Loud Valve, How to Adjust & Oil

[SteinOnkel]

Hey guys,

one of my exhaust valves is really noisy. It goes away when it heats up, but cold it sounds like a diesel.

So how does one go about adjusting the valve play? I'm aware that they use shims (WHY oh WHY would you do this?? If you make something that needs to be adjusted, make it adjustable). I don't feel like dishing out a ton of money for a shim set that I will use one or two pieces out of. Do I: 1) measure the play 2) order the shims I think I need 3) install them, measure again, realize they are the wrong shims and start over?

And secondly, what oil do you guys like to run? I'm in California, so cold temps are not an issue. I've read that the oils for this engine should be nice and high in zinc for the valvetrain, so I'm thinking 15W40 Ford Motorcraft Diesel oil?

Thanks
Steiny

[ORFORD2004]

At 2.99 each shim i hope you are able to buy one under and one over your mesure. So 3 shims for each adjustement or be precise and only buy one. You need the tool to remove them.
I use Valvoline VR20W50.

[SteinOnkel]

Thanks!

And what tool would that be?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

And what tool would that be?

YouTube videos can sometimes be pretty hokey, but this one's pretty good and shows the tools:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM9Ow5Qa_oc

In the past, I've been able to adjust valve clearances with the cams in place by: 1) measure the gap (cold engine) with a feeler gauge inserted at several angles (take the average) with the cam lobe facing 180 degrees away from the shim, 2) use some sort of tool to compress the valve "bucket", 3) use compressed air and a pick in the little notch in the bucket to loosen and remove the shim, 4) measure the shim with a micrometer, and 5) insert a new shim with a thickness calculated to bring you to the correct clearance. 0.017" on the intake and 0.019" on the exhaust if memory serves, but check your shop manual for your particular engine.

For step (3), I have to admit I forgot what I used to pry down on the bucket as it's been decades, but I vaguely recall it was a bent screwdriver of some sort. The correct tool would definitely make life easier.

As for oil, I'm in Northern California and use 10W-40. Always seemed fine.

-Bryan

[SteinOnkel]

My goodness, what a PITA for such a little thing.

On every other solid lifter engine I've ever worked on you simply hold a feeler gauge underneath the lobe with it pointed away from the valve, rotate a big honkin' screw until the feeler gauge slides through with a sucking sound and move on to the next one. Takes ten minutes on an 8 Valve...

[ORFORD2004]

And what tool would that be?

https://autoricambi.us/products/valve-adjusting-tool
You mesure the same way. it's just that you have to remove and replace the shim to correct.

[RRoller123]

Pull the spark plugs, rotate the engine from the crank nut, the cam depresses the valve, insert the tool, rotate the engine and cam away, and the tool holds the valve down, yet still allows the shim to be removed. So measure gap, then rotate, insert tool, rotate, take shim out, calculate and procure new thickness shim, put new shim in, rotate again and remove tool. Move to next valve. A little tedious but it works. On Exhaust #4, you need to grind a little off the tool to make it fit, or insert it backwards. It will be obvious when you get to that one what I am referring to.

[SteinOnkel]

Would it make sense to - for now at least - measure the clearance first? I don't need any special tools (apart from feeler gauges, which I have) for that, right?

It is only one valve and it's very loud so who knows what the actual issue is.

[ORFORD2004]

Would it make sense to - for now at least - measure the clearance first? I don't need any special tools (apart from feeler gauges, which I have) for that, right?

Yes to mesure but you need to know the thickness of the shim to be able to order the right one.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Pull the spark plugs, rotate the engine from the crank nut, the cam depresses the valve, insert the tool, rotate the engine and cam away, and the tool holds the valve down, yet still allows the shim to be removed.

Now that you mention it, I think that's exactly what I did many moons ago, and simply forgot. In my case, though, the "tool" was a screwdriver shaped for the purpose. I'd recommend the proper tool, though.

-Bryan

[18Fiatsandcounting]

It is only one valve and it's very loud so who knows what the actual issue is.

Can you describe the noise? When cold, hot, certain rpms? If the valve clearance (measured cold) is, say, between 0.013 and 0.022", the noise could be something else going on. Insufficient valve clearance could result in the valve not closing all the way when the engine is hot, and too much clearance would give you more of a "clickety-clickety" sound and less air/fuel getting into the engine, but not much more than that.

Valve clearance will also affect when in the rotation cycle the valves open and close. Too little clearance = valves open a bit early and close a bit late. Too much clearance = valves open a little late and close a little early.

-Bryan

[SteinOnkel]

It's a standard, run of the mill valve-noise. Tick tick tick, at exactly half engine rpm. Then when you rev it, it speeds up in synch with the engine and "disappears" (i.e. gets drowned out) at around 2500 rpm. It returns as soon as you go back to idle. Disappears completely when the engine is hot.

[redcars]

What you are describing sounds a lot like an exhast leak to me. Go ahead and check your valve and if it doesn't help check for an exhast leak.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Steiny, yes, could be an exhaust leak as suggested by redcars, but it sure sounds to me like one of your valves has excessive clearance. When the engine is cold = lots of "clackety" sounds from that valve/cam interface. When the engine is warm = due to the expansion of parts, the clearance moves into the acceptable range and thus no more noise.

But, this is very simple: What are your valve clearances on each of the 4 intakes and 4 exhausts? If one is much larger, then that might be your problem. If all are within 0.013" to 0.022" clearance, you have a different issue going on. From memory, 0.017" is the goal for the intakes, and 0.019" is the goal for the exhausts. Measured when engine is cold.

-Bryan

[Spider951]

I adjusted the valves on my '81 a couple of days ago - for the very first time. It was easier than I expected. Yes, get the special tool, it straddles the shim and helps a lot. I did the adjustments without any special pry bar type tool to hold down the bucket as shown in the video, but it meant I probably had to do more manual turning of the crank pulley to use the lobes of the cams for the needed force. Not a big deal. I did buy (less than $10) a shorter 1.5 inch (38mm) socket to turn the crank (the heavy duty & tall impact socket I had in my tool box wouldn't allow clearance without removing the radiator; I for sure wanted to skip that just to move the crank). Make sure before you insert the special tool that you have the little square notch lined up so that you can get the shim out (no harm done, but you won't be able to get the shim out). I used a small flat head screwdriver filed down on the sides just enough to fit in the notch and sharpened somewhat to get under the shim. You have to measure the thickness of the shim to do the math to know what size shim to get for replacement (if needed). Don't trust the printed thickness on the underside of the worn shim that comes out (assuming you can still read it). One of my intake valves was way off; engine runs much smoother now. Well worth the effort and $.