valve adjustment.....help!!!!

[sharky914]

Hello guys
I was adjusting my valves and everything was going smoothly until I get to cylinder number 3. I removed the screw and the nut cause they were stuck together. when I fixed it and put it back on, the litle hammer that is supose to move doesn't. Basicaly there is no clerance WITHOUT THE SCREW. I removed the screw from another valve and there is plenty of clerance
regardless if it is on TDC or not.

It seems that something is pushing or holding the hammer that wont let it move.

What could it be?

I hope my problem is clear, any info would be usefull. Thanks

My car is a 1.7 914 1970

Nelson

[roadtrp204]

From what I can read out of your posting, I can imagine one of two things:

1) if it had clearance before your started the valve adjustment, then the pushrod fell out of the rocker arm.

2) or if the valve was forcing on the adjuster the whole time you were removing it, there is a problem with either the valve head or valve seat.

Just for fun make absolute sure you were on TDC for #3

Chris

[JP Noonan]

Either the push rod is jamed up, in other words it has fallen out of the socket and is riding the edge of the lifter or the edge of the cup on the rocker. Or you have broken the head off a valve.

See if you can spin the push rod with the valve at TDC. If not remove the two 11mm (maybe 10mm???) nuts holding the rockers on. If the valve is broken the valve spring will come off with the rockers. If it is the pushrod re-install the rockers and try to line up the rod in the lifter and the cup. The 11mm nuts are very low tourque, make sure you tighten them down with the cylinder at TDC.


Or... it may be something else wrong with the valve train geometry.

[sharky914]

It makes sense. There was clerance as I was removing the screw and lost it afterwards. How do I put the push rod back. Is it easy??? thanks again

Nelson

[paulhagedorn]

Yes it is fairly easy....all you have to do is loosen the rocker arms a little and then put the rod back in the carriage...not difficult...but make sure you tighten the rocker arms back to the spec they are supposed to be at...
i think it is something like 10-14 lb ft of torque

Paul

[John Rogers]

You can simulate what you have to do by holding a pencil at one one and move the other end up/down/etc and you see what has happened. The problem is that you have to do it by feel and once you feel the push rod go into the lifter, then you can screw the adjuster screw back on. I usually put a little pressure on the screw side of the rocker arm so the push rod won't fall out again. Good luck.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You may be able to visualise it this way. The lifter has a "cup" in the outer end. The rounded end of the pushrod goes into this cup. The rocker arm also has a cup on the bottom of the arm. The rounded other end of the pushrod fits into that cup.

The pushrod can slip out of the lifter's cup, and just lay there on the bottom of the pushrod tube. Some people never have this problem, while it seems to affect about half of my valve train when I pull the rockers off of the motor.

What I usually wind up doing is: Set the cylinder to TDC first! Then, remove the two 11mm nuts (on my 74, they're 11mm) that hold the rocker shaft onto that cylinder. Then I slide the shaft almost all of the way off, but not completely. I reach in with my fingers and maneuver the pushrod until I can feel it seat in the lifter. You'll feel that because it will go farther into the pushrod tube than before. Sometimes I use the bottom part of an "L"-shaped allen wrench as a fulcrum to lever the inner end of the pushrod up. Then I rock the rocker arm downward so that the bottom of the arm is holding the pushrod.

Then you do the same with the other pushrod. It usually takes several tries, since the rocker arms tend to move a bit and often drop the pushrod. Anyway, after I think I have both seated, then I push the rocker shaft back onto where it's supposed to be.

The torque spec for the rocker shaft nuts is about 10 lb-ft. Very small. That's why I set the cylinder to TDC, so that there is NO pre-load on the shaft. Otherwise you'll get to 10 lb-ft before the shaft is all the way in place!

--DD

[sharky914]

Thank you all so much.

I solved the problem. I did it with my brither. One of was placing the rods and the other was pushing the little arms so they don't fall back out. Man it felt like I was making out with my brother only our lips didn't touch hahahah. Very little room for four hands.

about the torke force. How do you guys mesure this. I just made sure they were tight...but 10 lbs of tork. I don't know how to get that.

Excuse my questions if they are probably very simple to most of you but I am still learning my basics. ....thanks

[Germain]

Well sharky, I dont have an answer for you, except to use a torque wrench. I do however have a make you feel better. At least you were able to do the valve adjustment. I've been working on mine now for 3 weekends (an hour at a time at best) and still havn't figured it out. I finally called a friend to come over this weekend and do it with me. Good luck