400 valve adjustment

Find TDC on compression for #1 cylinder and adjust both valves; rotate crankshaft 1/2 turn & adjust #3, another 1/2 turn of crank to set #4, and finally 1/2 turn to set #2.
 
In case your finger and arm isn't long enough to feel compression on number one cyl, all you need to do to determine if number one is on comp stroke is to watch the mate cyl, which is number four. Turn engine until exhaust valve just finishs closing and intake is starting to open on number four cyl. Then you are very near top dead center. Adjust number one, turn half turn until number two valves are in that rocked position and adjust number 3 cyl. then half to four and half to two. All engines run in mate cyl configurations following the firing order. Just write the half the firing order down, then write the other half right below it and you have the mate cyls.
 
(quoted from post at 10:14:14 07/16/12) In case your finger and arm isn't long enough to feel compression on number one cyl, all you need to do to determine if number one is on comp stroke is to watch the mate cyl, which is number four. Turn engine until exhaust valve just finishs closing and intake is starting to open on number four cyl. Then you are very near top dead center. Adjust number one, turn half turn until number two valves are in that rocked position and adjust number 3 cyl. then half to four and half to two. All engines run in mate cyl configurations following the firing order. Just write the half the firing order down, then write the other half right below it and you have the mate cyls.

Couldn't you use that method to do a bunch of valves at one time? I know when we adjusted the pulling tractor you can do valves 1,2,4,5 etc. Then turn a half turn and do all the ones you skipped. I would guess this is because even if those cyls aren't at TDC the cam isn't pushing the valves at all???
 
(quoted from post at 08:19:25 07/16/12) Does anybody have a valve adjustment diagram got a 400 gas

heres how I do them and have never had an issue.


Valve%20Lash%20Adjusting%20Procedure.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 12:50:09 07/16/12) That's what I was saying. Are the diesels the same as the gassers? They don't show up on the chart.

as long as the firing order is the same, then it should be the same way.
 
This will do it. It is simple and fool proof. The process works for all engines with adjustable poppet valves and any number of cylinders. Identifying the valve order is all that is necesary (given in this pprocess for the M).
I do it this way others do a different system. It must be set cold first, so setting it twice (or once) is normal
Set the intake valve on cylinder #1 (Front) when its exhaust valve just starts to open.
Set the exhaust when the intake just closes.
This is the two positions that can be seen on each cylinder to be as far away from a lobe on the cam as possible while still knowing where it is.
The order is (front to back EI-IE-EI-IE)
Look at #1 valves, Turn the engine till the Exhaust just starts to begin opening (moves) then adjust the Intake valve. Rotate more until the intake just stops moving after having been open) and adjust the exhaust. Treat every cylinder (pair of valves shown above the same way, remembering they switch places between cylinders) I put a rag over the ones I have done to keep track of progress, and avoid mixing what I am looking at. Jim
 
The reason I do the top dead center way of adjusting is that way all valves will be assured of being set the same. When you use the short cut chart method, some of the tappets are on different portions of the cam lobe than others are. On these old four bangers it doesn't really matter but on the six cyl there is a slight difference as the ramp on the cam lobe starts quite a ways from the bottom of the lobe. If you have a higher performace cam you can really get in trouble. Janicholson's method will work on all valves the same also with no problem , just that I never used that method. On a high performance camshaft, the hot rodders recommend adjusting by turning engine to where valve is wide open, then turning engine one full revolution to know tappet is at heel of cam. Way back, even before my time, IH was talking raised ramps on their camshafts. My original boss at the IH dealership dug up an old service bulletin relating to that very subject and I believe it was for the first Silver Diamond 6 cyl engines used in the pickup and trucks. Of course, we set all those with the engine running so that automatically puts you on the lowest heel of the cam and all the rockers and push rods have settled into their worn spots, except for the wear on the tip of rocker arm and valve stem. You can get an inaccurate reading when you have a groove in either or both.
 

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