Joe Flanagan Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 It wasn't bad at all. Merle's video was crucial to my doing it. First thing, though, I went down to Sears to get some tappet wrenches. I was told that they discontinued them so I just bought a long handled 1/2" and a 7/16" and made my own. Put the 1/2" on the grinder for a while until it was perfect. Didn't do anything to the 7/16". Started the engine, let it heat up, and began with number 1. Merle's advice was dead on. If the gap is right, it will draw the feeler gauge right in (and sometimes won't let it go). I had one valve that was making a heck of a lot of noise and--as Merle said--once I got the feeler gauge in there, the noise stopped. Good lighting is critical. You don't need it so much to get your wrenches where they're supposed to be but you do need it (at least I do) when you insert the feeler gauge. It gets a lot more difficult as you move your way back toward the exhaust pipe. I initially cut the fingers off some old gloves and that was OK for the first few valves. I had to switch to heavy work gloves when I got toward the rear of the engine. You don't even have to touch the manifold in order to get forced out of there. Just the heat coming off it is pretty impressive. I got a couple of good blisters but it was worth it. It runs so nice and quietly now, I can't believe it. I did have to remove the gloves when I was using the feeler gauge because I just couldn't manipulate the thing with them on. Oh, and the tappet that seemed frozen was actually because the valve was in the wrong position for adjustment, apparently. I messed with it before I started the engine this morning. I was using the stage A/stage B method in the technical tips a few days ago and that's what I think screwed me up. I had been trying to adjust it as part of stage B and it seemed to be frozen. Then I looked at the technical tips and they say you're also supposed to adjust that valve as part of Stage A. So I rotated the engine and suddenly the valve had way too much of a gap. I said to he** with it and started the engine and adjusted them with it running. Thanks to Merle C. for a great practical resource on these old cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Atta boy Joe. I believe this way is actually easier than adjusting with the engine off and having to bar it over between adjustments. I was apprehensive about this method until I actually did it. Yes, it does get warm back around the exaust pipe but my longer bent feeler gauges helped there. I was also wearing snug fitting mechanics gloves which helped protect against the heat, as long as you remained careful not to be in contact for more than a second, and allowed me to maintain the dextarity needed. I'm glad I made that video after making my adjustments earlier this year. And I'm really glad that it is helping other people. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Merle, I wouldn't have tried it if I hadn't seen the video. Grabbing the tappets can be a little tricky with everything moving up and down, but when you've got it, you've got it. It was weird how they grabbed the feeler gauge and seemed to want to pull it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Right. I believe I was fighting against the pressure of the spring because it wasn't fully closed (down). I think the error in the technical tips might be that they have you adjusting the valves for number two cylinder twice. Once with the rotor at one o'clock, and once with it at seven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Merle, I wouldn't have tried it if I hadn't seen the video. true! i have to do it on this weekend or next week, and it helped a lot to have it at least seen once before doing it. i have adjusted a lot of valves in my life, on running engines and static, but always on OHC or CIH or OHV engines where they're easily accessible and never on a flathead. i'm curious how it will run afterwards, i'm looking forward to it! thanks for filming, merle, and joe, thanks for posting your work so detailed. i will make the wrenches myself, too, since i don't think i'll get any here in germany. best, fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Fred, The only difficult thing about it is the location of the exhaust manifold. Just take your time and make sure you have good lighting. Post here if you have any trouble. As far as making a tappet wrench goes, I just held a 1/2-inch open end wrench flat on my grinding wheel and used water to cool it and just kept switching sides. It'll become thin enough in no time. I only had to do that to one of the wrenches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 ok, thank you joe! so one wrench is 1/2", i guess that's the bigger one? i'll try to get one with a shaft as long as possible. what size is the other one? i haven't found anything on that so far... this way i can buy proper ones first before i sit next to the engine and can't go on working because of the wrong wrenches... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 If I remember correctly 1/2" wrench to hold the tappet and 7/16" wrench to turn the adjustement. If you can find "Tappet" wrenches they will be long and thin and exactly what you need. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 alright, thank you, merle! i haven't got a chance over here, no tappet wrenches found so far (above all: no U.S. imperial measures). i'll follow joe's advice and manufacture them myself... dug through a couple of boxes today because i had this feeling, and there i found them: 2 brand new valve cover gaskets! so now i don't have to wait for the mailman anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 alright, thank you, merle!i haven't got a chance over here, no tappet wrenches found so far (above all: no U.S. imperial measures). i'll follow joe's advice and manufacture them myself... dug through a couple of boxes today because i had this feeling, and there i found them: 2 brand new valve cover gaskets! so now i don't have to wait for the mailman anymore... Valve cover gaskets are about the easiest to make of any on the car.... Just some cork gasket material, lay the cover down on it (outside of the cover on the material), trace and cut for the outer portion. Then mark the inside by measurement and cut that. Including a trip to the auto supply for gasket material it should be less than 1/2 hour. So why wait for the "letter carrier"? And all the ones I've seen that have been sitting for any time have shrunk too much to be used anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Merle is correct. It' 1/2 inch and 7/16 inch. There might be a metric equivalent for 7/16 but I don't know what it is. Great luck on the valve covers, Fred. I usually find stuff like that after I've bought a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 tod, i didn't know that before, i've never seen them in my life. thanks for the tip about the shrinking, i'll pay a visit to the local autotip and buy some sheets of gasket cork like you said before i rip the covers off my engine... edit: i just got the "letter carrier" .. hehe. how come you know brieftraeger? joe, i guess i can get normal wrenches in imperial sizes, i'll just grind down some old ones. thanks for all the info here, once again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 13mm is slightly larger than 1/2" but pretty close - 13mm = .5118" - 1/2" = .5000" 11mm is close to 7/16", maybe slightly smaller - 11mm = .4330" - 7/16" = .4375" Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 edit: just went through the thread again and found the answer to my question (what size are the wrenches) RIGHT IN THE FIRST POST. sometimes, i am really, really stupid. daaaaaaaaaah. thanks for your patience. off to the garage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatS.... Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 Can you post a link to the video again?? I can't find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Here: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 (edited) i adjusted my valves yesterday, engine running and hot. i used mechanics gloves and got away without burns, though i must admit you get roasted down there in the wheel well. nice job for the winter:rolleyes: i could use regular wrenches, didn't have to grind anything. it would be nice to have longer handles, but this is ok, too. all valves seemed too tight. since i had the feeling of not doing a very accurate job, i did a static test of the tappet clearance afterwards. they were now all too loose. so i took my printed tech info from the tech tips here and proceeded to adjust the tappets again this way. afterwards I HAD A NOISY VALVE! i don't get this. one question: how do you turn your engines by hand? i can't get a wrench on my pulley since there appears to be some connector for a hand crank, not a regular screw nut. i used the starter and watched the distributor and the marks on the pulley, but that wasn't that accurate... that was a bad day! no success on the tappets, a broken release valve spring AND my brakes ceased working. i don't know why, but suddenly there seems to be a lot of air in the system and i can't find a leak. i hate this. Edited June 23, 2010 by Cpt.Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Fred, After you adjusted your valves with the engine running, how did you determine that they were too loose? If they weren't making noise then they're OK I think. I believe it's OK for the clearance to be greater than .10 or .12 or whatever is called for in the manual. The danger would be in them being too tight. More knowledgeable people will chime in, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 i checked the clearance with the feeler gauge with the engine off, but still hot. manual states 0.010" for the exhaust, that's 0,20mm on my gauge. i could slide the 0,25 through there easily, so that's a little loose i guess? i have another manual where tappet clearances are written down for both hot and cold engine. it says 0.014" for exhaust and 0.010" for inlet valves on a cold engine (a 201, that is). i'll just give it another try today or tomorrow. but still, how do you turn the engine by hand? best, fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 I believe that if the clearance is greater than what is called for in the manual it is OK. Even if it makes some noise, I think there is still no danger. It's nice to NOT have the noise, but if it's there, I don't think it's a problem. I suppose a valve with too much clearance might not open far enough, but as I said, guys with more knowledge will have to address that. On my car there is a slot in the front through which you can apparently put a long extension of some kind so that you can turn the engine over. At present, my engine is not connected to the drive train so I can turn it by grabbing hold of the fan. You may be able to accomplish this by taking your spark plugs out. If I were you, I would adjust them again with the engine running. The loose ones will make noise and you will know which ones they are as soon as you slip the feeler gauge in between the valve stem and the tappet because the noise will stop. If any are too tight, you won't be able to get the feeler gauge in. I may have clearances in my valve train that are greater than .10, but the feeler gauge slips between all the stems and tappets and none of them make noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 .010" = 0.254mm and .014" = 0.355mm according to my convert program. To turn the engine, get your fan belt good and tight and grab the fan blade and pull. I've also had luck pushing in on the belt to make it tighter while rotating the fan. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 taking the plugs out is a good idea for turning it over by hand. i tried to push it on the fan but the belt is slipping. i guess i'll try again with engine running to kill the noise and afterwards leave it alone. i guess i have to be happy with what i got. now for the brakes again... thanks, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Jordan Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 No one has touched on this so I'd like to get some feed back. I have dual exhaust - I just thought it would be cool but I'm going to have to take the manifold off to get to the valves which makes it difficult to run the engine. Is there a problem setting them cold? I had the engine rebuilt and don't have very many miles on it but I'm assuming it's starting to settle in. The other day I heard a little chatter. I want to drive it to San Francisco (about 450 miles) and I don't want to take any chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 that is a very good question, i was already thinking about this when i sat in front of the engine. i don't know, but i guess it's just the most accurate way to adjust them hot, but there will be a reason that they print the measures for cold setting in the manual. i would say sticking to the manual cannot be wrong here, if it says it's possible, it should be possible. i adjusted with engine running again yesterday night (neighbors were very pleased:rolleyes:) and found the inlet of cyl #5 and the exhaust of #1 to be the noisy ones. i narrowed the gap untill the noise stopped and checked if it would still eat up my feeler gauge, which it did. new gaskets, a little sealer, that's it for now. i hope i didn't screw up... edit: just been to your profile, don... you have a very nice car! looks great! dual exhaust to the side is a nice idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted June 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 Maybe Merle or someone will chime in on this but it sounds like you got it right. When you say "eat up the feeler gauge" do you mean that the valve/tappet just seemed to grab the gauge right in? That is what Merle describes in his video and that is the way it worked with mine. How does it sound? I think Don C. adjusted all his cold and left a little extra on all of them. If I remember right, he set them all at .14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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