havent had a valve adjustment in over 30K miles

should I be worried?

The car seems to be running fine and I rarely push it to red line....is there really a point in having clearances adjusted or shoudl I wait until something goes wrong?


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83 sc euro cab

Can you recognize the sound of a valve that is too loose?

DIY valve job = $30
Pro valve job = $200
Wait for something to go wrong $$$$$

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

biggest problems come when a valve is too tight. Heat on the valve needs to transfer to the head by fully seating. When the valves are too tightly adjusted they won't always seat when warmed up (thermally expanded)
Then you burn a valve. . that can't be cheap to fix.

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'81 Platinum Metalic SC Coupe

are there any real symptoms for a loose or tight valve? For example, loss of power, engine running too hot, rattling noise, spark plugs turning hot white???

I dont have any of these symptoms....so someone please explain, WHY FIX SOMETHING THAT IS NOT BROKEN?



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83 sc euro cab

You'll have a loss of power when a valve burns. Just ask my Alfa Romeo.

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Doug
'81 SC Coupe (aka: "Blue Bomber")
Canada West Region PCA
members.home.net/zielke/911SC.htm

I haven't adjusted my valves in 20k miles;
I haven't flossed my teeth in two years;
I didn't include a check with my form 4868;
I ducked the collection basket at church on Sunday.

It's called maintenance. If your valves are too tight you'll burn a valve. If they are too loose you'll get excessive wear. All of this leads to damage many times more expensive than a valve adjustment. You might as well be asking "why change oil?". There is certainly a debate as to how often you should adjust valves, but 30K miles is outside the range of debate.

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

Originally posted by larryboy:
I haven't adjusted my valves in 20k miles;
I haven't flossed my teeth in two years;
I didn't include a check with my form 4868;
I ducked the collection basket at church on Sunday.

you should change your name to "lazzyboy"



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83 sc euro cab

Originally posted by 83 sc euro cab:
are there any real symptoms for a loose or tight valve? For example, loss of power, engine running too hot, rattling noise, spark plugs turning hot white???

I dont have any of these symptoms....so someone please explain, WHY FIX SOMETHING THAT IS NOT BROKEN?

Loose valves rattle & diminnish power, as the valves don't open fully.
Tight valves quietly burn (split open)and then diminnish power, as compression can't be held.

A better question might be; How much does the valve gap generally change on a daily driver 911 after 10k?" (which is when EVERYONE except you religiously gaps their valves.) Well that's the question I want answered, since I haven't done mine EVER.
But then again I havent put 10k on my car yet either . . PO did it prior to sale


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'81 Platinum Metalic SC Coupe

on one hand I hear "you gotta trust Porsche engineering" and on the other I hear "well, you gotta adjust your valves otherwise something BAD is going to happen"

obviously this isnt normal on other cars...valves are NEVER adjusted other than on 911s it seems but then again, these cars have a different engine design.

however, while getting feedback from all of you, I will consider doing that adjustment somewhere in the near future (after I print out the Pelican tech article), maybe the next 5K miles!



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83 sc euro cab

Originally posted by larryboy:
I haven't adjusted my valves in 20k miles;
I haven't flossed my teeth in two years;
I didn't include a check with my form 4868;
I ducked the collection basket at church on Sunday.

Must be a BIG collection basket to fit a whole duck in there.

Just gap them and quit debating it. It's not that hard and the procedure has been spelt out MANY times on this board. Learn your engines, love your engines.
Change the oil
Gap the valves
Change the oil
Gap the valves
Change the oil
etc etc etc etc

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'72 911 TE

Not that I want to be "debating it" but I thought it was:
Change the oil
Change the oil
Change the oil
Gap the valves
Change the oil
Change the oil
Change the oil
Gap the valves
. . .ect

The real issue here Euro Cab, is why the heck you rarely push your car to the red line. That is severe neglect and can lead to terrible problems like carbon build up, boredom, aural deprivation, tyres lasting indefinately and importantly, getting blitzed by arrogant Vette owners or spotty rice afficionados.
Fortunately, Pelican sells a universal-fit moulded lead weight that attatches to the sole of your right shoe. This should solve your maintenance issues

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'72 911 TE

There is a faint implication here, that adjusting the valves on ones motor is so unpleasant a task, that one would wish not to do it. If that's the case (with some owners), then it's a pity....buy a Honda.

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Doug
'81 SC Coupe (aka: "Blue Bomber")
Canada West Region PCA
members.home.net/zielke/911SC.htm

Originally posted by Doug Zielke:
. . .If that's the case (with some owners), then it's a pity....buy a Honda.

. . .or a newer or different "Porsche" . . .although then pronounced "poorsh" and defn: an excellent addition to anyones wardrobe!

Many cars (most perhaps) have "hydraulic" lifters. Hydraulic or self-leveling lifters do not need to be adjusted.

Porsches do not have self-leveling lifters, so they do need to be adjusted periodically. Overly loose valve clearances cause some rough running, but overly tight valve clearances show virtually no symptoms. Ignore the former and all you get is noise and roughness. Ignore the latter and you get heads that need rebuilding.

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'83 SC

OK, I will show my ignorance...When referring to valves does "loose" mean too much gap and "tight" mean too little? I assume the result of loose being the valves aren't opened far enough and tight being they are opened too far and too long? I have adjusted the valves on BMW's and know how to gap them but never could get loose/tight terms straight.
Thanks,
Buck
88 coupe

Okay 83 sc euro cab ; I wasn't sure so I looked it up.
The 993 is the first "911" to get some nicely engineered hydraulic lifters.
Apparently your not the first to feel you would rather not deal with one more thing.
. . .ANd now we know the REAL reason Jack Olsen went to all that trouble to put a 3.6 in his bb '72


88911coupe. . yep, you got it.

I believe it was Bruce Anderson who mentioned when the valves go too long there will be uneven valve train wear (i.e. valve stems mushrooming, valve rockers arms wearing wrong, valve rocker shafts wearing, prompting an early rebuild).

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Nick Hromyak
'85 Carrera 7 & 9 Fuchs
Havin' Fun in
Sacramento CA