Valve adjustment without breaking blades?

[Christien]

Before tackling my first valve adjustment a few months ago, I read about needing extra blades because you're sure to go through a couple in the process. Well, I've now completed 2 1/2 adjustments (first adjustment, re-adjustment a few days later, then another one today trying to get a quieter engine) and I'm still on the original blade. Am I leaving these things too loose? After the first adjustment then re-adjustment, I still had some clicking which usually went away when the car got warm, so I figured I just didn't adjust them tight enough. Today I went back in there and made sure everything was a bit more snug, but still managed to do it without breaking the blade.

Am I being too cautious still? Or am I just lucky?

Thanks!
Chris

[khamul02]

Screw those $10 for 3 or 5 or whatever. Use this method:

valve adjustment

[MattAlpha]

I used the feeler gauge tool from our host (after "bluing" the nuts) and it worked fine for all of my valves. The key is having some engine oil on the blade (which you'll probly collect from the valves as you do the adjustment) so you can see the surface tension of the oil (on the blade) change when you have the valve set to 0.004 inches. When the surface tension changes you'll also feel the snugness of the fit, but the blade will come out without breaking. You'll be able to see this on Cylinder #1 without a mirror and you can practice on it for a while until you're confident that you know the "feeling" so when you move onto Cylinder #6 (and you can't see anything without a mirror) you should be confindent that you have it set right by the feel.

I think the breaking aspect comes from people over tightening their valves and trying to force the blade out and it will snap off or/and trying to force the blade into a valve with a gap that initially is smaller than 0.004 inches. If you're patient when you perform the valve adjustment you shouldn't break the blade, but then there's always Murphy's Law, so if you have only a single blade odds are you're going to break it before you finish the adjustment. Well that's the way things seem to happen to me

I haven't tried that other method but it seems like a great way to check your valve adjustment until you're confortable enough with the procedure and the "feel" to take only the shortcut method. That is if you have a 0.003 inch feeler gauge.

[oneblueyedog]

I've never broken one, but I've bent them. They're shot after that. The elephant foot can't iron out the kink.

The drag is a very tight slipping. Feels like the a hard pressed squeege on glass. I have no idea if that helps, I never got to a valve adjustment seminar to feel someone else's valve. I'm not that kind of a mechanic : I.

Just did the 2.7 racer technique though. Nice change of pace after 7 years.

[Christien]

I used both methods yesterday. The problem with that for me was trying to get them to agree - what I mean is, if the .004 gap under the elephant foot felt good and snug, the .003 blade would slide in too easily on the other end. So with some of them, I compromised a bit (felt a bit too tight on the valve side, a bit too loose on the rocker side).

I've been tightening the valves to the point where I have to "shimmy" the blade to get it out, maybe rock it back and forth and work it out, but I'd never force it out or back in.

blueye, I'm surprised you said they're shot after they're bent. I had to bend mine deliberately just a bit to get it to go in more easily. After the first adjustment it had taken on a shape which made it significantly easier to insert. Sort of half of it bent upwards about 20-30*, with the bend being on a 45* angle across the blade, if that means anything

Anyway, thanks for the feedback guys. I feel a little more confident now. I guess the real test comes today when I replace the oil and fire her up!

Chris