valve adjustments

[nico27004]

I wanted to do a valve adjustment on a 1984 toyota pickup. i just wanted to clarify that the exhaust valves or on the side of the exhaust and the intake is on the side of the intake? and when i do the valves for the first cylinder do i turn the crankshaft pulley untill the next set of rocker arms are loose or is there another way to do that? I know i get it to tdc then check if the first few are loose then adjust them but what would i do to move on to the others?

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[EricTheCarGuy]

First remember that Toyota valves get adjusted hot so keep that in mind. You are correct on the exhaust and intake valves but as for TDC I would focus more on the base circle of the cam being 180

[96CivicLX]

Correct me if I’m wrong Eric…..Find out the firing order of the engine cylinders. On my civic, I believe it was 1,3,4,2. Set cyl 1 at TDC. Then rotate cam 90 degrees and do cyl 3. Rotate another 90 and do cyl 4. Then another 90 and do cyl 2. Thats how my honda manual had me do it. I assume this would work universally because they are 4 stroke engines.

[nico27004]

thanks for everyones response. i have always thought to put it at tdc but i could be wrong lol! iam going to try it out this weekend. i bought it from a friend who never did it so iam going to give it a shot. should i put it back at tdc when iam done adjusting?

[yarddog1950]

I may be able to clear up the confusion here. Eric recommends adjusting the clearance on each valve when the cam lobe is on the base circle (180 degrees opposite the peak of the lobe) because your engine has an overhead camshaft that is visible when the cover is removed. If we were talking about a pushrod engine (like the Chevy small block V8) we would not be able to see the lobes, so we would follow the instructions for that engine (We would line up our timing marks for number one cylinder TDC on the compression stroke and this would set the lobes for number one cylinder on their base circles permitting adjustment of clearance for number one exhaust and intake.)
If you can’t see the cam lobes, lining up the timing marks is critical. When coaching DIY mechanics, if they’re working on an overhead cam engine, “Do not adjust clearance on any valve unless the cam lobe is on the base circle.” is the best advice.
I have a 2004 Acura RSX with 4 cylinders, dual overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder. I’ll tell you how I adjust my valves because it may help you understand why you may follow different instructions for different engines. With the cam cover and spark plugs removed, I am able to see the cam lobes as well as timing marks on the 2 cam sprockets. There are two marks on each sprocket. When number one cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke, one of the marks on each sprocket lines up with the other mark AND all four valves of number one are fully closed. I can see that all four lobes on number one cylinder are on their base circles. I then adjust these four. I turn the crankshaft 180 degrees and this brings the next cylinder in the firing order to TDC on the compression stroke. If I forget the firing order, I can still see a cylinder with four closed valves (Four cam lobes on their base circles.) I then adjust these four valves. Altogether, I have to turn the crank only four times.
Note that I really don’t need the timing marks and I don’t need to know the firing order with those visible cams. Nor do I need to start with number one cylinder. I can simply turn the crankshaft until I see one of the cylinders has all four valves closed and then make sure my four lobes are on their base circles.

[yarddog1950]

I may have confused some of you with my mention of pushrod engines and a method for adjusting valves on the Chevy small block V8. Most pushrod V8s have their valves adjusted with the engine running and there’s no need to look at timing marks. I’m inclined to remember my most recent experiences assembling Chevy V8s with aftermarket valve trains and making use of the timing marks.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Quoted From 96CivicLX:

Correct me if I’m wrong Eric…..Find out the firing order of the engine cylinders. On my civic, I believe it was 1,3,4,2. Set cyl 1 at TDC. Then rotate cam 90 degrees and do cyl 3. Rotate another 90 and do cyl 4. Then another 90 and do cyl 2. Thats how my honda manual had me do it. I assume this would work universally because they are 4 stroke engines.

You are correct and it can be done this way, it’s just been my experience that some people have trouble either finding TDC or getting the firing order correct so I recommend putting your eyes on the base circle of the cam just to be sure things get done correctly. Your method works just fine and I don’t have a problem with it at all.

[nico27004]

Thanks everybody! iam going to give it a try. i got done with my wifes 2006 ford fusion so my old truck should be alot easier lol! thanks for clearing everything up and all the good anwsers.

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