Valve lash adjustment

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tbr1806

tbr1806

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Well I popped my valve cover to adjust the valves tonight and ran into an issue....what do you use to turn the engine? There is no nut to put a socket on the crankshaft pulley and now I have no idea how to turn the engine on this motor.

Also, I believe most people are setting the last to .012 on the intake side and .022 on the exhaust side, would this be a good starting point?
 
Use the starter and "EOIC"

This means

Turn the engine until the EXHAUST just starts to OPEN and adjust that intake

Turn the engine until the INTAKE has fully opened and is nearly CLOSED and adjust that exhaust

This, by the way, works on anything with poppet valves from a Briggs single whanger to a V, a W, a Boxer, or an inline whatever

I can't speak for U engines

bagheera020.jpg


or big radials, but at my age I'm unlikely to need to know

8099.jpg
 
Use the starter to turn the engine? How would I do that? I feel like it would turn to fast to get the valves lined up to adjust them.

67Dart273 said:
Use the starter and "EOIC"

This means

Turn the engine until the EXHAUST just starts to OPEN and adjust that intake

Turn the engine until the INTAKE has fully opened and is nearly CLOSED and adjust that exhaust

This, by the way, works on anything with poppet valves from a Briggs single whanger to a V, a W, a Boxer, or an inline whatever

I can't speak for U engines

bagheera020.jpg


or big radials, but at my age I'm unlikely to need to know

8099.jpg
Click to expand...
 
73Duster6 said:
Valves are adjusted while engine is running. It's not to hard to do read this

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=72139&highlight=#72139
Click to expand...

You "can" but why? Messy, on some engines REALLY messy, and beats your feelers to death.

It should not be hard to learn to "bump" the thing on the starter. It does not have to be exact, which is why EIOC works so well. Just take a screwdriver (or remote starter switch) and jumper the two large exposed terminals on the starter relay. Be sure and disable (ground) the coil secondary wire, and if this is a stick shift be darn sure it's in neutral.
 
Wow, this is alot more complicated then I thought it would be. I have adjusted my fair share of valves (never mopar, mostly 4cyl engines and small 4 strokes) why did they make it so complicated.
 
tbr1806 said:
Wow, this is alot more complicated then I thought it would be. I have adjusted my fair share of valves (never mopar, mostly 4cyl engines and small 4 strokes) why did they make it so complicated.
Click to expand...

No it's not. Easy. Warm it up. While it's warming, think about what you'll do so you don't waste a bunch of time as the engine cools. Get the valve cover ready to come off, pull loose wiring harness, vacuum lines, etc as much as you can.

Shut off engine when warmed up and pull the VC

Now watch the no1 exhaust valve. Bump the starter until the valve moves off "closed." Stop and adjust the intake.

Bump the engine until the intake comes "up and over" full open, and is nearly closed. Adjust the exhaust.

Move onto no2, .......rinse.....repeat.

I use whatever feeler "you want" and another a couple of thousands larger. You should get the target one in, develop a "feel" and NOT get the larger "no go" in.

Easy.
 
At NAPA you can find a big bolt and washer and it fits into the main pulley.
 
gdizzle said:
At NAPA you can find a big bolt and washer and it fits into the main pulley.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will see if I can feel a hole in the center of the pulley, I stick my finger in it and it felt like there was no hole, just rounded inside.
 
Adjusted my /6 valves while engine running. Not messy at all , oil drips does not squirt all over the place. No big deal took 1/2 hour incl rxr the valve cover. I'll be adjusting them again in the spring
 
tbr1806 said:
Thanks, I will see if I can feel a hole in the center of the pulley, I stick my finger in it and it felt like there was no hole, just rounded inside.
Click to expand...
It is just full of crud. Clean it out and you will find the threads are 3/4"x 16 TPI. A bolt 2 " long and flat washer will work. And, you indeed can just pull the plugs and use the fan belt. No need to mess with the starter.

If you chose, adjusting them running on this this engine is not at all messy; the oil just barely dribbles out of the rockers. And I have never seen it beat up feeler gauges...... the springs are very light. It is faster but takes a different feel to get right.

Sticky valves is common on the /6; watching the valve action while idling can sometimes show this; a sticky valve will look 'lazy'.
 
The first time I did mine I took a hour only because I triple checked everything. I did have 4 different valves a little on the tight side and as long as you turn down the rpms as suggested there's no big mess. I'm glad I did it because the engine ran so much better after adjustment.
 
tbr1806 said:
Well I popped my valve cover to adjust the valves tonight and ran into an issue....what do you use to turn the engine? There is no nut to put a socket on the crankshaft pulley and now I have no idea how to turn the engine on this motor.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmm,that's odd 'cause that very question was just addressed a
couple months back,on this very forum as a matter of fact. Surely a search would've
turned up SOMETHING..........:glasses7:
 
Get a small block balancer bolt and washer. Screw it in the crank. Bobs your uncle. :)
 
I never saw a slant I couldn't turn over by hand by tugging on the fan belt, though I never had the later 70's ones w/ shrouds in the way. With spark plugs in you do need to fight compression, and stop and wait for the pressure to hiss down. Hint, that is an easy way to verify compression on a car you are thinking of buying (>5 sec hiss down on all cyl is great). I usually pull plugs anyway for valve adjustment, since all part of a "tune up". I did put a bolt & washer in my 1964 slant's crank, but tugging the fan belt is still faster though not the finesse of using my ratcheting torque wrench on the bolt.
 
My 1980 truck slant calls for .010 and .020. When I set the exhaust to .020 they clatter pretty bad. The intakes are quiet at .010. Not to threadjack, but any insight here?
 
There is no bolt (usually) they just pressed them on but there are threads, hey it saved .50 for every slant!
slants are lo-comp, you can turn the motor by grabbing the belts. If you cant do that, remove the plugs and try again. If you got weak valve springs, 340's drop right in! Remember to do them hot. .020 on a cold exhaust is not going to be .020 hot (spec)
 
DodgeLad said:
My 1980 truck slant calls for .010 and .020. When I set the exhaust to .020 they clatter pretty bad. The intakes are quiet at .010. Not to threadjack, but any insight here?
Click to expand...
Yours must have been about the last year with solid lifters. They changed to hydraulic lifters soon after. People say well-adjusted valves in a slant should sound like a sewing machine. Perhaps that is with the valve cover off since I don't recall hearing anything special in the decades I owned my 1969 slant and I did adjust valves regularly, plus mechanics did a few times. A loud clacking sound could be a worn camshaft and lifter bottom. But, I suspect your 1980 has the "peanut" head without the removable spark plug tubes. In those, you must remove the head to remove a lifter to inspect. I bought an $18 USB borescope camera (ebay). Perhaps that could be sent up the oil plug hole to view the bottom of the camshaft on your next oil change. It works great to view tonsils and has a built-in LED light. Check Google Images of slant engines to see if you can even see the cam lobes from below. Some borescopes let you adjust the head tilt w/ knobs.
 
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