Hey all, this is my first post. May need to go to the newbie section but I'm not sure. '87 pickup with a 22R has a really loud tapping issue... I know these engines are usually so quiet you may not even know they're on (sacrasm of course) but this is a really loud tapping- much louder than usual. I've adjusted valves on different vehicles before but I am running into an issue on this one. When I'm at top dead center according to the zero degree mark I can set the clearance on the first cylinder no problem. My service manual says I sould be able to set the clearance on a few others at this time too (see picture) then rotate engine 360 degrees and get all the others...







My problem comes when I try to adjust the others (intake vale on 2, exhaust valve on 3) at top dead center during the first step. There is no clearance on any of these at all at top dead center- Do I need to rotate the engine around and adjust as I go? Could the camshaft be installed wrong? Could the engine noise be something else all together? Any help is much appreciated Thanks in advance!

 

you have to be at TDC on the COMPRESSION stroke, i had the same problem

 

I have tried it on both, still can't adjust it... Am I doing it wrong?

 

hmf..i rotated mine to TDC on the compression stroke, adjusted said valves, rotated 360* and adjusted the other valves,

the first time i tried it, i was in fact NOT on the compression stroke, and i experienced the same problem, that's the only reason why i said that lol

 

I'll double check again... Thank you very much for the quick response!!

 

So I double checked and I am at TDC on the compression stroke

 

hmf...just to make sure..you are checking the clearance between the rocker arm and the valve stem right...just had to make sure LOL

are you sure you're at TRUE TDC, (the crankshaft pulley and what not is not exact..it's really close though, so you should be close enough to adjust them), you might try rotating the motor a little bit either way to see if you can do it

 

Yeah I'm sure I'm at TDC. I did rotate the engine a little but the clearance for the intake valve on cylinder #2 is no where near being able to adjust--it's rocker is still at the top of the cam lobe... I can rotate the engine till it's at the bottom of the lobe but thats no where near TDC. does that make sense?

 

hm..if i was at my house i have a spare head with cam and rocker arms on it..i'd be able to figure it out quick!

i checked mine after i did it and everything was good, so for now i can't help ya out any more..sorry bud!

 

thanks for your help anyways!! I really appreciate it!!

 

if you think the valve adjustment is ok ,try backing the valve cover nuts a little .the valve cover can act like a amplifier for the valve train. with a used gasket it is easy to over tighten. some times they are loud no matter what you do.i have readjusted mine 4 different times and they are still noisy. i have tried adjusting them hot and cold no difference.

 

It doesnt matter what stroke your on. The heel of the cam lobe is 75% of it... it doesnt matter what stroke your on, as long as that valve is on the heel, not the lobe.

 

If you can't get the valves adjusted with the shortcut, do it the long way- one cylinder at a time, in firing order: 1-3-4-2.