i started working on my car around 3pm yesterday. it's now 8:AM. I've been working on it this whole time. i was changing my valve cover gasket and decided to try doing a valve adjustment after reading a tutorial on here. i also have a helms manual.

anyways. the first time i adjusted them, i think they were too tight or something because it idled low. then it ended up not starting after a while. i thought i put the firing order wrong or something , then i accidently put everything backwards even though i had it right the first time. anyways i got the firing order right now.

so , the second time i tried to adjust my valves , i took for ever and thought i did everything right. i did 1342 and used .009-.011 exhaust/ .007-.009 intake.i didn't really know what light drag was, but i did everything way looser. i mad sure the lowest spec fit with little to no drag and then each one go a little tighter. now my car wont start, i have to go to work tomorrow and im absolutely lost. this was supposed to be an easy project.

edit: also i broke off the valve cover stud with the ground on it because my torque wrench didn't click at 7lbs, so i attached it to the front of the valve cover. does that make the ground worse?


Modified by drewthomas14 at 7:55 AM 8/6/2006


Modified by drewthomas14 at 11:33 AM 8/6/2006

 

help? im about to push start it ,but i dont want to mess anything up. im pretty sure it's flooded by now.

alright. before i was using just regular straight feelers. i found out that you're supposed to use angled ones for the intake side. wish i would have found out sooner because i spent 5 bucks each on feeler guages. i just go the angled ones today and decided to check my specs one last time. these were much easier to use. they only started at .008 so i checked my clearences in the middle of the ranges. .008 for intake and .010 for exhaust. i found out my clearences are pretty much dead on even use the straight guages. each valve had a slight drag on it. again i followed my helms procedure rotating the crank counter-clockwise 1,4,3,2 and using the cam gear and a stick to double check the TDC position.

is there any reason my car should not be starting now? i just put in new spark plugs as well. the only thing that i can think of that messed something up is in the middle of the whole sherrad i goofed up the firing order because i thought i had it wrong.


Modified by drewthomas14 at 10:03 AM 8/6/2006

 

does the engine turn over when you try to start it?

 

valves are too loose?? not holding the right compression...the way i test clearance is by adjusting, then inserting the next size...it should not fit...then recheck with the original size again to make sure..move on...also it must be at TDC..the set your working on must have play, if not its not TDC...Luck man

 

perhaps the valves are too loose, bring it to a shop?

 

expletive a shop. yes, my engine does turn over sometimes, i tried giving it some gas and it almost started but now it'll just crank and crank. i'm pretty sure i did the valve adjustment right because this third time i checked , everything appeared to be in spec. the middle spec feeler had a slight drag to it in all 16 valves. i did the procedure right all three times according to helms. i used the cam gear and started with the UP on top, which is tdc for 1. then i just went counterclockwise working my way to 3 to 4 to 2.

im thinking it might just be flooded, will i damage anything if i push start it? again im 99.9% sure my adjustments are in spec. i just haven't done it before so i dont know what a slight drag is. also , would having the wrong firing order (read opposite) have any negative effect on my starting system.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drewthomas14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i took for ever and thought i did everything right. i did 1423 ........</TD></TR></TABLE>


Thats wrong. Your suppose to do 1,3, 4, 2. Do it again in that order and ill guarantee the car will start.






<FONT SIZE="3">EDIT: IF YOU HAVE A D SERIES ITS THE SAME ORDER AND SPECS!</FONT>

 

duh, im an idiot. i did do it in 1,3,4,2 as that's how my helms outlines it. i even wrote it at the top of my schematics i printed out.

 

Well if you did do it in the right order then your specs are out.

UP wont indicate the correct TDC all the time. It just shows it for the cams. If the block isnt TDC you wasted your time. Make sure the crank white mark is on its mark. Because if you do the valves when your not in the right order it will be way the expletive out there.

 

im not exactly sure how tight the feeler should be when it says slight drag. i check the middle spec , and it had a slight drag on all 16 valves. what would cause my block to not be TDC? do sohc crank pulleys have the same marks. am i ok to try an push start my car to see if it'll even start?

btw in the helms manual, you start off at up at the top and the tdc marks aligned with the cam cover. than you just rotate through. i also tested it by poking a stick in the spark plug hole. but how do you know if it's exactly tdc?

 

double check that ground my friend. you'll be amazed how much trouble a stupid ground wire can be

 

i did snap my valve cover stud with the ground attached, but i attached it to the front of the valve cover instead.

 

alright i just tried to start it and it sounds like it almost did. i made a video http://s73.photobucket.com/alb...7.flv .

also, the b-series diagram shows a tdc mark on the crank pulley . i couldn't see one on my d-series. also , do you have to be exactly tdc? i have been using the cam gear and a stick and i know i have been very close if not on tdc everytime. also , sometimes i'd spin the crank too far moving from one cylinder to another so i'd just go around again. is that bad , i check for tdc , but does it have to all be in one cycle?

 

redid the valves for the fourth time. again , followed the procedure. i actually went a little tighter this time. i trippled checked everything while doing it then afterwards i checked a 4th time for each cylinder. the only thing i didnt do this time that i did last time was torque the adjuster nuts, im pretty sure my torque wrench overtorqued them anyway and i would always end up with more play in the assembly. i know about how 10ft.lbs feels so i just hand tightened them as i adjusted them.

is it ok for me to push start my car, i think there is too much fuel in the motor right now from me cranking it.

also, is there any way i could have permantly damaged my motor? the first time i did them it started ,but it was running rough which is why i redid them . that led to the no start. i did try to crank the motor while the valve lash was loose.

 

goddamnit. nothing , i just cranks and cranks. wth could the problem be. even if the valves were too tight or loose , wouldn't the bish at least try to start?

 

i've got 5hrs to figure this **** out, gotta get to work tomorrow

 

It must be a wire or something not hooked up. Check the distributor plug, check the fireing order. Check to make sure you hooked the ground wire up to the stud coming out of the head. Sometimes people put the ground wire on a valve cover only bolt and thats no good.

 

fixed. and it runs like a bat outta hell. my brakes work better now for some reason too. the pedal is way more firm and the parking brake is as well. thanks for all your help guys. i was working on this for 30hrs straight. im gonna ******* sleep for 3days.

 

haha, I did a valve adjustment today and snapped the same bolt for the same reason. however I lucked out and there was enough stud on there to get a washer, the ground and a bolt on it. My car almost didnt start after I went to the gym and I got real worried that the ground wasnt good enough, but when I pulled in my driveway I realized the my dome light was on, gym bag must of snagged the switch.

 

so what was it.not enough brake fluid

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IT’S ME DAVID &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so what was it.not enough brake fluid </TD></TR></TABLE>


No ****, I hate when people do this. Fix it and then not say what they did differently.

Because in 8 months when someone says search, they will get this thread without any answers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SuperSteve737 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


No ****, I hate when people do this. Fix it and then not say what they did differently.

Because in 8 months when someone says search, they will get this thread without any answers. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Son of Bitch

 

i move for solution or ban!

 

Drew why didnt you say how you fixed it?

Anyway problem had nothing to do with the valves, it was his firing order that was off.

 

firing order was off doesnt say much. what exactly did you do to solve the problem