3FE Valve Adjustment (1 Viewer)

[jonheld]

So the most holy FSM wants me to do a valve adjustment every 15K miles. Yea, I'll get right on that. So after 100K miles of "I'll get around to that eventually", I had a chance to do it today.
The biggest challenge was getting the freaking valve cover off and on. I loosened heater pipes, throttle cables, wire harnesses, and whatever else was in the way and it was still a PITA. You've got to do it at normal operating temperature, so of course I burned the crap out of myself. Tons of fun.

Anyhoo, all of the intake valves were loose and all of the exhaust valves were tight. Like I couldn't get the feeler gauge in there tight. Set all of them to spec and followed the FSM to the letter. Put her all back together (no extra parts anywhere) and she fired right up.

Although she still sounds like a sewing machine, I do feel that there is more available power. Driving a common route on a warm day, I felt like I needed less throttle input than usual. I have no idea if it's true or if it's just me wishing that it's true. I'll be heading up to the YT Fall Gathering in New Hampshire at the end of this month, so we'll see how she does.

You'll need a valve cover gasket and 4 valve cover grommets. Great time to change out the PCV valve and grommet as well if it's time.

 

[Kernal]

Got photos of the work?

 

[Motleyone]

How long did it take? I have been putting off doing mine and have thought about taking it to a stealership to have it done. I can do most things but hate messing with the engine. OK, I admit I'm scared to mess with the engine.

 

[Alleycats]

Have you ever considered torquing your head bolts while your doing a valve adjustment?

 

[mr jits]

Have you ever considered torquing your head bolts while your doing a valve adjustment?

There typically isn't any HG issues with a 3fe. I wouldn't mess with the head bolts unless I were removing the head.

 

[jonheld]

How long did it take? I have been putting off doing mine and have thought about taking it to a stealership to have it done. I can do most things but hate messing with the engine. OK, I admit I'm scared to mess with the engine.

This is nothing to be skeered of. I was very tentative as well, but the only difficult part is getting the valve cover off and on. That is the single most time consuming operation. The valve adjustment itself is easily done with a 12mm 6point box wrench and a large flatblade screwdriver, and .35mm/.20mm feelers.

You will need a second set of eyeballs and a flashlight to look into the timing hole above the starter and find TDC (double dots) on the flexplate. A 36mm open end wrench to turn the crank works well. You'll need to remove the bottom engine cover (skid) to access the crank bolt. Once you're certain that you are at TDC, mark the inside of the crank pulley with a dab of nail polish or white out or whatever. This makes it easy to spin the crank 360 to do the second pass.

If I were to do this again, I will lower the front of the truck by removing the front tires and use jack stands. Lay several towels over the right fender as your torso will thank you for the extra padding.

Once everything is out of the way and you're ready to pull the valve cover, get some compressed air on the injector side of the cover and blow away all the accumulated crap. We spent a significant amount of time cleaning the mating surface of the head and it's a PITA to get to in the rear corners.

You will need gloves to remove the valve cover. That SOB gets hot.

The valve cover gasket fits into the valve cover and is supposed to stay put during re-assembly. Although I cleaned the channel that the gasket sits in well, the new gasket was slightly small and kept pulling out of it's home. We got it in there as best we could and sat the cover on the hot head for a few minutes. Once it warmed up, it stayed put very well and we were able to reinstall the valve cover.

In total it took 2 of us 3 hours from shutting down the motor to restarting it. There were several burns and swear words used.

 

[jonheld]

Have you ever considered torquing your head bolts while your doing a valve adjustment?

Absolutely not.

 

[Motleyone]

Thanks for the detailed responce. I'm going to give it a shot. I enjoy inventing new swear words as part of the fun.

 

[powderpig]

One thing I have found with the F series engines that have not had their valve adjust often enough(as well as real old fellers) is that the tip of the valve has worn into the face of the rocker arm. So when I adjust the valves I check first to see if this wear is there. A mirror and a flash lite will help. Now that I know what to look for, I just start with a feeler guage that I have ground to the width of the tip of the valve stem. In using this thinner width feeler guage I can feel the edge of the worn metal on the face of the rocker arm.

 

[Kernal]

powderpig: how do you correct for the rocker arm wear, or do you replace/repair it??

 

[Motleyone]

FYI

I just got the new 4WD Toyota Owner magazine. They have a small tech article on valve lash and doing the adjustment.

 

[mr jits]

You can also do it with the engine running according to some folks.

 

[powderpig]

Either replace the rocker arms, or using a long belt sander one can do a good job, be care full of burning the metal. I have also used a file in the past to file it down, but it takes time.

 

[jonheld]

You can also do it with the engine running according to some folks.

I would never consider doing that. Too easy to get hurt.

 

[Mark W]

Engine temp is not an important concern either. Adjustment hot compared to cold will be no more than a slight difference in the pressure on the feeler gauge.


Mark...

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

You can also do it with the engine running according to some folks.

That's the only way I do it now. It just makes for the quietest and best (IMO) adjustment. You might want to get a hair cut before doing so if your mullet is turning into a pony tail.

 

[jonheld]

So after driving the truck for a couple of days I definitely feel that she's got a bit more spring in her step. Faster off the line, easier to climb hills, generally more pep.

A worthwhile endeavor IMO.