I was adjusting my valves today and have a couple of questions. I did intake vavle #1 according to the helms manual (thats the only valve I did just to see if i could do it). I think I had the valve too loose, so when I put everything back together, The car was making a loud tick. I had turned the set screw 4.5 turns before I could fit the feeler guage in with a little drag. I think the tick was caused by turning the screw too much, so I put it back to what it was before I touched it, and it quit ticking. Anyone else had the same problem?

Also, the manual says to torque the lock nut to 14 lb/ft. I only have a conventional click-style torque wrench. So how am I supposed to toruq it to 14 lb/ft while holding the set screw? Is it ok to just tighten the lock nut with a 10mm combination wrench until it is snug?

Thanks

 

i would use the torque wrench. check the clearance after the nut is tight. i would strongly suggest not even starting the engine until the clearance is set correctly. If you moved the adj screw four and a half turns to get your clearance, you are doing something dreadfully wrong in your method.

 

I concur with billman250 - if you had to turn the adjuster that much, there is something wrong with your technique. When I do my valves, I rarely have to turn the adjusting screws more than 1/4 turn. Make sure you are measuring the clearance between the top of the valve stem and the rocker arm adjusting screw. If you're using straight feeler guages, it's difficult to get the guage oriented correctly for the measurement. Hence, I recommend using bent (45 deg angle) feeler guages for this car.

If you want to hold the screw while using your torque wrench, it's possible to do by using a crow's foot wrench. Just be sure to re-calculated the torque values that are set on the wrench to account for the longer (or shorter depending on how you orient the crow's foot) moment arm.

 

Suggestions:

#1 make sure you are measuring the valve clearance at the right location, per the Helm manual's picture.

#2 the only reason you would have to turn the adjuster more than 1/4-1/2 turn is if the nut was loose and worked it's way back. Or the valve is damaged

#3 On older Hondas I found it was a real bitch to keep the set screw from turning when torqueing the locknut. You'd have to try to keep experimenting with turning the adjuster back until after torqueing the clearance ends up being what it should. With the newer Hondas I've adjusted, the adjuster stays in position while tightening. This cuts the time it takes to adjust the valves in half, I swear! But always check the clearance after torqueing.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Squeezer
[B]I was adjusting my valves today and have a couple of questions.

 

I was measuring it at the location shown in the service manual. The gap between the bottom of the set screw and the top of the valve stem. I was using a straight feeler guage, I'll try again with a curved one. The straight one was bending a little bit when trying to insert it into the gap, that is probably why I had to turn the screw so much.

 

I use a feeler that is bent 90 degrees.

After the feeler went in, did you tighten the screw back down until there was some drag on the feeler?

After loosening the locknut, retighten it with your fingers, then perform the adjustment. The screw will be a little harder to turn, but it will be easier to torque it without moving the screw.

 

one more note, make sure the engine is in phase for the particular valve you are adjusting. in other words the rocker is resting on the base circle of the camshaft lobe, 180 degrees from the "point"

 

billman, you have to be careful- the base circle is not always 180 degrees from the "point." It's usually close, but... you have to be careful if you try to adjust each side (I/E) with that method that you are really on the base circle.

 

I gotcha marcucci, some manufacturers give different procedures(adj these 8, turn 360 degrees, adj other eight.)I don't prefer this method. to be totally precise, you would adjust each valve in proportion to tdc of the cyl it corresponds with.(in other words, set #1 cyl to tdc on the firing stroke, adj valves for that cyl, and so on) my concern with "squeezer" is he may have adj a valve with the cam in the wrong position, actually starting to open the valve (which would explain why he had to back off the nut so much). good point though.

 

Your "preferred" method is how the Helm's manual describes it.