<VV> valve adjustment

[Mark Durham]

Hi all, Actually, both are correct. However, I remember my Corvair mechanic
telling me years ago, back in the late 60's when he was replacing a wheel
bearing for me, that it was originally just a cold lash adjustment, however,
Chevrolet had problems with that and went to the more accurate hot
adjustment because people had a hard time telling where zero lash was cold
and without the engine running. It may have contributed to burnt valves. My
62 I got in 1967 with 44K miles on it had burnt valves. I did a valve job
and it ran great to over 100K miles.

However, Its pretty easy to back the lifter off and listen for the clatter
that follows, then turn in until it stops, then adjust in 1/4 turn at a
time.

There is nothing wrong with a cold adjustment as long as you follow the
rules.
The older lifters gave you a wider range, so if you were 1/2 or 1/4 turn
off, it really did not matter much.

However, the mechanic said the best way was to do the hot adjustment and he
had valve covers cut just for the job, (which I later borrowed from
him)which stopped most of the oil leakage.

Mark Durham





On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 10:11 AM, shortle <shortle556 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I thought I was doing it correctly by following the 1961 factory manual.
> Rather it works well for me. I usually only turn in 1/2 turn though after no
> lash.
> Timothy Shortle in (quiet lifter) Durango Colorado
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Chris & Bill Strickland <lechevrier at earthlink.net>
> >Sent: Aug 29, 2010 12:46 PM
> >To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> >Subject: Re: <VV> valve adjustment
> >
> >
> >>>>But, if I'm not mistaken cold adjust is the place to start only if
> you're so far off that it's necessary to find the 'start point' ?
> >>>>
> >
> >I'd agree -- on a new rebuild, you have to get the valves adjusted close
> >enough to get the cold engine to start, so that you can then adjust the
> >valves hot.
> >
> >Not that it pertains to Corvairs, but I prefer to adjust solid lifter
> >engines hot & running, too.  Hard on feeler gauges, but works rather
> >well.  That's what pressure washers are for -- cleaning up the mess.
> >
> >A dynamic adjustment will always be superior to a static adjustment --
> >the doing of it is open to debate.
> >
> >Bill Strickland
> > _______________________________________________
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