Pre-Post 1st Valve Adjustment

[Epster77]

Well things really went great so far,,,,This is a pre post report for I have finished adjusting but only one lower valve cover gasket came in my kit,,,I cannot fault the guys at Pelican because it was a sealed pkg from the manufacturer. They are sending out a gasket kit Fri.
Last night I drained all the oil and removed all the valve covers in preparation to adjust the valves. I went ahead and adjusted the valves, and to my suprise it was not very difficult at all once I got the feel for it. The first valve was tough and I broke a feeler,,,it was smooth sailing after that.
I also found that I did not have to remove my cat as suggested by someone in order to get to the lower left valve cover. All you need to do is remove the rear wheel and use it as a safety catch under the car. A little manuevering around the cat and access to the valves is there. I noticed that the lower valves were very visible and super easy which really helped me to get the right feel for the top ones. After sliding the feeler gauge in and loosening the nut, I was able to turn the adjusting screw by hand. Once it felt like it grabbed the feeler, I tightened down the nut which in turn tightened the screw just a bit more to give me that magnetic grab feel that I have heard so much about. I feel as if I have performed this task in a satisfactory manner, but only time will tell as I have to wait for those gaskets to arrive.

I hope she purrs like a kitten.

I will update everyone and upload some pics as well. Hopefully this will help any virgin valve adjusters!

[Bill Douglas]

I ready to lose my virginity

[bell]

when i did my first adjust i went though a few times and double checked my work, along with making sure the sequence of manually turning the engine to which bank i was adjusting was done properly, this is the one thing i feel can be easily screwed up until you fully understand the mechanics of your flat-6.
remember it never hurts to triple check either

[Jdub]

I must agree with Bell: since you are in Wait Mode anyway do yourself a favor and recheck the clearances. Be very picky and be sure to hold the tool just so so that it sits nice and flat against the head of the valve. It is very easy to tilt these slightly and end up with loose valve clearances.

You will know when you have started and warmed up the car however. A loose valve sounds out when the oil is warm and thin.

Good job!

John

[gr8fl4porsche]

I will be busting my cherry tomorrow.

Wish me luck. I am going to use Superman's method of turning the engine over using the rear wheels. Should work since I have a lift now that puts the car over my head!!!

[HawgRyder]

When I received my gasket kit from Pelican...I though they had shorted me as well.
On further examination...I found that two gaskets had sealed together...they are quite thin...and I thought they were the thickness of the two stuck together.
Pays to check carefully.
Bob

[Epster77]

Good Luck Randy,,,let us know how it went!!

Thanks everybody for the input,,,,I am going to definitely double check my clearances since I am in wait mode. My new gasket set came in today, so I plan to finish this up tomorrow evening.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Just got finished with my first oil change and valve adjustment.

You guys had me paranoid about the oil change. No problem, didn't spill a drop!! I put my car up on the rack and placed a concrete mixing tray up on a 4' step ladder. Pan is about 20"x30" and 6"deep - Home Depot special about $9. Worked perfect.

The valve adjustment,
Wayne's book says 3 hours - maybe the 3rd or 4th time you do it.
I won't say how long it took me, but I finally got the hang of it. I checked and rechecked many times. It helped to have a .005 feeler gauge to make sure the .004 was just right. 2 out of 12 valves were fine - the rest were either too tight or a smidge too loose. The exhaust valves are a piece of cake. The intakes on the left side were fun and the right side was easy once I removed the ac compressor, oil filter, and air box lid. On an '87 the cat is not in the way, not too much in the way that is.

I don't see why you have to change the crush washers on the drain plugs - the ones I took off looked brand new.

It was a fun day.
Tomorrow I put on the new shocks. The rears look easy. The fronts are going to be interesting. Found a torn cv boot on the right rear - its always something