You should wait for a reply from jtgh, I believe his 8v is approximately the same year as yours and he has a FSM. Don't trust Chiltons or Haynes they may have numbers confused with the 16v engine.

 

Possibly, though Chilton has a huge table broken down by year, engine size, and valve number... Haynes condenses that into one line for the 8-valve and one for the 16-valve.

In the meantime, should I make yet another trip to the FLAPS for a more varied set of feeler gauges, or do these not need to be adjusted super super accurately?

 

In the meantime, should I make yet another trip to the FLAPS for a more varied set of feeler gauges, or do these not need to be adjusted super super accurately?

Maybe I'm not understanding you correctly but usually you make up the correct size by using two or more thinner feeler gauges. I'd set them to 6thou and 7thou (or as close as you can get with the gauges), smack in the middle.

 

on my t-belt page is lash.
is
http://carfix.stufftoread.com/CEL/lash1.JPG
and
http://carfix.stufftoread.com/CEL/lash2.jpg

see temperature charts on lash1.
set them anywhere in the range.
but cold is just I= .006 and E= .007 , six and seven thou.

hope that helps.

goday

 

those are good thru 1995 (data changes starting in 96)
and 16v is
Cold;
.005-.007inch I (fsm 95)
.005-.007inch E
so on 16v set them both at 6 thou.

there are some bogus data sheets (pdf) that show lash at .13" ( this was a misprint by showing metric as inches. very bad those pages are)

some like to set exhaust at upper limit, as these valves run hot and many have fear of
valve expanding and getting too narrow at the gap and resultant burned seats.
going high on lash will make the noiser too.

 

Right, I think I was confused by Chilton publishing specs to a tenth of a thou, but that's probably just failing to round off properly after converting from metric specifications. And also, the feeler gauges I had didn't have anything smaller than 0.006 to stack. But I now have a better set that should work fine for me

 

And the next question. (that didn't take long, did it? )

The book says to use silicone sealant on the valve cover gasket. I have a tube of sensor safe ultra grey. Is there a pressing reason to use something other than that? And do you put the sealant on both sides of the gasket, or just between the gasket and the valve cover, and then oil the side of the gasket that hits the head? I seem to remember something like that on the VW, but these might be different...

 

Use the sensor safe. The O2 sensor can be damaged by the use of 'normal' silicon sealant. Best way to fit the gasket is to apply the sealant to the rocker cover, position the gasket and then let it go off for a few minutes. That way its glued in place and therefore easier to assemble. Add a fine smear on the head side of the gasket before assembling.

 

http://carfix.stufftoread.com/tools/TSB-sealants-subs2a.pdf

i use the threebond,
but that is why suz worth this for people with out the real thing.(oem)

http://carfix.stufftoread.com/tools/TSB-sealants-subs2a.pdf

cheers

 

Hmmm. Why would my valve lash be increasing with every engine revolution? Also, should I expect my cylinders to hold/develop pressure when the engine's turned by wrench?

I started by setting the A group, then went to turn the engine to adjust the B group, and heard hissing. Figured that would be the spark-plugs I put in finger-tight to not have anything fall into the chambers, so removed the spark plugs. But then I figured I'd try the compression tester, and at wrench-turned speeds, they're not holding any pressure. Can I safely ignore this as being on account of slow speed? Or should I be concerned?

Back to the valve lash, I adjust the B group, turn the engine back to the A group position, check them, and they're too loose... Tighten the clearances, move engine, the B group's loose. Repeat, repeat, repeat... What gives?

 

8v lash

It Must Not. (increase, no matter, your check is very good, )
and setting lash to the center range (using round numbers) is best.

• Set TDC #1 on crank index 0 degr.
• make sure #1 is firing not #4 (watch valve actions)
• number 1 cyl. valves cam not pushing lifters.
• Dizzy rotor pointing to #1 is good sanity check.
• set lash I1, I2, E1,E3 , one phase 1.
• rotate crank 360 deg CW.
• set lash on, I3,I4,E2 and E4.

i got rid of wierd fsm coding and use the unambiguous, eg. I1 for Intake 1 and E4 , exhaust 4.

that makes it easier , I hope.

#1 TDC can be found many ways.
Dizzy rotor , weak as it might be set wrong.
watching valves , always works.
take a tube (hose) and blow air in the cylinder 1 to find real #1 , not too good a check if lash is wrong. (too tight)
compression gauge attached #1 and observe pressure increase after Intake cycle just before TDC , compressing. (can fail if valves are too tight)

the best is watch valves or the cam lobs pressing on the lifters.
Just watch #1 and #4 like a hawk.


just make sure you are not starting on TDC #4 which is very easy to do.


if head or dizzy was off car,
ignore dizzy rotor, it will be wrong ,fix that later.
watch the valves, always works. every time.

I hope the helps.

cheers.

I mentioned setting valve loose on some engines.and that is because , I track valve lash.
if it keeps getting tighter (valve recession can happen) then I tend to set the lash to what my engine is doing.
this is old school and is not as important today with better valves. but I still measure them all and log them. (out of habit)
I worked on MG's and Triumphs and lots of things that loved to work in tighter valve lashes with time.
The good old days ,weren't.