Engine: Valve Adjustment 289

[Washtubman]

I finally got around to adjusting the valves on the Hawk today. Guess I'm concerned because I couldn't even come close to getting the .026 feeler gauge in any of them. Had to turn the adjusting nut quite a bit to get them set. I have them set and will put the valve covers, etc., back on tomorrow and hope for the best! It concerns me because the car started good, idled good and ran quite well. It did seem to lack power, but since it's my first Stude, I'm not sure how much power it should have. Compared to my 265 V8 (stock) in my 56 Belair, it seemed doggy. Are my concerns warranted, or is it no big deal they were that tight? And by the way, I did go by the procedure in the shop manual.

[lark-o-rama]

did you adjust cold? I believe .026 is the cold setting.. I did mine in my lark last year and turned out great.. Your valves probably were very tight.. with all things equal.. at 289 powered hawk should walk away from a stock 265 Belair..

[Washtubman]

Yes, I did them cold. Will find out tomorrow if there's any difference. Thanks for the reply.

[JoeHall]

I'd say you are going to experience a noticeable increase in low end torque, especially noticeable if you have an standard shift tranny.

[Tom Bredehoft]

I couldn't even come close to getting the .026 feeler gauge in any of them.

Do I understand they were (and still are) too tight? Work on them until the .026 is able to move between rocker and the valve. THEN you'll be happy driving.

[Washtubman]

Tom, they are not tight now. Will get it back running this afternoon and will update with any differences in power/noise.

[warrlaw1]

I'm interested, too. Mine are loose and my 259 has plenty of pep. Ted Harbit suggested I tighten them if I want to race. He otta know.

[Washtubman]

Got it together. Now sounds like a diesel! RPMs increased by about 300 at idle and I can't seem to get that adjusted back down? It definitely has a bit more pep, but way too noisey....... Not sure what to do.
As I mentioned, I set them cold and used the test light for all but #1 cylinder. The procedure states to turn the engine until the test light comes on and then adjust that cylinder. I noticed the light stays on for quite a bit of the stroke when moving to the next cylinder, so should I stop when the light first comes on, or go a bit further?

[Dick Steinkamp]

It sounds to me like they were probably close before you adjusted them and now they are much too loose. A Stude V8 with the valves properly adjusted is virtually silent. I do it this way...

Adjust this valve With this valve fully open
1 intake 6 intake
3 exhaust 2 exhaust
8 intake 5 intake
6 exhaust 1 exhaust
4 intake 7 intake
5 exhaust 8 exhaust
3 intake 2 intake
7 exhaust 4 exhaust
6 intake 1 intake
2 exhaust 3 exhaust
5 intake 8 intake
1 exhaust 6 exhaust
7 intake 4 intake
8 exhaust 5 exhaust
2 intake 3 intake
4 exhaust 7 exhaust

Clark has a nice decription of the factory method here...

http://studeblogger.blogspot.ca/2011_06_01_archive.html

This method works too...

At TDC with #1 on the compression stroke adjust Intakes: 1-2-5-7 and Exhausts: 1-3-4-8

With pointer at 0 and #6 on compression stroke adjust Intakes: 3-4-6-8 and Exhausts: 2-5-6-7

Also...

intake opening - set exhaust / exhaust closing - set intake, method


In any case, your engine should be quiet when you are finished.

Your performance issue MAY be something else (timing, dwell, plugs, carburetion).

Also your comparison with your 56 Chev may be misleading. If both cars are similarly equipped (carburetor, exhaust, automatic), they would be close in an all out drag race with the Stude using first gear start. In normal driving, I think the Chev is going to FEEL quicker due to the lower first gear in the Powerglide compared to the second gear start in the FOM.

[Washtubman]

I followed Clarks procedure, which was very detailed and helpful. I have it apart again waiting for it to cool down, then will recheck everything and see what happens. Thanks

[Dwain G.]

Clark's procedure is fine. The only things I might add is that using your thumb to feel for compression can be misleading. (I think this is what happened to you) This is where a TDC whistle comes in handy. It will not whistle on the exhaust stroke even though you will feel pressure against your thumb. Or you could just lift the distributor cap and make sure the rotor is pointing at #1 spark plug wire. The other thing is that the test light comes on when the points break, not when they close.

[Washtubman]

The only things I might add is that using your thumb to feel for compression can be misleading. (I think this is what happened to you)

Dwain, you are right. I adjusted on the wrong stroke! Got them now and all seems good. Just a very little noise and a little more pep, but not much difference.