Hi everyone, upon start up my engine is VERY loud, when it warms up to operating temps, i can still hear chattering from under the valve cover. Ive searched on here and found a great Valve Lash Adjustment DIY thread, and tackled the job. Most of the valves were on spec and some were a little off. I got everything buttoned up to spec and the noise is just a little quieter, i still have a chattering sound all the time. I got the car like this.

I did research on this, and i read if the engine goes so long without a valve adjustment, things can wear out of spec, and cause poor gas mileage and valve chatter..I'm thinking this is what's wrong. what exactly wears out? cam lobes? who has this issue? who's fixed this?

Bone Stock B18B1 96 DC

 

By the way, my friend has 90 da9 with 210k on the clock and his engine runs very smooth at idle and under a load. My engine sounds like it belongs in a tractor.

 

mine does the same thing lol, bought t that way too haha.

 

haha man! its so annoying..I'm planning on saving up for a fresh rebuilt B1 head, if i can't find out what's wrong.

 

You have already done a valve adjustment and they are in spec?

What specs did you use?

 

I havent done anything with mine, it's sweet music to my ears every morning.

 

my bet is you still didnt do the valve lash right! it takes practice and experience, do it again and make sure there in spec!!! they should sound real quite once done right!

 

Be careful and do it right. I did mine wrong the first time I tried it, and set them too tight, and shattered/chipped several valves. $1000 and a built motor later, I am more diligent with making sure that it is done correctly. Get good feeler gauges that are already bent (I tried bending my own), get the correct tool (not the bent 10mm box end wrench and a screwdriver) and double check your work.

 

intake
0.003" - 0.005"
(0.8mm-0.12mm)
they fell within the 0.004

exhaust
0.006"-0.008"
(0.16mm - 0.20mm)

most of then fell into the 007 spec some were around 009 so i brought the rest back to spec..

should i go exactly to #3 for intake and #6 for the exhaust? just to bring them closer?

 

yeah I'm going to redo them. ill update with the results. i just want all this chattering gone. the engine runs perfect, all day everyday.

 

I don't think those intake specs are correct. I think you're too tight on the intake.

Edit: Don't know about B18B, but B18C is 0.006-0.007 intake, 0.007-0.008 exhaust. Granted it is a different engine but 0.004 seems so tight I think you'll lose lash altogether when the engine is warm. Not good! Somebody should verify.

Edit2: NM every online source gives the lash settings you quoted, so it sounds like you did it right. Was the engine totally cold (i.e. not driven for 12+ hours) when you did the adjustment?

 

i parked the car around 7pm and and did the adjustment the following day around 11am.. i turned the crank to TDC on each cylinder, and tightened everything snug.

would it help if i play with the gap? like get the whole intake side to #3 and the exhaust to #6? or it doesnt make a difference as long as they're within those specs?

 

Shouldn't matter as long as they are within spec and close to one another. Are you sure that the cam timing is correct? Those can skip a tooth and be very hard to detect. I'm not sure if that would mess with the adjustment or not.

Sounds like your engine was plenty cool.