First valve adjustment

[jlex]

Decided to take the plunge last weekend & adjust the valves on the '85 Carrera. After reading the agony postings on the issue & determined not to make the same mistakes I figured I couldn't do too much damage...
Drained the oil, removed compressor, dist. cap & other in-the-way items on Sat. evening figuring I'd get the job done by noon on Sunday...WRONG. Took me until 4:00 before I was done. Surprise: you can't see the intake valve gaps (except with a mirror). Exhaust valves were easy, but intakes were murder & you really have to go by feel. Result: 4 were loose, one or two were too tight.
Thanks, Harbor Freight Tools: your 1/4" torque wrench doesn't work... my fault... should have tried it out when I got it a month ago. Used the 3 finger approach to tightening the valve covers using run of the mill graphite gaskets & have absolutely no leaks (didn't before the job either).
Just a note of thanks to this board for all the adjusting stories & tips. (Like putting aluminum foil on the heat exchangers & bolt tightening sequence) Special thanks to John Walker for the tip on the super feeler gauge adjusting tool manufactured by Island911. Would have been imposible without it. The ordinary Porsche tool which I had on hand was, in my opinion, USELESS. The profile of the business end is too big to use on the intake valves, even with bending it.
End result is terrific: sounds like a sewing machine with a bit more power. Also feel lots more connected to the car. Thanks again, guys.
regards,
jlex.

[Jdub]

I have found that the shorter tool can work well if you green/blue LocTite the screws at the foot and then shave some amount of the "heel" of the tool for clearance.

It is all feel, I have found. And I also found that this job took longer than expected - long enough that I covered the exposed valvegear overnight and checked my work in the morning. The more you do this job, the better you get at understanding first the angle at which the tool must be held to get a true feel of clearance and next the actual feel when you slide the feeler gauge.

Try this job again in 6 months and you will be much better at it. I now have four valve jobs behind me on this car, the first quality adjustment was the second time out, and each following has confirmed that the valves don't move much (the adjustments were all finicky refinements of the second time around).

John

[Rick Lee]

I did this job Friday night, but I cheated. I had my engine out already, so it was a breaze. Marcesq guided me through it and he uses two feeler gauges. One with .005" and one with .004". If .005" goes in at all, then you know it's loose. We used the .004" to tighten them up. Only two or three needed tightening at all and the car sounded fine before the job. As easy as the engine drop was (had to replace clutch), I wouldn't mind doing that once a year just to make the valve adjustment much easier and fix more oil leaks. Having the engine out, you really do get a great view of everyting you're doing and can then concentrate on the adjusting and not the contortionist act required with the engine in the car.

[jlex]

No doubt it becomes lots easier with practice. I'm sure a good mechanic can tell what's up by just wiggling the linkage. What's maddening is when you've got the clearance adjusted just right, then it changes when you tighten up the jam nut. Unless you're providing counter torque with a screwdriver, the correct clearance is lost when you tighten the nut. BTW, better have a small, right angle screwdriver on hand to do that trick!
regards,
jlex.

[pbs911]

hummm. . . I've never had a problem with the factory adjustment tool over the past 5 adjustments. The only thing I have discovered is that the feelr guage should be changed often. On my 4th adjustment the feeler was a little warped and it caused the adjustment to be larger than .004 since I still had too much tapping IMO. I placed a new feeler in the tool and adjusted again this weekend. Perfect. In time the amount of time it takes to complete the job will decline. My last adjustment only took about 2 hours.

[jlex]

Paul:
I guess its what you're used to. John Walker says & I agree that the difference between the two tools is like nite and day. The version fabricated by Island911 after an example owned by John Walker is longer... and that's a real plus. I think if you used one, you'd throw your old one away. If you're doing that many valve adjustments, you owe it to yourself to pick one up. JMO.
regards,
jlex.

[john walker's workshop]

island's tool is like the difference between living in a trailer as opposed to a house, budweiser to glenlivet, a vw to a porsche. like an old girlfriend said, once you've been with a dancer you can't go back.

[Rick Lee]

I concur with John Walker. Buy two of Island's tools. Put .005" in one and .004" in the other. We did it and it worked great.

[pbs911]

I can't stand the taste of Bud, only drinking Sam Adams, and married a former dancer. I guess I need Island's valve adjusting tool.