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Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jan 29 2007, 01:13 AM

http://www.icbm.org/erkson/personal/porsche914-73/914_valve_adjust.htm

I got under my car to perform my first in-car valve adjustment (my very first 914 valve adjustment was with the engine out of the car). Wow, was I baffled as what to exactly do I didn't find it easy to adjust the valves with the tires and heat exchangers in the way and my neck and wrists were put into unnatural, fatigueing positions, along with limited visibility. So after some pondering and inspecting, this is what I came up with. The manuals and web sites do a poor job explaining EXACTLY what needs to be done for an in-car valve adjust as far as GETTING to the valves.

This should allow beginning 914 owners a very good path to getting to their rocker assemblies with minimal contortions, bumped/scraped hands, and neck cramping. It is assumed the person knows how to adjust valves, they just need a way to get in there. It's a quick procedure as well; removing the heating system parts actually goes very quickly thanks to its simplicity

Hope it helps...

Posted by: So.Cal.914 Jan 29 2007, 02:15 AM

Cool thread, very clear.

Posted by: Lawrence Jan 29 2007, 02:59 AM

Very well done.

Posted by: cooltimes Jan 29 2007, 09:27 PM

Thank you for posting this tech procedure.
It is appreciated.
Mike Cooley

Posted by: SGB Jan 29 2007, 09:53 PM

Alwayswelcome information. I don't know how manytimes I;ve done a valve adjust, but I still have to read all the guides and nstructions again before I start. Thanks for that clear description.

Posted by: Carlitos Way Jan 29 2007, 10:30 PM

I think that's a wonderful way to do the valve adjustment. However, I think there's an easier way to remove the bail. I'm not sure if it was Kapn or Slits, or perhaps another oldie but goodie who showed me this, but I remove my bail with a shop towel wrapped around the bail. Simply pull down and off it comes. No additional tool, and I also liked the "don't scratch your covers" approach.

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Jan 29 2007, 11:17 PM

Nice. Detailed. Complete. TOO BAD IT'S THE HARD WAY! You can read the same BS on the Bird Board. Go here to see how the real wrenches do it:

http://www.914club.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=28758

Once you've done it my way, you'll laugh at the very thought of doing it the other way.

The Cap'n

Posted by: PinetreePorsche Jan 30 2007, 10:42 AM

I haven't tried both this method and The Cap'n's, so I'll withhold judgement till I've done 'em both at least twice. But, even as a 20+ VW van owner, with many adjustments on them, I was intimidated by the very close quarters on my "new" 914. So I give a thumbs-up to the Nut's suggestion of clearing out the brush--mostly air tubes--regardless of which bean(cylinder/rocker) counting system we use. (And someone's suggestion of using a rag, not a lever, to pull down the bale wire is great in these tight quarters!) Since none of the removal operations are difficult or time consuming, once rusty screws are free and the best angle of approach found, I'm all for making space to work. Since we'll be doing this one or more times a year, get the rusty screws working once, lube them, and have no troubles on the next go-round. Thanks, Nut

Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jan 30 2007, 11:32 AM

Actually, after reading your method from the "original" 914club site -- as well as what was posted on Pelican -- and what the shop manuals instruct, I don't consider your method any simpler by a significant magnitude and you still fail to instruct the person how to get to the darn valves in the first place! If someone doesn't want to remove the heater parts, fine, it's not necessary. But for me it made life WAY easier in adjusting the forward valves. Maybe laying on my back on a creeper isn't the way to do this?

I think positioning the dizzy at #1 firing position and then using the marked flywheel as a guide is more accurate than watching the rockers move as you spin the tire. This valve adjusting method is very simple, accurate, requires no guess-work, and would take no more time (and probably less) than your "spin the tire on the Porsche" method.

As for the insulting comment about "real wrenches", this [valve adjusting] method was told to me by two certified VW dealership mechanics of over 20 years experience each (one of which had his own independent shop as well), and is used by other VW nuts with far more experience than you. I've used it on my dub for years as well. Get off your high horse, you're not as great as you think.

Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jan 30 2007, 11:33 AM

Excellent contribution. I'll add that to my web page.

Posted by: BigDBass Jan 30 2007, 11:52 AM

Thanks for the how-to.
As someone who has yet to adjust valves myself, what I really appreciate is the orientation of where the stuff is and how to get to it, regardless of the method used to do the adjustment.

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Jan 31 2007, 07:07 PM

Thank you for your opinion. BTW, I've been adjusting VW, Porsche (4 and 6 cylinders), and other valves (using my method) since 1960, and have owned my own shop pretty much since 1976 (I managed a couple of other shops in the mid-80s), and worked at a dealership and the premier P-car shop in LA for a few years before going out on my own. The beauty of my system is its simplicity, as it can be used even when there's no distributor installed in the engine. It's more accurate because you adjust at the center of the base circly, not somewhere on the ramp. I routinely do valve adjustments in 5-10 minutes, not counting the time to set the car up on the lift. Takes a bit longer on the ground, but it's still a LOT faster than doing it the other way. I've done 'em hot in the gravel of the pits at Willow and Riverside, cold in motel parking lots in the rain, and on countless garage floors. The Cap'n