Can anyone out there tell me how to adjust the freakin valves on a 292 Y block?? I've went by what the Y block forum said (on about my 10th try now and am getting nowhere!!) Any help would be much preciated!
OK here is a good way,there are others. 1 remove both valve covers 2 turn engine over BY HAND untill both valves for # 1 are closed and timing mark on crank is close to 0. 3 put a mark on crank pulley there and at 3 more places at 90*.4 4 adjust valves on #1 cylinder 5 turn engine in normal direction 1/4 turn till next mark lines up with timing pointer. 6 adjust valves on the next cylinder in the firing order 7 repeat for the rest of the valves turning engine 1/4 turn at a time. Note if there is a groove/notch worn into the rocker arm where it meets the valve stem it will cause a error in your clearance. Two ways around this ,right way have the rockers re=faced, quick and dirty use a feeler blade trimed a bit narrower than the stem diameter. Do remember these are mechanical lifters ,setting .019 as I remember but double check on that as it has been a day or two.
Solids? Hydraulics? Trying to quiet lifters on a running engine or starting from scratch after a rebuild or cam change or valve grind? Got any kind of shop manuals or specs for valve clearances? A little more info will help us tell how big of a job you're in for.
Also check to see if the bolts holding the rocker arm pedestals and rails are not pulling out.Some of these were made of aluminum and if they are stripped you will never get the adjustment to hold.Don't know if they all are aluminum but the ones on my first y-block were and I could never set the valves until I found out the bolts were pulling out.Put steel bolts in and all was well.
They set at .018 across-If you got the room to mark the balancer thats ok and if not do a cylinder at a time--go to #1 cyl-turn the motor over until one rocker is all the way open-or down set the other valve then do the opposite--This will get you in the ball park a little faster-Pay attention to the rocker adjusting nut-Some times there real loose and this is not good so you need to peen the threads lightly to tighten them up a little other wise it will back off again.
Solid lifters, steel adjustment bolts, .019 is the correct setting per Chilton's. One adjustment nut is tightened all the way down which is not good but the rest are fine. Bought the engine new from Ford back in 1988, hasn't been driven more than 5000 miles since then. No work done on it since then either. I thought I had it set right a couple of weeks ago, drove it and it started clattering and smoking. Haven't been able to get it right since then. This is the method I've been using off of the Y block forum. Thanks for the replies. Method 1: This is one of the simpler methods in which to set the valve lash and will not require finding top dead center (TDC) or be concerned about the firing order. But this method does require knowing which valve is the intake and which is the exhaust for the cylinder that the valves are being set or adjusted. Identifying which valve is which for a particular cylinder is merely a matter of looking at the ports, intake and exhaust, and alligning the port in question with the valve stem to be checked. Upon identifying the valves for a particular cylinder, then it’s just being able to bump the engine over with the starter or turning it over in a clockwise fashion (viewed from the front) with a wrench attached to the damper bolt. Having the spark plugs removed will allow the engine to turn over easier but is not a prerequisite to performing this operation. To set the intake valve for a particular cylinder, then bump the engine over until the exhaust valve for that same cylinder just starts to go down or depress. If the exhaust valve has started back up, then you’ve gone too far in which to set the intake valve for the cylinder in question. Upon getting the exhaust valve at the “started down” position, the intake valve for that same cylinder can be adjusted to whatever feeler gauge or lash setting you’re using. Upon completing the adjustment for the intake valve, then bump the engine over until the intake valve has fully depressed and has almost come completely back up to the closed position. At this point, the exhaust valve can be set to the desired lash. The order in which to do the cylinders is not important as long as all the cylinders have had the lash adjustment procedure performed. Do this to all eight cylinders at which point you’re through.
Don't know all the details of Ford 292s but I'd be concerned about the adjuster nut that's tightened all the way down. Might not be a bad idea to pull all the rockers and check for bent or worn pushrods, find out if intake and exhaust pushrods are supposed to be the same length and check for wear on the rocker arm tips as mentioned above. Most manuals mention setting the valve lash with the engine hot and while running. But the above methods already mentioned will work fine to get the engine started if you've had the valve train all apart. But if it calls for .019 HOT you might want to make the cold adjustments a bit looser, maybe .025. The clearances will tighten up some when the engine is hot. If things are too tight cold, when the engine warms up you might end up with too little clearance and valves that don't fully close. Then you can end up with intake backfiring and burnt exhaust valves. If you really want to quiet the valvetrain down your best bet might be to adjust the lash with the engine hot and running. It's a bit messy on some jobs but it usually ends up running almost as quiet as if it had hydraulic lifters. I always loved running the valves on a slant six that had a little clatter in it. When you got done it sounded like you'd overhauled the engine!
There are different length push rods - make sure that the one screw that is all the way down doesn't have a different length push rod. I don't know which push rods came on what.
Y blocks are all mushroom lifters. To the best of my knowledge, they are all that way. There is no good way to set mechanical lifters with the engine running.
The article is probably from the ford manual, I posted the pretty much complete ford instructions on how to adjust the valves cold, and I can post them again if you want. I use the TDC, than turn method, it works cold, and sound and perform great. By the way, Ford says .020 cold.
Yeah, like I said, it's been a long time since I've seen a Y block with the valve covers off. Did those use a screw to set the lash and a nut to lock the adjustment? That would make it a pain to set with the engine running. If it's just an adjuster nut it's easier to do with an offset box end wrench if you keep the length of the wrench inline with the length of the head. It's still a little messy but if you need to make a hot running adjustment it works. But if the manual gives a spec for a cold lash setting then the static adjustments described above should work fine.
Okay, Start off with taking your engine to TDC(with the valve covers off). You need a feeler gauge that is at 0.020"(for cold adjustment) I used a breaker bar, and a 13/16" (I think) to turn the engine manually. With the engine at TDC mark a line at 180 Degrees opposite of TDC(this is the second point) then 270 Degrees from the second point(putting it between the factory TDC markings and the 180 degree markings. THIS IS YOUR THIRD AND FINAL POINT YOU GO TO.) It is wise to mark these with chalk. At TDC you adjust No.1 Exhaust No.1 Intake No.4 Exhuast No.2 Intake No.5 Exhaust No.7 Intake Now Rotate the engine to the second point(the point 180degrees opposite of TDC)(This puts piston 4 on TDC) At 180 Degrees opposite of TDC you adjust No.6 Exhaust No.4 Intake No.8 Exhaust No.5 Intake Rotate the engine 270 degrees, putting you on the third marking.(the marking between tdc and 180 degrees opposite of tdc)(No.3 Piston is now on TDC) At 270 past 180 degrees opposite of TDC adjust No.2 Exhaust No.3 Intake No.3 Exhaust No.6 Intake No.7 Exhaust No.8 Intake Remember that y-block valves are(from front to rear) E-I-I-E-E-I-I-E and that the cyl. No.s go from 1-2-3-4(right bank) 5-6-7-8(left bank) Also note, that this is only the preliminary adjustment, and that a final adjustment should be made after running the engine for 30 minutes, and should be a 0.019". That being said, I have mine adjusted cold at 0.020" and it sounds like a really quite typewriter. If you have any questions, just ask. It's no problem for me to break out the manual again.
Custom Crestline, I followed your thread on adjusting the valve lash but when I get down to the 270 degrees No. 3 position is not TDC. The No 3 intake is half way open. I have made sure No 1 cyl is TDC on the compression stoke. What am I doing wrong?
Make sure you go 270 degree from the 180 degree mark not #1 TDC. Start TDC, then turn 1/2 rotation, then turn 3/4 rotation.
The Jalopy Journal
