Okay...
I was wondering how most of you adjust your valves...with the engine running or not?
Is there an accuracy issue concerning the motor running? I would think that if you set them cold (crank the motor by hand, blah, blah) it wouldnt be as accurate as setting them hot. I know thermal expansion plays a part. Just wondering.
Also, is there a clearence specified between the rocker arms on the shafts and the spacers?
Jeez...i just adjusted my valves on my free truck i got (76 D200 custom 2wd 727.) and the adjustment was so off, the rockers were moving left and right really bad. I set them hot while running and it quieted them up. I love this motor.

travis

Personally, I like to set them dead cold, moder off.

Mopar Performance sells shim kits for spacing the rockers. They are kinda pricey though.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I always do mine running. I just put some rags around to keep the oil mess to a minimume.

I adjust mine running.
As for the side to side movement, I grab some extra spacers (the wide middle ones) and file & fit as needed to take-up the slop.
DD

I adjusted my valves cold during my rebuild, and read here and at the .com site about adjusting while the motor is running. So, I cut the top off of an extra valve cover (trying to catch the splatters) and tried adjusting the valves. My problem is.... How do you tell when they are properly adjusted? While trying to adjust my valves, it seemed like I had to press a little too hard to try and catch the gap while everything is moving almost half an inch, and in doing so may have forced the feeler into the gap and screwed up the measurement. Sorry for the babble, I'm having trouble figuring out the best wording for this question.

When everything is cold, and more importantly, not moving, this measurement is very easy.

Thanks,

Erik

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There's someone in my head but it's not me!!

What did you set the cold valve lash to? Once the engine reaches operating temp, this adjustment closes up. So if you tried to set the valves to the same adjustment as when cold, the lash will seem tight. I have found that if I set my initial cold lash to .012/.026, my running lash will be about .010/.020. Chrysler gives the lash specs as 010/020 hot. You can do this with either the engine running or not. The problem with running the engine to operating temp and then shutting it down is the clearances will change some. Depending on how fast you go through all the valves, this change might be insignificant. I like to do the lash adjustment with the engine runing because my adjustment is with the engine under actual running conditions. This gives the most accurate adjustment.

Mitch

I'm with PlumCrazy on his question. I just finished rebuilding my first slant six. It's still on the engine stand waiting for the engine bay to be painted. But looking at how the rocker arms and valve stems would be moving up and down while the engine runs, how can you keep the feeler gauge in the right spot to "feel" the gap, and how can you keep the wrench on the adjustment nut?

Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Truth is that you have to use both methods to adjust the valves on a SL6.
First you set them cold by rotating the engine and using the adjustment sequence or just watching for the other valve in the pair to be down, then adjust the closed one. Cold I adjust to .012 Intake and .022 exhaust for the stock cams (.010 & .020)

Once the engine is running, I fine tune the adjustment with a running check. You must be able to insert the feeler gauge straight in and it does take some "feel" to get it right. Stop the engine and check, then restart and check again. Turn the idle down as low as possible to reduce the amount of bouncing while turning the adjuster.

As the engine performance increases and the cam gets more wild, it becomes harder to do a running adjustment. Again, I just stop the engine and adjust, then restart to check.

Here is a copy of a post by Donram360 about adjusting SL6 valves, I need to go look for the Chiltons "how to" page, has anyone else seen that write-up??
DD
Hi, guys. Sounds like a typical slant, having rattley valves. Easy fix. The older Chilton used to have a 3/4 page tech tip, probably the most remembered one in the whole book; the valves are meant to be adjusted with the engine running, and warmed up, now this takes a little getting used to, but the part I remember most, was the one that they said to go to the boneyard and get another valve cover off a junker, cut it in half, (lengthwise) toss the half that would go to the manifold side and bolt the distributor side to the head , start it and adjust away, with less oil slopping over the head, now just let it idle, to further keep the oil spray to a minimum. I once had a 69 Dodge D100 truck, I bought it from 2 mechanically challenged 18 year olds, that just bought it to get them home to Illinois from the Carolinas, and they told me that they thought it had a clutch problem, even though it was a freshly replaced clutch. Seems that whenever the trans was placed into 3rd (3 on the tree), the truck fell on its face, and any shifting had to happen with the engine screaming near the red line. Upon checking it out, 4 of the 6 cylinders had NO compression. It seems that whoever adjusted the valves had done it with the engine COLD, and when it would warm up, the parts would swell to a point of not letting the valves close completely As soon as I readjusted them, it ran like a million bucks! You could pull up to any Mopar in the days before wrong wheel drive and underpowered 4 bangers, and instantly tell that the car next to ya was a slant because of the valve noise... You'd be surprised how quiet they can be, and how much better they run when adjusted right.
C ya later, Don

Hi guys. I see that it did not take long for you to eat up my post on adjusting valves. As far as what year Chilton to dig out, I looked in my old 65-72 edition ,and it is in there, and it has been a while since I had to crack that one, but I think I remember seeing it in my 68-75 edition, too.
It is actually in the 65-72 one a couple times. It is in the Dodge-plymouth section, and again in the barracuda-Dart-Valiant section further back.
It is not in the back, "unit Repair Section" where they show you basically step by step how to rebuild engines, trannys, etc, once you get them out by the instructions in the individual car sections. I have done this job too many times to remember, and don't worry, if you get it too tight running, you won't be able to pull out the feeler gauge. The best kind to use is the old angled ones, Snap On used to sell ones with 2 sizes in one, a go-no go type, the end 3/4" is the size you want, shove it in past that 3/4, if it goes, too loose. There was 0.002" between the go end and the no go rest of the feeler. Glad I could help.

Since my cam is not stock, Comp Cams instructs me to set the gap slightly different. Is it pretty fair to say that about 0.002" over the specified gap is a good rule-of-thumb for a cold starting point on valve adjustment?

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

.002 looser on the lash for a cold adjustment is a good rule of thumb, that is a little loose for the intakes but about right for the exhaust.

What is the lash spec. for your Comp cam? .012 & .016?
I find that the Comp grinds run a little better if set a bit looser, you may want to start at .014 Int. and .020 exh. and tighten them down from there, hot.

Don't be afraid to try some different lash settings to find the best mix of idle quality and noise control.
DD

Doc,
I'll have to check the spec. card and get back with you on that. I think you're close.

Since I have not ever done this before, how much oil should I expect to come splashing out with the valve cover removed for this process? I don't have an extra one to cut up for a splash pan, so what other methods can be used to prevent oil getting all over our newly painted engine and engine bay? The car is equipped with a/c. If I remember right, it was a pain to get the valve cover off with the a/c hoses still attached to the firewall. Can this be done before installing and re-charging the a/c system?

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Less oil then you think will come-out or the rocker arm feed holes.
Keep the idle speed as low as possible and lay a big towel or blanket over the fender andright-up to the edge of the head. Some oil may drip down the side so just wipe that up.
Let us know how the adjustment goes.
DD

I cut down a valve cover because I had an old, dinged-up one laying around and I like playing with my buddy's torch, but Doc's right: you don't really need one because not all that much oil flies around. Don't go to alot of trouble to make a modified cover. The damn things tend to catch on fire anyway when you're cutting them because of the sludge trapped under the baffle under the top...lot's of nasty black smoke to p*ss off the neighbors...

---Red

I usually don't use a torch for that job, I have done it with a sawzall, the best way I found to cut a valve cover is to use a muffler cut off "whizzer" wheel. I have found it worth it to have a half-valve cover to do the job,
if you work on these with any regularity. Once in a lifetime, no, you probably wouldn't need it. I also bought a cheep cork gasket and cut it down, too, and used weatherstrip adhesive to hold it onto the cover, cuts down on the mess just a little more.