Valve clearance fail?

[Peter_D]

Got my valve clearances checked at a garage last week.. Not sure when they were last done if at all

I printed out the guide how to do it that is on here, and got the clearance settings from ITR-DC5 forum. I told him to set them to the lower end of the tolerance

He did them and told me they were actually tighter than they should be, he adjusted them to the lower end as i said (which was recommended by someone)

Anyway the car seems to drive fine but the tappets are actually noisier now than they were...can clearly hear them tapping when driving

I put the car up the night before so had all night to cool down, he said he would do it first thing in the morning so i've took his word for it, put the car in the garage the night before and specifically told him it needs to be stone cold not even started for a second

Any idea what has happened here?

 

[jordbalboa]

This happened to my s2000, the tolerances where wrong.

 

[Peter_D]

Hmmm the ones i got were from the Administrator on ITR-DC5, he seems to know his stuff, C&S Evo 7..

Someone else said the same ones too, and they are the same as in the guide?

 

[Chris.]

I thought they're the same on all K20 engines.

 

[Peter_D]

I think they are, seems the same from what i've read

So i've given him the right tolerances..but they are ticking louder than they were before?

Would starting the car up affect this at all? He said he wouldn't, but it's the only explanation i can think of?

Engine slightly warm, would this make the clearances show tighter than they would be showing if stone cold?

 

[jordbalboa]

if the car is warm the tolerances will be incorrect

 

[Griffin]

Some explanation to noisy valves and how it is quite easy to balls up.

The divit shown in my childish drawing is from normal wear and tear, when clearances are checked/adjusted a feeler/slip gauge is slid between the adjuster screw and the top of the valve to then set the clearance. A poor setup is as shown in the drawing where the adjuster is set but the divit below the feeler gauge is allowing excessive travel. What usually happens is the mechanic rushes the job and places the gauge within the gap and lightly screws the adjuster up against the feeler and locks it off, the feeler gauge is called a 'feeler' for a reason so you can feel what you are doing and feel the drag through the gap, after the lock nut has been tightened the gaps should be rechecked and usually readjusted.
You are supposed to use the size below and above the selected feeler to ensure the larger one doesn't fit in the gap and the smaller size passes through.

Hope this helps some

 

[Peter_D]

Griffin you hero, thats a perfect explanation!

I think ill get my Dad to have a look at them this weekend and check them the way you mentioned, if they are wrong then the mechanic has done it the wrong way that you mentioned, and ill stick it back to him

Cheers bud!

 

[Smigzy]

The car can be warm, the upper limit is about 34 degrees or so, but anything below and your good to go.