part you will be measuring with becuse it will mess up you measurements.

5. Lastly, make sure your dizzy cap and wires are in the right spot. Sounds dumb but it could happen.

Having a valve on cyl #1 a hair out of adj should not cause the problems you describe. Otherwise, your car should have had problems before, if valve were out of adj. So you probably messed something else up. It's really not that tough of a job.

Like most 911 engine jobs, it's a zen exercise. The key is to leave an entire day for it and take your time. Make sure you get the whole crank rotation thing right, and just do the whole operation super slowly, with no time expectations.

The feel is a feel thing. I would love to hear someone else describe what they do. I tighten until there's resistance on the feeler and it doesn't come out easy, but it still comes out, sorta like a strong magnet is on it.

Cheers,

Marc and I use the Island911 tools - two of them. One with .004" gauge and another with .005" for double checking.

I'm with Hugh - I basically tighten them down until there is pretty strong resistance but I can still get the feeler gauge out. I was lucky that my mechanic showed me how to do this and taught what it should feel like on an engine he had sitting on a stand.

One thing that makes getting the the gauge in easier is to go ahead and back off the set screw. I think many people try to force the gauge in when there is not enough clearance and end up getting frustrated.

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I just assumed you had the magic island tool.

Magnecor has warnings about torn boots and such in the section labeled something like "I installed Magnecor wires and my car runs bad". They have other warnings about potential wire problems with bent or loose connectors www.magnecor.com FAQ

thanks thabaer....

#1 is on the drivers side on north american left hand drive cars

I find it hard to believe that having valve # 1 off by little would cause the problems you are describing (very noisy, runs like crap). "Very noisy" would indicate that your gap is bigger than spec, but it shouldn't cause extreme loss of power or very poor running. It sounds more like a cracked distributor cap, crossed plug wires or wires that are not properly seated on the plugs. I'd re-check these before shelling out big bucks to the dealer. Just my .02. Hope this works out for you.

Concur with every word of this statement.

i was told and not to remove the plugs prior to adjustment as it can release carbon down into the valve seat on the exhaust bank leading to untrue numbers. i did mine plugs in wo any problem. just lean on the right side of the pully when turning the crank so it dont slip.

did you remove plugs? if so maybe?

The only \

amen.

Sure as crap, the minute I try to hurry, I mess something up.

I concur. No way this could cause such problems. Those symptoms have a different cause.