Local OPC advice against valve adjust at home !

[livi]

As some of you know, the Swedish rookie is planning to conquer his first valve adjustment this summer - all by his lonesome home in the garage. You guys have, as always, provided plenty of great info on the subject and cheered me on. Giving me confidence I might be able to pull it off myself. Especially with the 'new' method.

Now, I contacted our local OPC here in the south of Sweden to see if they could supply me with the gasket kit and hardware (and possibly a feeler gauge).

Their answer: Hold your horses, lad ! Thats no job for a newbie. Too difficult. Extremely important you get it right - better let us do it for ya.

Duuh..

[yasir]

It all depends how tech you are but have $$$$ ready to cough up should you screw it up

[Wil Ferch]

Typical "European" response...."Please leave it to us, the specialists"...

Maybe so....but a lot of owners are technically inclined...and you can do this if you go "slow and steady"...and stop whenever there is ANY doubt...and get further advice from this board.

After all, even surgeons had to start somewhere !!!!

- Wil

[Wavey]

Give it a shot Marcus!

Too tight = lost performance and possible burned valves. Too loose = lost performance and eventual damage to valve stems and rockers.

Therefore too loose is preferable to too tight. I don't mind a little valve clatter, but it makes me nervous when they're totally quiet.

[Wil Ferch]

Use Racer2.7's method...... a great find !!!

- Wil

[juanbenae]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
Use Racer2.7's method...... a great find !!!

- Wil

link?

[Wil Ferch]

lessee...type in "2.7Racer" and "Valve".......

then hit "search".....

valve adjustment

- Wil

[livi]

Thanks guys!

I donīt know if the 'specialists' get to rebuild a lot of engines due to amateurs like me playing Porsche techs at home. But I doubt it very much. Most owners of vintage cars are probably passionate about their cars and very eager to learn and taking good care of their cars. I know I am and therefor I will go about this, like any, project with meticulous care. It might take me ten hours to get it done, but its not rocket science, so I am confident I will succeed (a dozen Pelican posts later ).

Yes Wil, I am gonna try Racerīs method parallel with the traditional to get the feel for it.

Before I get started I will read (again) all threads here, 101 Projects and Bentleyīs, but;

any hints as to certain passages or difficulties during the process that youīd like to share - would be much appreciated!

[yasir]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
After all, even surgeons had to start somewhere !!!!

- Wil

Typically a surgeon observes the surgery for first 2 years,in 3rd year he is allowed few minor procedures but nothing major,in 4th year he does minor surgeries under the watchful eyes of his senior doctors and in the 5th and final year he is on his own...Forgot to mention they typically work 60-70 hrs a week....
Anyway i have never heard of a surgeon doing an appendectomy ( removal of appendix ) by reading a surgical book or by asking other surgeons
So can he adjust the valves probably and should he have enough $$$$$ saved just in case he screws up the adjustment,ABSOLUTELY....

[anthony]

Also, note that you don't have to actually loosen and adjust every valve. You just need to check if they are in spec. I've actually never done a valve adjustment on a 911 but I've done it on my 914, VWs, and my old BMW. Typically only 1/3rd of the valves would actually be out of adjustment (usually too loose). The rest are usually in spec and I just let them ride until the next adjustment. I also keep notes on which ones were loose or tight and then compare at the next adjustment.

[304065]

It is for this reason, my Nordic friend, that we are all participants in this do-it-yourself web forum. Our U.S. equivalent of the "Official Porsche Centre," known as the "Dealer," is characterized by not only a complete lack of knowledge of such arcana as Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injection and distributor ignition systems, but a complete desire to perform every routine service imaginable for around $100USD per hour.

911's haven't had manually adjustable valves since 1994. Therefore, the OPC's mechanic and YOU are about equal in terms of skill level, with the signifcant advantage that YOU actually CARE about your car.

Until John Walker does a European Tour, you should do it yourself. We are here to help you through it.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by yasir
Typically a surgeon observes the surgery for first 2 years,in 3rd year he is allowed few minor procedures but nothing major,in 4th year he does minor surgeries under the watchful eyes of his senior doctors and in the 5th and final year he is on his own...Forgot to mention they typically work 60-70 hrs a week....
Anyway i have never heard of a surgeon doing an appendectomy ( removal of appendix ) by reading a surgical book or by asking other surgeons
So can he adjust the valves probably and should he have enough $$$$$ saved just in case he screws up the adjustment,ABSOLUTELY....

This is the silliest thing I have heard on the tech board in at least the last 24 hours. This is not surgery. Anyone that can follow simple directions can adjust their own valves.

[livi]

Thanks,

Anthony, good tip on making notes!

John, I think (hope) you are right and...'Until John Walker does a European Tour'... cracked me up!

yasir, I appreciate its a delicate maneuver (and no I donīt have the $$$) and I will pause at any moment if I donīt feel absolutely certain I am doing it right - and call you guys on the hot line.

Kurt, thanks !

[oneblueyedog]

You can do it and since the cam lobe checking discovery thread via 2.7Racer you are more than likely going to be successful. I adjusted my valves that way after years of the hook tool method and it is a big relief. It takes the guesswork out of the "slight drag" that can be interpreted so many different ways. Each man's drag is different. You have less to fear now than others that started long ago. In my case 6 years.

[Wil Ferch]

Yasir... I was simply making a point...not to confuse surgery with valve adjustments....the point being that we put certain people ( specialized techs...doctors) on pedestals but they all put their pants on one leg at a time and true enough..."had to start somewhere"...they weren't "born" with the magic touch !!

Jeez.... let's not over-analyze the words !! ....

- Wil

EDIT: If you insist on doing both "classical" method and Doug's...for classical remember to use a bit of blue loctite on the feeler gauge blades...makes for a "bad day" if those teeensy-weensy screws come off and drop somewhere inside your engine...same for blade "pieces" that might break and fall off.

[Bobboloo]

I think it should be mandetory that anyone who has atleast a 1000 posts must perform their own valve adjustment or be banished from this board.

Do it.

It's really quite easy. The most important thing is you need the right tool for doing the adjustment. You need either the slick "Island 911 valve adjustment tool" or the not so slick "Bobboloo is a cheap MF tool" to do the job.

Island 911 tool:

Bobboloo cheap MF tool:

As you can see the Bobboloo tool is any store bought feeler gauge bent at a 90 degree angle at the bottom.

Since this will be your first valve adjustment you might want to do it twice in a row to double check your work and also to get a better feel for it.

Here's a tutorial by Wayne. It's from the tech article section of this board.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_valve_adjust/911_valve_adjust.htm

[defcon65]

I've not done it on the 911 yet, but have on many other cars. Like a lot of things, it gets easier as you go along and by the time you get to the last valve, you should have a feel for it. I'll be repeating this to myself when I tackle those torsion bars to lower the rear.

Joe

[livi]

I will probably just do a bit of 'dry' checking on a valve or two with the old method. Just to get a hunch of what you 'good old days pros' have fought with for decades. Then swiftly turn to the new revolutionary 'racerīs method'.

And Wil, this is kind of funny. I think I have read that warning of yours a hundred times in other threads. I know the exact phrase almost word by word. "makes for bad hair day, teeensie - weensie. I have not been here for that long, but it sure feels that way. I not only recognize most of you (and start to feel I know you), I start to remember who has written what. I guess I am a 911 Aficionado.

Very instructive, Bobby. Thanks!

[Elombard]

I think you would really not have a clue what you are doing to whack it up to where you cause damage. I mean way over tight, couldnt get the feeler in there to save your life....or way loose flopping around stick a finger in there, other wise you will be close enough that you wont hurt anything. The only real worry is if you dont understand the valve timing, lobe is lifting etc. If you checked the lash when you were not on the lobe you could get way out...but I think you understand that part. Obviously the new method is much more forgiving., just got to look up there and see you are on the back side of the lobe. The hardest part is tightening the damn keeper nut with out moving the adjustment!!!

[ianc]

Markus,

I think you are over-intellectualizing this. As others have said, it's really not a very difficult job. There is a set procedure to follow just like a cook book, and as long as you follow it, you should be fine.

It can also help your confidence if you understand what is happening to the engine while you do this, so that you can do your own sanity checks just to make sure things 'make sense'.

Either way, a fellow of your mental capacity should have no difficulty with it. Just dive in. After you've finished, I'm sure you'll be telling yourself how easy it was and how silly it was to worry! Good luck and remember that everyone here is standing ready to help you in your Nordic fastness,

ianc