I worked on my friend's 2.8 over the weekend. A guy he know stopped buy for a bit, and worked on the motor for a bit. When it was valve lash time, he did the oddest thing: He grabbed a ratchet & socket, and started to tighten the rocker arms down randomly. He'd spin the engine every now and then, too, with no regards as to what cyl was at TDC. I jumped on him with a "hey, wait!" He said it was a pre-procedure, that we had to tighten down all the rocker arms so they didn't wiggle. I said "Yeah, but we're supposed to do that in the "real" procedure!" He insisted on this pre-procedure thing of his, and worked until he was done.

It made no sense to me. I was handed the wrench to do the "real" valve-lash procedure, and I loosened each rocker nut until the pushrod wiggled, and tightened it until it stopped moving. Then I went 3/4 turn, just in case I stopped wiggling the pushrod too early. On 60% of the valves, the kid's "pre-procedure" had found 0 lash. The other 40% were too tight.

Was he right in this pre-procedure? Or was it all BS? I was ready to deck him, then I realized it wasn't my engine, so I backed off. (I have a feeling he didn't check any torque spec of the cam sprocket bolts, either, but I wasn't at the house yet for that one.)


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Tom,

Huh? "Pre-procedure"? Maybe I was asleep in class that day....

It seems that all you would accomplish by this would be to set the lifters firmly against the cam (wiping off all oil) and possibly force some oil out of the lifter body, which might make it harder to adjust properly.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited March 13, 2001).]

 

Same here. Never heard of or done any such thing. Can't imagine what possible purpose there would be.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

You guys don't remember the pre-procedure ??

Wasn't that one of the rules you could make while playing quarters....

Say mother may I before you drink...

pick up beer with the right hand, put down with the left...

Do the pre-procedure...

No??

I've never heard of such a thing....what a banana.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

R.I.P. #3
My favorite quote about D.E. "He can see air"

 

well I do something like that before the final adjustment so I can visually see where the lifters are on the cam-lobes.
I do not use the 'book' method to adjust rockers.

 

EB,

Oh, THAT pre-procedure! Damn, I almost forgot that one. Except when I went to school it was not called "quarters" - we called it "shillings".

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

LOL

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

R.I.P. #3
My favorite quote about D.E. "He can see air"

 

Great, thanks for the support! I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought that was strange.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Not only strange but dangerous. You could hit the piston and bend a push rod, break a lifter or strip the muffler bearing.