Vales too tight when cold

[Dave E]

I went to check the clearance on my valve train last night. Checked the valves cold(didnt want to wake my neighbors running the engine). I figured they would be a bit loose. None of the valves were loose. I only found 2 of the intakes that were to spec. Everything else was tight. Am I wrong in expecting them to be loose? I plan to do it warm tonight, but was just trying to get a heads up here.

Dave

 

[jasond73fj40]

Not to point out the obvious but you did have the #1 cylinder set to TDC, correct.

 

[IDave]

I was wondering that, too. How did you go about setting up for the measurements. But your expectation is correct: valve lash should be looser cold than warm (heat expands, cold contracts! )

 

[Dave E]

Well....actualy no I didnt, or if I did, it was there before I walked up. I just figured that a majority of the valves would be closed at any given time. I noticed 2 valves that were open and didnt bother checking them. I had a suspicition from previous trouble shooting that the valves were too tight. I found 2 valves(intake) that I could slide a 0.20mm feeler under. This includes the exahaust valves.
I was just guessing that 10 out of 12 valves couldnt be in an open state at the same time.

Dave

 

[s79bj40]

makes a huge difference having it at #1 tdc, at any other point you will only get a couple that are fully closed. So you might just want to give that crank a turn b4 doing it again.

 

[cruiser_guy]

You MUST be at TDC to check valve clearance. The valves DON'T open and close instantaneously. There is quite a bit of overlap between them (about 1/2 the cam revolution or 1 crank revolution). That makes a BIG difference as you can imagine.

 

[IDave]

This is why the manual tells you to check with the engine running. You can only get the feeler gauge into the gap if it is wide enough at some time during the cycle. But you DON'T have to spend time getting everything lined up.