valve adjustment

[cliff]

would anyone happen to know the valve adjustment order for the overlap method? i need to adjust mine and am looking for the order. in an older haynes manual for my 533i they had a great procedure that went something like 'when the rockers on cyl1 overlap, both stop moving with cam rotation adjust cyl4' and so forth....worked great, now all i can find is instructions about rotate the crank 1/3 of a turn an so forth. I would prefer to not have to that route...any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[E30m42cab]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E30-Valve_Adjust/E30-Valve_Adjust.htm
Been a long time since I've had an M20, and never did this myself, but this might be your best bet.

 

[enzo90]

i do believe that this post gave me a project for the weekend

i was wondering how i would turn the engine over to adjust the valves when the front of the crank is covered by all kinds of stuff and i cant get a ratchet onto it

 

[Doughnut]

Rather than pushing the car around to rotate the engine, If you have an open diff jack one wheel up in the air put the car in the highest gear and get a friend to rotate the wheel clockwise while you watch the rockers do their thing.

Welcome to the forums cliff!

 

[leadtrombone]

that is such a good idea. never thought about that... [80?] so simple

 

[E30m42cab]

Valve adjustment is for sissies anyways. You just don't get that cracking and gurgling and popping when you downshift or lift off the throttle.

 

[enzo90]

well i procrastinated a bit and finally got around to adjusting my valves today.

it only took me about a hour but when i got to the intake valve on cylinder 6 (the last one i adjusted) it wouldn't adjust closer then about 4 times the gap from my book (.25 mm).

is there anywhere i can get a larger valve eccentric to fill up that gap or am i just screwed?

 

[Doughnut]

well i procrastinated a bit and finally got around to adjusting my valves today.

it only took me about a hour but when i got to the intake valve on cylinder 6 (the last one i adjusted) it wouldn't adjust closer then about 4 times the gap from my book (.25 mm).

is there anywhere i can get a larger valve eccentric to fill up that gap or am i just screwed?

Errrr, what does the cam lobe look like, the contact area on the rocker is unservicable to my knowledge and you will have to buy a new one.

Though I'm more worried about the cam lobe... Was it discoloured or scratched at all?

 

[E30m42cab]

I'm pretty sure you can buy lash caps for those babies.

 

[cliff]

adjusted my valves and they came out wonderfully....damn were they loose...engine sounds like brand new, but you have to have someone else, in my case the wife, crank the engine while you watch the cam lobs. Obviously had to remove the spark plugs to relieve compression or she would never be able to turn the crank, but it's her car anyway....no pain no gain

 

[cliff]

although i did discover a sheared head bolt on #1 exhaust side...looking into that one but i am not going to worry about that right now. seems to have no sum effect and i don't know how long its been like that....after 165K miles the head is basically welded to the block anyway so i'll get to it in the near future, but it will not deter me from driving the thing, all other things equal as they are.