I have put 3000 miles on my car since the valves were last done by Tony at Translog in York (by the previous owner of the car).

I guess it is time to adjust the valves.

So....is it a giant pain in the ass to do myself or should I have it done?

I am not worried about my mechanical skills - just wondering how frustrating of a job it is.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I had never done it before, but I had a fellow local member (thanks Marty!) come show me the ropes. It was actually pretty straightforward. As always, the space is a little tight so it is a bit like building a ship in a bottle.

The "Krusted one" has a nice write-up on his procedure. http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=28758

To me it's not exactly difficult to do. I usually describe it as "tedious". You can do a search on the forum. There are a few different techniques to do the job. All are good, just slightly different. Pelican Parts has a technique. Cap'n Krusty has a different one. Both are good.

YES! I have been wanting to learn how to do this as well, especially since it's recommended to be done every oil change.

It did not cost much to have my capable mechanic to do it. Besides, I did not want to screw it up by having a valve too tight or something, not to mention having an oil leak. I am 65 years old and climbing under my car in awkward positions is not my cup of tea!

Plus it helps out our local economy. Our local garage went to four days because of lack of auto repairs in our community.

Maybe if I had one to practice on, I would feel more comfortable doing it but my 41 year old baby deserves better than me learning on the job on her!

I have peace of mind too!

I'd never done a valve adjustment on any car before but after reading all the various posts here and on other sites/books I gave it a try. I set aside an afternoon one weekend, took my time and tried out all the various methods. Bottomline is after removing some easily removed heater ducting, there really was enough room to do the whole job and become very comfortable doing it. It was actually a very relaxing and gratifying way to get to know the engine. Plus after seeing how damaged, mismatched and out of adjustment the valve train was, I know I'll never have someone else do my valves. Never.

I enjoy working on the car...maybe 35% of the reason I own it.
65% driving and events

but, having someone go over some of the basic procedures with me made it much easier.....I am lucky to have someone close by to help out and mentor me thru my air-cooled mechanical career.

I try to return the favor as often as possible. Traveling to or having someone over to help them work on their 914.

see if someone is close by....or take the trip out to NJ and I'd be happy to help.

That's very nice of you

How long would it take an experienced mechanic (anybody here who does it) a valve adjustment on a /4?

I usually give myself 45 minutes to do it but I have a cramped working area.

If the fan is already marked for TDC it should only take about 20 minutes max as far as I can tell.

If anyone is near the LA area and needs help let me know. It is a very easy job to do. Once you've done it a couple times it will become a breeze.

back when I had access to a lift, it would take an hour or so.

now in my home garage...jacking up car...placing jack stands...making sure they are positioned correctly so I don't die....drinking coffee....talking to neighbors walking by wondering what the heck I'm doing....dogs biting my ankles cause I'm not paying enough attention to them.....
.....it takes about 5 hours.

but this equals a perfect Sunday afternoon....

Or you can do it for him on the way to Hershey

was actually thinking that....but, will have wife and both daughters with me.
and they have absolutely no interest in valves and how they get adjusted.

You will be fine if there is a shopping mall nearby . All they need is the small platic card.

On a lift, maybe 5 minutes ............. If they're all out of adjustment, maybe 10. But then, I've been adjusting valves since 1970. Scary, huh? On the ground, probably half an hour. My method, the one in the writeup that Jim T, DDD, and I did, is FAR less time consuming than having to look for marks and fooling around.

The Cap'n

Crusty's method is easiet.

Just out of curiosity, I called Brumos Porsche to ask them what they charge to do a valve adjustment on a 4 cylinder 914. At $127 an hour, they said it takes 4 and 1/2 hours to do a valve adjustment. I asked them, "Really? What do they do for the other 4 hours?"


Anybody in Jacksonville that can show me how to do a valve adjustment? I'll pay you for your time.

I don't know if I'm the DDD that the Cap'n is referring to--I actually use the TDC method, and it takes me significantly longer than 5 minutes. Of course, I don't have a lift... I think I've done it in as little as 30 minutes, but I'm pretty out of practice now.

One local well-known shop charges 90 minutes labor for it. I think another one charges 1 hour.

--DD

I'm in LA and it is almost time will PM in the next couple of days. I'm in no hurry but would like to get this done in the next month or so. Jp.

It's not hard. Depends. And I mean diapers.

I think I will jack it up and take a look at it from the bottom and see what it looks like to get the valve covers off, etc.

Sounds like it isn't the worst project to tackle.

its not as bad as it seems- the fear of the unkown- i did mine while i had the whole rear suspension out, so that made it a little easier. since i had it all open and apart, i was replacing my push rod tubes and seals, so i wanted to make sure nothing changed after pulling the pushrods out to do the tubes, and putting it all back together- it was easier not having the suspension in the way- getting the valve covers off not that hard, just follow capt's instructions and you will do fine. in the end i only had one that really needed adjusting, it had been only @ 2k miles since my mechanic had done it, and it really had not changed.

It is easy. Krusty's method is foolproof and quick. No crawling around looking for marks. I have used his method 10+ times and never had an issue. I have headers so it may be a little better then heat exchangers but access to a couple valves is still limited. Not to hard to work around the tight conditions.

With what you say about your mech skills - this is a DYI job.

You can, and should do this. I always thought it was a rite of passage when owning any aircooled car to adjust the valves. It'll save you money in the long run and you'll (hopefully) know it was done right.

How about an LA valve adjustment clinic someplace??? Bring Your Own JackStands

I'd contribute a few bucks for the lesson and some barbequed animal muscles.

Word of caution, be mindful not to put pull down on or pry against the heat exchangers otherwise you could stip one or more of the exhaust studs.
I was stupid when I first got my 914 and went to adjust the valves and used one of the heat exchangers as leverage when to helo remove a valve cover retainer that wouldn't budge.

Not only did I learn how to adjust the valves, I also learned how to install a timesert with the engine in the car to repair the stripped threads for the exchaust studs that I had stripped.

I'd help out with it. We should find out how many people would actually attend in order to pick the right venue to do it in.

In my opinion getting the bale off the valve covers is the hardest part. Probably because I always forget witch length of screwdriver I used to pry it off the last time.

I have not done it myself but I have seen someone take a strong rag and loop it over the bale and pull down.

Like jawja said, shop towel. Or, use a screw driver to pry the bail out of its rear retaining hole.

Sorry, Dave, I thought you took part in the writeup. I guess you're stuck with the Pelican method for obvious reasons ....................................

The Cap'n

I'll do a training session. Gimme good notice, feed me while I'm there.

The Cap'n

Don't forget, you have to do the adjustment when the engine is cold, preferably after letting it sit overnight.

im searching for cap'ns valve adjustment diy,cant find it,please post link

Here you go.

What about for a 6?

Still a DIY? Link to tips?

A tip given to me by the person that showed me how to adjust my valves; get long feeler gauges like the ones pictured. You won't have to remove the heater boxes etc. to reach the adjusters. And it saves your knuckles.
Click to view attachment

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hey everyone

I just wanted to give props to Jerlle who offered to come and help me perform my first valve job. I love this community for many reasons but primarily because so many of you are will to give a helping hand.

setting the pistons up to actually do the adjustment was confusing and i will still need to do it a couple of times to feel really comfortable but oveall it was not as hared as i had originally thought.



by the way I have some F1 reading for you al in the sand box.

-jp-

Actually the best feeler gauge is the "Go/No-Go" style.

It leaves nothing to "guess" if the feeler is tight enough or not.

I bought a brand new set at my FLAPS and then installed Jakes pushrods, so I dont need feeler gauges anymore....

You do a 6 the same way. Even easier, because you can actually see the cam lobes.

The Cap'n

The Krusty way is the best way.
It does not take long. You do not need to remove the heater boxes. You do have to trust what your fingers and feeler gauge are telling you, though.
It's a task that builds self confidence!
Zach

Thanks!

Next question is are there preferences for valve cover gaskets? I assume they have to be replaced everytime. Probably as open ended question as what type of oil or brand of tires do you like.

For 4 cylinder cars, I prefer the Elring over the Sabo (which is probably toe only other brand available). I replace them when they're no longer soft, and I glue them to the valve covers with Gasgacinch. Some folks grease the head side, but I've never found that to be particularly necessary.

The Cap'n

And for a six with turbo valve covers...

it took me roughly 6 hours to go through the whole process, reading up on it, finding TDC, marking the flywheel, then double and triple checking measurements.

Once I was done the car stopped backfiring and had zero hesitation through each gear.

6 hours? Practice more, it shouldn't take 30 minutes start to finish. Interesting seeing so many ancient threads drudged up lately.

After figuring out the process and marking the flywheel I could probably do it in about an hour or so

dwell and timing on the car seems to be ok. No mark on the fan for TDC or 27 degree BTDC...need to figure this out