super tight valve adjustment

[dat521gatherer]

so i'm checking my valve clearance for fun and the slimmest feeler i have is a .006 and i cant get it through the space.:confused: and thats with the engine cold. it does idle rough and i'm hoping adjusting these will help a little.

 

it's a w53 head on a l16. .010intake and .012exhaust are what i'm going to try with it cold. i'll be back in a few to share. is there any reason one would have the the clearance so tight. i cant even wiggle the arms and yes thats with the lob's up. i'm guessing there at close to .0000 clearance.

[mnementh666]

Uh, maybe I misunderstand, but with the lobes up, wouldn't that cause the valves to be open?

[dat521gatherer]

no when the lobes are pointing up on in the 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock position the valves are closed.

[dat521gatherer]

wow! it idles much smoother now. it even raised the idle for some reason. adjusting them was easy and fun and that was my first time.:)

 

for reference though as other people will say after adjusting, the 14mm stud will follow the 17mm tightening nut when tightening and even if it doesn't the act of tightening the 17mm nut will slightly affect the clearance a little so always recheck the clearance after you tighten the 17mm luck nut.

[Phlebmaster]

Good work!!

 

That's why I love Datsuns. Anyone can get them to run with a little time and effort.

 

Thanks for posting this! :D

[datzenmike]

Uh, maybe I misunderstand, but with the lobes up, wouldn't that cause the valves to be open?

 

On the Z series motor, yes.

 

10 and 12 thou is the hot setting, cold is 8 and 10 thou. Too wide is better than too tight. You could tighten them a bit more if they are too noisy.

[dat521gatherer]

.010 and .012 are cold settings but it's much better to set hot at .08 and .010 when all the parts at maximum expansion.

i took this from this posting that i was studying earlier.:confused:

http://forum.ratsun.net/showthread.php?t=611&highlight=valve+adjusting

[datzenmike]

Touch'. I was up past my bed time. It would seem logical to set wider when cold to allow for expansion. Misread the book I think, check when I get home.

[Bleach]

I always did mine on the tighter of the two settings. .008 and .010 when hot. Kept it quiet... but I made sure they were accurate as to not have a lobe with full contact accidently. :) ...then run thin oil. 10/30

[moparvwfreak]

i just did mine this morning as well. .008 is what i set mine to. with a little drag but still fairly easy to remove and insert. that should be perfect. my kid right now is cleaning the valve cover so i can reinstall it. the only car i ahve ever had that was easier to adjust the valves was my 75 corrola. everything was right there on top. no hoses or cam towers to get in the way. made life so easy.

[racerx]

So far the easiest to adjust is my 1975 20r Celica...you loosen the nut and turn the top screw (either way to tigthen or losen the clearance) vs Datsun L16-L20, where you need 2 open ended 14 mm and 17 mm. Sometimes the Datsun gets tricky because when you tighten the bolt you end up tigthening the valve clearance as well and the 14 mm and 17 mm wrench makes contact so what I did is I had my friend use an electric sander to make the open ended part thinner;)

[dat521gatherer]

yes a thin 14mm is ideal. i did mine with the valve cover gasket on and the battery in the way of the 17mm but it was still easy.

[hang_510]

:eek: thin and short ?!? ...is better :lol:

[datzenmike]

:eek: thin and short ?!? ...is better :lol:

 

Long an thin goes too far in...

Short and thick, does the trick!

 

For the Z engines, slip a box end over the nut and loosen, and adjust with a flat bladed screw driver, tighten. Nice!

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

Datto valves are easy o adjust for sure..

sbc is real easy too,can adjust running ..

Mike long and thin goes all the way in..