Valve Adjustment 3.2

[elpello]

I have an '87 with a 3.2. How often should the valve adjustments be made? My Tech said every 10K miles or so. Just wanted some advice.

Thanks,
Greys

[Oh Haha]

He's right....kind of.
I believe the factory recommends adjusting the valves every 15,000 miles. I think you would find that most of us DIY'ers here do it more frequently.

[ZOA NOM]

I respectfully disagree. I do the valve adjustment when it is needed, not at some predetermined mileage. My daily driver just turned 200k with no major work, and I did the last valve adjust at around 150k. I am just now beginning to hear the telltale clicking at idle. Also, I just rebuilt an '87 3.2 with 170k on the clock, and only needed to have the cams polished and cleaned for re-use. A lot depends on how you drive these cars. If you spend a lot of time idling in traffic, your cams will suffer, and the valves will need more frequent adjustment. If you are fortunate enough to run the motor at higher rpm's as the factory designed, there will be remarkably little wear.

[aigel]

15k miles is the maximum miles you will want to drive between valve adjustments. More often certainly does not hurt. I would not go with ZOANAS advice and go beyond 15k.

Generally the exhaust valves wear on the seating surface (and so do the heads) and the valves "sink" into the heads more than the rockers or cams wear, which means that the valve lash gets SMALLER over time. If it gets too small, the exhaust valve will start to leak exhaust and it won't be long before exhaust gases will destroy your exhaust valves and heads.

Of course ZOANAS may have "the ear", but I suspect it is the spare car that makes him a bit more relaxed about scheduled maintenance.

Cheers, George

[livi]

I was under the impression that you canīt hear when a valve is too tight and that this is worse than when it is too loose. Then again, it is probably more common that the valves will go out of tune on the loose side.

On the other hand, having read pretty much every single thread on subject, many authors claim that the valves on a 3.2 can go for a very long time without changing too much. At least compared to the older engines.

Correct?

[dentist90]

I 'adjusted' mine this winter. According to the PO's documents it had not been done for 6 yrs, approx 30,000km (18,000miles) at best guess.
What i found is that 11 of the 12 gaps were bang on. One exhaust had reduced to perhaps .08mm, just small enough that the .10 feeler couldn't get in.
Q: is it possible that the valve seats wear more rapidly when new and slow down a bit as they are pounded? This would impy that more frequent valve adjusts are necessary on a newly rebuilt head than an older one.
I imagine how one drives the car would be a factor also? Higher revs taking their toll faster than shifting when the CASIS light tells you to?

[ZOA NOM]

Originally posted by dentist90
I imagine how one drives the car would be a factor also? Higher revs taking their toll faster than shifting when the CASIS light tells you to?

Actually, the opposite is true. At higher revs, the moving parts are separated from each other by oil pressure. There is very little wear compared to lower rpms. With all due respect to George, my experience is based on rebuilding a high mileage motor myself, and driving my car daily. I can (and so can you) hear the beginning of loose valves, and respond. I think you are wasting your time if you are cracking open the valve covers every 15k. I only have my experience to reference, however.

[aigel]

ZOANAS,

What you are hearing is the intake valves. As I explained above, the exhaust valve clearances get less and therefore quieter with higher miles. I would not count on a good correlation, where you can rely on the intake valves to "tell you" when to adjust.

But what am I worried about? I NEVER adjust my valves!

Cheers, George

[wastintime]

20k for street cars

for track cars, every 4-6 events or so depends on how the car gets driven... or after any over rev ( that's kinda the same for street cars )

[ZOA NOM]

Originally posted by aigel
ZOANAS,

What you are hearing is the intake valves. As I explained above, the exhaust valve clearances get less and therefore quieter with higher miles. I would not count on a good correlation, where you can rely on the intake valves to "tell you" when to adjust.

But what am I worried about? I NEVER adjust my valves!

Cheers, George

To each, his own. Your mileage may vary.