did a valve ajustment and its even louder.

[ejnight]

Did I get them to tight? It was very cold out. any help would be great.

[e30trooper]

You did it in Inches . You need to do it at ".25mm"=( .010 inch )

Their loud because its to loose.

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/How_to_adjust_the_valves_on_a_M20_engine

[ejnight]

thanks I will try again. I did use the right feeler.

[DREWHALL]

I've done it before. Didn't remember the spec, looked on pelicanparts and saw .025, did it in inches, lol. Was scratching my head after that one.

[ejnight]

I went back in and did it again this time a little more aggressively and it sounds great.

[StereoInstaller1]

Use the right feeler, feller!

[Wh33lhop]

Hah, I remember the first time I did an adjustment I must not have torqued down one of the eccentrics quite tight enough, because after 20 minutes of driving or so my engine started ticking like a fury. Luckily I knew exactly what it was, so I limped it home with it idling in neutral most of the time, whipped out the 10mm and feeler gauge and got to work.

[yberther]

also, the injectors are pretty damn loud lol

but yea, the valves can be dished because of wear and can cause it to be somewhat loose.

[StereoInstaller1]

also, the injectors are pretty damn loud lol

but yea, the valves can be dished because of wear and can cause it to be somewhat loose.

The easy way around that is to pop the feeler under the cam shoe

[Wh33lhop]

The easy way around that is to pop the feeler under the cam shoe

Yep, just don't do that if it's running. :p

[StereoInstaller1]

Yep, just don't do that if it's running. :p

waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles!

[kikkoman]

I just want to add that I also did my first ever valve adjustment yesterday in addition to replacing the plugs, air filter, breather hose and some other hoses (I had some vacuum leak issue in addition to rough running engine). Checked all but had to adjust only few of them. Got everything back on and hoped for the best but expecting the worst and...BAM! Fired right up, no more searching for idle. The car was running rich with bad smell of gas but this seems to have also disappeared with much less engine vibration. During the first test drive I've also noticed engine hesitation upto 3k (especially between 2.5-3k) wasn't as noticeable if at all. Came back and did a stomp test and while previously it gave me 1222 now gave me 1444 so I was like WTF?! until I looked it up to mean "No Failures"!

My first drive to work this morning since was sooooo enjoyable I had some "fun" with a guy on an older CBR motorcycle (nothing dangerous) for a short distance. I can't believe how much better it now runs with such relatively simple maintenance job. Highly recommended!

[jlevie]

Valve adjustments on an M20 should be done at least every 15k, but that doesn't happen in a lot of cases.

[Sagaris]

When I adjusted mine I noticed that the rocker arm had a tiny bit (probably less than 1mm) of slack in the direction that it moves. Meaning that I could get the feeler in there and tighten the eccentric, leave the feeler in there, and rock the rocker arm ever so slightly. I ended up pushing down on the rocker arm to close that small gap due to slack while adjusting them. Does anyone have a clue what I am talking about? and if so, is this right, wrong, or does it not even matter?