Thanks for tip!!
But do I really need to see the TDC or just watch which of the 4 cylinder is moving and then tune the right one?
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Wish there was a edit button in this forum :/
Think i better jack the front up with handbrake on because my ground is not level, don't want it rolling out of the drive way, lol
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This was the way I used to adjust the points (remember them?) on my old Mk1 Cavalier. From memory it was easier to pull the car in top (4th) gear or was this my imagination?
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Ok now th4 rocker cover won't come off even with all the bolts unscrewed. seems the gasket is stuck, any ideas? brute force??
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novice,
What in essence are you trying to do?
For what purpose do you need to find TDC?
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in the haynes manual, to check value clearance i need to see the TDC to find out when cylinder 1 is at compression then i can adjust cylinder 4 which is rocking.
Already bought feeler gauge for the job.
Right now im trying to take the rocker cover off but it won't budge.
btw would i need a new gasket or can i still use the current one?
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I presume you're working on an OHV engine (1.1 or 1.3). If the rocker cover won't come off I suspect the gasket has stuck on. These things are easily torn and when they do you get an oil leak running all the way down the sides of the engine!
Do the cover up now and go and buy a new gasket. Don't tighten the cover too much - only light tightening will do. If you do the bolts too tight the ends of the cover will bow and you'll get an oil leak anyway!
Again I presume you've got the HCS engine (1989-95) in this car? If so, yes, when one valve spring is compressed do it's mirror. So when valve 8 is open, adjust valve 1. When valve 4 is open, adjust valve 5, etc. If it's the earlier engine (pre 1989) the valves are not mirrored so you'll have to follow the book. I don't know about Endura-E. You don't need to know TDC.
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I forgot to mention:
When you finally manage to scrape all the old gasket off, before doing up the new one, fit the gasket into the rocker cover then apply some grease to the face that mates up with the head. It will then come off a lot easier next time.
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hi,
It's 1.3 Endura-E, I quited trying to get the cover off and went to buy a gasket from the ford dealer and the parts staff said to lightly pri the cover off with a flat screw driver.
I thought so I didn't need the TDC marking to adjust the value clearance, it just that manual says look for markings but I like how you others just put into gear and just move the whole car to move the cylinder instead :)
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So when valve 8 is open, adjust valve 1. When valve 4 is open, adjust valve 5, etc.
From my Allagro days, wasn't this called "the rule of nine"?.
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I keep forgetting today. I say go and get a new gasket now, but it's probably best doing the adjustments then putting rocker cover on and getting a new gasket (if it's past it). Otherwise you'll have to wait for the engine to cool down before you can chack the valves.
Rocker cover WILL come off with a little encouragement :-)
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Take the plugs out and you can turn the crankshaft with a socket on the pulley nut, or just by heaving on the fan or belt.
Plug any oil holes, galleries etc before you start scraping off old gasket, or bits will fall into the sump.
If you ever really need to identify TDC on the compression stroke on any particular cylinder, put your finger in the plug hole and feel the compression as you turn the crankshaft.
If the engine is completely unmarked and you need the precise TDC position, rest a long screwdriver or piece of stout wire on the piston crown and watch the other end move as you inch up to TDC.
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I've had exactly this same issue on the same 1.3 Endura E - no markings on the crankshaft pulley (or maybe they'd just worn away, the car had no crankshaft pulley cover like the Haynes manual said it did).
I took the plugs out, and turned the engine with a spanner on the crankshaft pulley until I could see the piston in number one cylinder approaching the top. Annoyingly you need to turn the pulley with a ring spanner, because unless you drain the cooling system and remove the radiator bottom hose, there isn't room to get a socket and ratchet drive in.
The job is easier (less bending down to reach the spanner) with the front of the car raised on stands, but it isn't in any way necessary.
Anyway, with number one piston at the top of it's stroke look at the valves on number four cylinder. If they are 'rocking', then you have it, otherwise just turn the engine through 180 degrees (easy enough to guess at with the spanner). The Haynes manual then takes you through which valves you should adjust with which ones 'rocking', and how to turn the engine between adjusting each pair of valves.
With regards to the stuck rocker cover, I wouldn't advise levering it off with a screwdriver - could easily damage the mating face. I'd get a block of wood and a mallet, and firmly tap it sideways. Be sure that you have all four bolts out - the two at the back can be difficult to access because of the throttle body above them. Either you need a long thin extension bar with a quarter-inch drive 10mm socket, or you will have to make dozens of tiny turns with a 10mm ring spanner. It's a lot easier if you disconnect the hoses from the oil filler cap and pull them right out of the way.
It's always best to fit a new gasket, and this model can be quite tricky to seal (gasket sealant gunk helps). The cork gasket is about a pound from Halfords.
Let us know how you get on!
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I tried again before i saw your post but it was getting dark and freezing.
I got the cover off by hammering the side and some levering with a flat screw driver did the job.
I used 4th gear and can only move backward because of the incline, anyway I thought it was easy to find which is rocking but when i pushed the car back I see, from the left, rocker 4 and 5 moving !!!,
I was expecting 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and so on
does the exhast rocker move down more and the inlet rocker move only abit????
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I can't recall exactly which valves rock when which cylinder is at TDC, but the Haynes manual does take you right through the adjustment procedure step by step.
Moving the car to move the engine might be ingenious, but when you can just put a spanner on the crankshaft pulley then I don't see the need. It's also bound to be harder to make fine adjustments in this way.
Get number one to the top, and check the Haynes manual see which ones should rock. Put a spanner on the pulley and turn it back and forth a few degrees, it'll be quite apparent whether the valves are rocking or still - thought it's a small movement. When you've decided that you have the right valves rocking, rock back and forth with the spanner again and ensure that the cylinder is right at the top of it's travel. The tip about using a screwdriver or some wire helps, but be very careful not to drop anything into the combustion chamber that you can't get out.
One final word, be very careful when re-tightening the rocker cover bolts. I snapped one last year and had to mess around with a stud extractor. Besides, (as someone else mentioned) too tight and the cover will distort - creating a leak.
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When you say put the spanner on the pulley, do you mean the bottom large pulley when you have to remove the lower cover??
I did that this morning and it took alot of force to move it (not in gear)and wouldn't this loosen the pulley bolt??
any idea where the usual place the TDC marking be?? I saw white mark on the sump but thats probily dirt.
I hope I got the rocker cover bolt right, I got everything reconnected and turn the engine on and so far I see no oil leak.
I try again next morning. could I jack the front up, put into gear and spin the front tire to move the piston??
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Thanks for all the advice btw :)
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I doubt there is TDC mark ..It was only needed for timing adjustment in the days before ecu..as timing is controlled by ECU and non adjustable.No need for one..
>>could I jack the front up, put into gear and spin the front tire to move the piston??
Only need to jack one wheel up..Take the plugs out. should turn easily in 4th gear.. make sure handbrake is tight on and chock the side not being jacked up.
As for tappets. If you start at no1 cylinder. turn engine over by wheel until rocker stops rising.slight extra turn on wheel should have the rocker in right position to adjust..do the same on the rest and you wont be far out..
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Steve
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Steve has put his finger on the real point. It is important that you check the clearance when the valve really is fully closed, not when the cam lobe is closing up the gap. All the rules of thumb are just easy ways of ensuring that, and also a sequence that lets you check the valves in turn with minimum wasted turning effort. You could just work along from 1 to 8, checking when each was fully closed, but you would do a lot of unneccessary turning because while you are doing a valve at the front, another somewhere else is also at the right position, or about to become so in 1/4 turn.
I'm sure the book will spell it out.
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That's the one, the crankshaft pulley - bottom left of the block (left as you look at it, not the driver's left). Easily recognisable as the pulley that drives the alternator. Turning it won't undo anything, it'll just turn the engine over.
Should be quite easy to turn with a reasonably-sized ring spanner, and taking all the spark plugs out makes it a lot easier.
I really don't see why all this turning of roadwheels with the car in gear is necessary. The crankshaft pulley is easily accessed, easy to turn, and you don't even need to move from your position above the rocker box - you can watch the rockers and the piston crowns while you turn the engine.
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Thanks for everybodies help
In the end I did the jack driver side front tire, put into 4th or 5th gear and turn the jacked up tire clockwise and I was surprised how easy to turn the crankshaft and see the rocker's move so quickly.
Anyway I hope the clearance right, not loose that it taps with the feeler and not so tight it grips the feeler.
I adjusted that it snugley let the feeler pass through with some friction.
after everything back together, engine on and there is less clicking now but sounds like one rocker is still clicking.
Can't i get rid all the clickings to when I bought the car brand new??
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They all click so don't worry about it. Basically the pushrod eventually makes a dent in the rockers which the feeler won't measure. Nothing to worry about.
From experience it's probably 2 or more rockers making a noise still. You can see which ones if you try inserting the feelers into the gaps with the engine idling. Noise will stop. You may then decide you want to readjust, but too much and you'll burn the valves out. Best left noisy.
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...new rockers if the noise really bothers you?
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You can see which ones if you try inserting the feelers into the gaps with the engine idling.
You mean I can turn the engine on with the rocker off cover off??
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>>Can't i get rid all the clickings to when I bought the car brand new??
Not without grinding the rocker to valve surface..I would suggest you leave it now..you could easily go over them several times without any improvement..
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Steve
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Well atleast there is less clicking now which im happy with.
I drive the car to town and it feels like the acceleration was not as good as before. Did I made the clearance gap too small on one of the piston or is it because when the clicking was there before , the engine is using more fuel which causes better acceleration??
sorry if this don't make sense.
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>>Can't i get rid all the clickings to when I bought the car brand new?? Not without grinding the rocker to valve surface.
I can remember there used to be a tool very similar to a socket set rachet that you could set up valve clearances more accurately. You put it on the rocker lock nut to undo it, and then another smaller device inside the racket went on the adjuster screw. When you turned it, each click it gave represented a setting of two tho on a feeler gauge. It didn't matter if the rocker top was a concave shape due to the bashing it had from the rocker, because you always got a more accurate setting than using a feeler gauge.
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"I can remember there used to be a tool very similar to a socket set rachet that you could set up valve clearances more accurately"
Yes: I've got one. Unmarked and hardly used. good for son's 1.1 Fiesta.
madf
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I bought one in early 70`s. I found very fiddly.give up using because I could do the adjustment faster without..My point was in a workshop that has all equipment. it wont take a minute or ten to correct..
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Steve
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