Noisey tappets.

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brillblue

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I've rebuilt a 2.5 pertrol engine for my series 3 and after only 50 miles the tappets have become very noisey. After rechecking them I actually found them to have not enough clearance, I readjusted them to 10 thou. cold and they have become even louder! Apart from 3 new rollers, the cam and valve gear are original and obviously a little worn. I think the problem is caused by indentations worn into the rocker pads that the feeler gauge "can't see". I thought I'd try warming up the engine then setting them so that there's only the slightest amount of play in them, has anyone tried this? I don't wan't to end up shelling out yet more money on this so does anyone have any ideas?

Robert.:confused:

Thanks for your quick reply CharlesY, I'll give your method a try.
 
Last edited:
Take great care!

You may have worn ROCKER ARMS where they lean on the tips of the valves, which would easily give you a false reading using feeler blades between the rocker-pad end and the valve tip.

There are ways round this, like a set of new rockers, but there's an even better way.
Ain't there always if you ask?

First, valve clearances are NOT critical EXCEPT (a) you MUST have some and (b) it gets clicketty noisy if you have too much. The ideal is SOME ALWAYS, but not a lot.

Let's assume you have NOT swapped valves or rockers around. They are all where they always were and should be.

Start at the first valve. Turn the engine till the LAST valve (no.8 at the back of the engine) is on full drop. Undo the locknut on No. 1 rocker, and VERY GENTLY screw down the adjuster till the rocker tip touches the end of the valve stem. DO NOT SCREW DOWN HARD as you WILL push the valve open! Just adjust down till the rocker reaches the valve stem tip. Do NOT slip a feeler blade in to check it's touching as that will ruin the whole plan. At this stage there should be NO slack at all - zero lash as the Merkins say. All the slack and wear even in the rocker bush will be taken up. You can feel the clearance reducing to zero as you screw the adjuster down. Now the clever bit - UNDO THE ADJUSTER A LITTLE LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A TURN - that's let it UP just under a quarter of a turn. Hold it there and tighten the locknut firmly Job done. You now have between 0.008" and 0.010" clearance. Ideal.

Now turn the engine till valve 7 is full drop and adjust valve 2 the same way.

Then drop 6 and adjust 3
Then drop 5 and adjust 4
Then drop 4 and adjust 5
Then drop 3 and adjust 6
Then drop 2 and adjust 7
Then drop 1 and adjust 8

It's called "The Rule of Nines" and applies to most Landies and Minis.

I have a tool here that sets valve clearances this way.
Does anyone else have one of these?
I haven't used it since 1975 I reckon, but up till then it saw a lot of service.
Good tool once you get to "know" how to make it work well.

I might be persuaded to part with it .... sob .... my faithful old friend ...
but it should go to a good home ...

CharlesY
 

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Heheheh, we used to have one of those tappet adjusters. Great bit of kit, makes it easy provided you're adjusting the right tappet at the right time, guess how I know!!! ... ;)

We lost ours about two house moves ago so got used to doing it manually again now.

Got a couple of smaller ones with longer driver bits for motorcycle engines somewhere in the shed .. ;)
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
[smile] wrong forum! [/smile]


good bit of kit, that CharlesY - still use mine ;)
Click to expand...

That information certainly dates you as an antique like me! :rolleyes:

The thread on the Landy rocker adjusters is quarter UNF so 28 tpi, 0.0357" pitch, say nearly 40 thou per turn, so 10 thou clearance needs between a fifth and a quarter of a turn more or less. Keep it snug I say.

I can't imagine how my kit is so clean! I have taken it out of the cold workshop and am drying the box on the Bosky. Then I am going to rub it down and varnish the bugger. Why? :confused: Who knows! :D

CharlesY
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
I have lost my instructions - but the device has clicks on it - so you know how many clicks = gap - int that rite?

Oh - i int retired yet ;)
Click to expand...

Yes that is right, BUT .... the amount of each CLICK depends on the thread pitch of the adjuster screw. There are some strange threads involved in some engines.

Now in a decent God-Fearing Christian Imperial engine like a REAL Landy the rocker adjuster thread is quarter inch UNF, a pitch of 28 threads to the inch, so as the tool has 30 clicks per turn of the knob, 30 clicks is worth one turn of the screw, which is 1000/28 thou - 36 thou near enough.

We want a 10 thou clearance. So snug it down and then back off by about 5 or 6 clicks. The SPQR sheet says 5 clicks.

Let's not upset ourselves by discussing HEATHEN FOREIGN HERETICAL engines that use FRENCH measures in them ... disgusting ...

If you have a old Landy rocker adjuster handy and a thread gauge I would quite like if you checked the pitch for me.

CharlesY
 
The Mad Hat Man said:
I have lost my instructions - but the device has clicks on it - so you know how many clicks = gap - int that rite?

Oh - i int retired yet ;)
Click to expand...

I will get the instructions copied or scanned.

I need to wait till some 5 year old kid comes by and shows me how to do it.

CharlesY
 
CharlesY said:
Take great care!

You may have worn ROCKER ARMS where they lean on the tips of the valves, which would easily give you a false reading using feeler blades between the rocker-pad end and the valve tip.

There are ways round this, like a set of new rockers, but there's an even better way.
Ain't there always if you ask?

First, valve clearances are NOT critical EXCEPT (a) you MUST have some and (b) it gets clicketty noisy if you have too much. The ideal is SOME ALWAYS, but not a lot.

Let's assume you have NOT swapped valves or rockers around. They are all where they always were and should be.

Start at the first valve. Turn the engine till the LAST valve (no.8 at the back of the engine) is on full drop. Undo the locknut on No. 1 rocker, and VERY GENTLY screw down the adjuster till the rocker tip touches the end of the valve stem. DO NOT SCREW DOWN HARD as you WILL push the valve open! Just adjust down till the rocker reaches the valve stem tip. Do NOT slip a feeler blade in to check it's touching as that will ruin the whole plan. At this stage there should be NO slack at all - zero lash as the Merkins say. All the slack and wear even in the rocker bush will be taken up. You can feel the clearance reducing to zero as you screw the adjuster down. Now the clever bit - UNDO THE ADJUSTER A LITTLE LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A TURN - that's let it UP just under a quarter of a turn. Hold it there and tighten the locknut firmly Job done. You now have between 0.008" and 0.010" clearance. Ideal.

Now turn the engine till valve 7 is full drop and adjust valve 2 the same way.

Then drop 6 and adjust 3
Then drop 5 and adjust 4
Then drop 4 and adjust 5
Then drop 3 and adjust 6
Then drop 2 and adjust 7
Then drop 1 and adjust 8

It's called "The Rule of Nines" and applies to most Landies and Minis.

I have a tool here that sets valve clearances this way.
Does anyone else have one of these?
I haven't used it since 1975 I reckon, but up till then it saw a lot of service.
Good tool once you get to "know" how to make it work well.

I might be persuaded to part with it .... sob .... my faithful old friend ...
but it should go to a good home ...

CharlesY
Click to expand...
Hi CharlesY i would be interested in taking that tool off your hands good home waiting have sent you a pm just let me no what you want for it and we can come to some arrangement thanks
 
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