TR6 TR6 valve help/upgrade?

[RonMacPherson]

This would have been in 87-88, His shop was in an industrial strip mall fronting the chain link fence of the river. His yard was somewhere out in Anaheim Hills or further south. Would go to his shop(where he was stripping the vehicle down)and storing components; tell him what you needed and if he didn't have it there would bring it in next week from the yard. He was only open on weekends.

 

[TR3driver]

Sorry, doesn't ring any bells. But I'll ask around at the next club meeting and see if anyone else knows. Kinda doubt he's still there, as I've never heard about him.

But then, I very rarely hear John Nichols' name mentioned either, and he was still in Gardena last time I went looking for him. Cut way back on his inventory after the city told him he wasn't zoned for junk cars; but he still had the handful of used Tenax clips I needed. John's a bit of a flake tho ... he once promised to bring a TR6 wheel to a swap meet for me; showed up 2 hours late without the wheel. Promised to meet me at his shop right after the event; but forgot that too and stopped for lunch and a few beers. I never did get the wheel.

 

[ichthos]

Thanks for all the help and tips on adjusting the valves. I think I have a reasonable plan of action. I adjusted the valves. They were all loose. It seems like using the feeler gauge is an art in itself. I made sure the 0.008 was loose, the 0.010 was snug, and the 0.012 would not pass through. I checked everything twice. I have to wait for my valve cover gasket to start up the engine before I can tell if my engine runs any better. I am going to periodically check the valves every 3,000 miles to see if they need adjusting. When I do feel the need to rebuild them, I will ask for the improved valves, seats and guides. I would guess that the head would automatically have to be surfaced also. It is unclear to me based on the posts if it would be beneficial to "port" the valves (make them larger?)or the cost to do so. My next question is what are symptoms that the valves are too tight or loose? What damage can be caused by the valves being too tight or loose?
Kevin

 

[vettedog72]

If the valve is set too tight it will not have time to cool while it is on the valve seat. The valve head will over heat, possibly warp or burn material away. This problem will intensify if the motor is run at high RPM's. A noticeable symptom is a slight miss while at idle and you can feel the miss when pulling at low RPM's. Too much gap will result in less than optimal power. Other than more vale noise because of the excessive gap, I don't know how you would detect it with out a feeler gauge.

 

[piman]

Hello Kevin,

I personally feel that 0.008" to 0.012" is too large a tolerance. Certainly there is a knack and the way I do it is to adjust the screw and then snug up the locknut all the while pulling and pushing on the feeler gauge. If you adjust the screw then just tighten the locknut it will probably be too tight.
The other problem is if there is any wear on the rocker tips you can get a false reading. This will give a noisy top end even if you think that the settings are correct.

Also if you look at the triumph manual, and follow their way you adjust two valves at the same time.

Alec

 

[ichthos]

Thanks Alex,

I didn't mean to imply I left a wide range of tolerance for setting my valves. I was speaking more to my lack of inexperieince in using a feeler gauge. Someone suggested trying this method earlier. Using the various sizes each time gave me more of a feel if I was adjusting them right. I adjusted the valves to 0.010 so that the gauge was snug, then cheked this by making sure the 0.008 fit through easily and the 0.012 would not fit though witout a great deal of force. Once I achieved the correct gap the screwdriver was held in place while I tigthened the nut. I did adjust two together and followed Bentley. It actually helped since I had another to compare it to each time. I have no idea haow to tell if the camshaft is worn. I guess if I adusted things correctly and the camshaft is not worn, I shouldn't hear any valve noise, correct? I'll finally get a chance to put my valve cover on tonight and let you know how it sounds.
Kevin

 

[TR3driver]

I have no idea haow to tell if the camshaft is worn.

Detecting a worn camshaft is a bit trickier (need a $25 dial indicator) but Alec mentioned worn rocker tips, which are easier. Undo the nuts that hold the rocker shaft to the head and pull the entire shaft off. Ideally, the rocker tips should appear as smooth curves, with no flat spots. The depth of the flat spot in the middle tells you how worn they are. But IMO, unless they are really bad, the extra clearance caused by the false reading won't be enough to worry about. Trying to squeeze every last horsepower out of a worn engine is a bit silly anyway, IMO.

A worn rocker shaft and bushings will also make it hard to get a repeatable measurement, so if the clearances seem to randomly get a little bigger then a little smaller, that may be the problem.

I guess if I adusted things correctly and the camshaft is not worn, I shouldn't hear any valve noise, correct?

Solid lifters always make a certain amount of noise, especially when the engine is cold. Only experience can show you how much that is.