Valve Adjustment

[Jim Mac]

Don,

I found in one of your posts a valve adjusting procedure stating that proper clearence for the valve / tappet as .010 for the intake & .012 for the exhaust. In the technical data section of a service manual by Universal I find stated clearences "cold" to be .008 & .010. After all this work I would like to get this right. Can you shed some light?

Thanks for your help again.

Jim

[Don Moyer]

Jim,

We have never come across any Universal Manual that called for anything other than .010" for the intake valve clearance, and .012" for the exhaust valves with the engine cold. The .008" and .010" values would be correct for a hot engine. These are definitely the correct values today, even if there was an archival manual somewhere with different specs.

Don

[sglazebrook]

Hi all.

Last weekend I did a little work on my A4 - new belt tensioner from MMI, re-epoxied the water jacket breaches (last time before considering a new short block), and adjusting the tappet clearances. According to two of the three manuals that came with the boat (unsure if any are related specifically the "rebuilt" 1967 block engine without visible serial number), the tappet clearance settings are different than standard practice here. Unfortunately, I set the tappets per 2/3 of the manuals without checking the forum first. Of course, today I couldn't get the A4 to start. Lucky to have good access to the valve side and only had to remove the carb to get at the cover and tappets. All set to E = 0.012 and I = 0.010 COLD. Starts and purrs again. But why the different values in the other manuals? Here is the proof.







Both list the clearances as E = 0.010 and I = 0.008 COLD. "Archival Manual" I guess...

[marthur]

Scott,

The green covered Medalist Motors guide looks similar to my A-4 Operating manual.

I had never seen the Westerbeke manual. BUT looking at the cover, I managed to find it online and download it. For anyone else interested, try this link:

Westerbeke A-4 manual on ManualsLib

Because this is a very old thread, I will post this as a new thread as well.

Mike

[sglazebrook]

Trust our host here (and the membership) who always has the latest and greatest information. There is a lot of misinformation out there on other forums, at the docks, and even in the manuals. I am so appreciative for this site, and sometimes don't minding doing it twice because I learn so much. Thank you!

[sastanley]

Several years ago, rigspelt had a great illustration related to valve adjustments with input and confirmation from Don M.

here is a link to that thread.

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2927