Editing Adjusting solid lifters (section)
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===Setting Valve Lash on Mechanical Cams=== All the valves must be set individually and only when the lifter is properly located on the base circle of the lobe. At this position the valve is closed and there is no lift taking place. How will you know when the valve you are adjusting is in the proper position with the lifter on the base circle of the cam? This can be accomplished by watching the movement of the valves. # When the engine is hot (at operating temperature) remove the valve covers and pick the cylinder that you are going to adjust. # Hand turn the engine in its normal direction of rotation while watching the exhaust valve on that particular cylinder. When the exhaust valve begins to open, stop and adjust that cylinder's intake valve. (Why? Because when the exhaust is just beginning to open, the intake lifter will be on the base circle of the lobe, so the intake is the one we can now adjust.) # Use a feeler gauge, set to the correct valve lash, and place it between the tip of the valve stem and rocker arm. Adjust until you arrive at the proper setting and lock the adjuster in place. # After the intake valve has been adjusted, continue to rotate the engine, watching that same intake valve. The intake valve will go to full lift and then begin to close. When the intake is almost closed, stop and adjust the exhaust valve on that particular cylinder. (Again, when we see the intake valve almost closed, we are sure that the exhaust lifter is on the base circle of the lobe.) Use the feeler gauge and follow the procedure described before in step 3. # Both valves on this cylinder are now adjusted, so move to your next cylinder and follow the same procedure again. In the future you may find shortcuts to this method, but it still remains the best way to do the job correctly. # Another and far superior method of adjusting the valves is to hand rotate the engine to bring up each piston in the firing order sequence. With the piston at TDC for that cylinder, both the intake and exhaust valves can be adjusted. You then rotate the engine 90 degrees and adjust the next cylinder in the firing sequence. The easy part of this is that you do not have start with number 1 cylinder, you can start with any cylinder and then follow the firing order. Once you have performed valve adjustment in this manner you will find that it is far faster and more accurate than other methods. You can also use it for what are considered tight lash cams or the infamous Duntov cam for the small block Chevy. Using the previously described method of EOIC (Exhaust Opening, Intake Closing) on tight lash cams will get you into trouble every time.
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