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Valve Adjustment & Timing

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2.8 Valves and Timing - By V6Jose

Since you haven't put the distributor in yet, now is the time to pre lube the engine. Use a socket (8mm I think) that is smaller on the outside diameter than the lower hole that the distributor slips into, with a short extension and a good electric hand drill. Make sure that the socket doesn't fit too loosely onto the extension, so it doesn't fall into the engine. Slip the socket onto the oil pump driveshaft, and spin the drill. Keep turning the drill till you see oil coming out of the rocker shafts. While you are turning the drill, you might want to slowly turn the engine over by hand, so it will get oil to every nook and cranny.

To adjust the valves, you will need to be patient. These little engines are a bit tricky to adjust the valves on. You will need a fully charged battery, unless you have the engine on an engine stand, and can turn it over by hand. I would use a bump start switch, in order to just bump the engine over in small increments. 

If I remember right, the valve lash settings are 14 on the intake and 16 on the exhaust. I adjust all the intake valves on one side, then all the exhaust valves on that side. That way I don't get the feelers gage confused. To begin, you snug up the lash to where it is pretty snug. (When I say snug, I mean so that you can barely move the gage.) Next rotate the engine just a bit and tighten it again. Continue this process until it no longer gets loose when you rotate the engine. For some reason, this engine is hard to find the heel of the cam lobe. Don't be afraid that you will burn a valve by making them so snug. I have done this procedure on many 2.8 V6's and for many years, without ever burning a valve. The engine will run better and will run quietly too. You will find most cars that are running this engine, are pretty noisy from the valves. 

Once you've done all the intakes, switch the gage and do all the exhausts. When you have finished with the drivers side valves, put the rocker cover on and do the valves on the passenger side. When you have finished adjusting the valves on that side, rotate the engine till both valves on the front cylinder on the passenger side are closed and the crank pulley mark is pointing at TDC. The front cylinder on the passenger side is number one. So you will know how to put the wires into the distributor cap, the rest of the cylinder numbers go as follows. Front cylinder on the passenger side, is number one, the second one back on the same side is number two and the last one is number three. The front cylinder on the drivers’ side is number four, the second one back is number five and the last one is number six, of course. 

Now you are ready to install the distributor. You are going to be using the Offenhouser intake manifold, and the vacuum advance canister will hit it, if you try to put the distributor in according to the factory manual. You will have to rotate the distributor housing in order to get it to slip into the engine. The orientation of the distributor
housing isn't important, as long as you have the rotor pointing toward number one post on the cap. The distributor rotor can be oriented as per factory specs, but you will need to place the wires according to firing order, rather than per the number 1 cast into the cap. You can now slip the distributor into the engine, but you need to remember that as you slip it in, the shaft will rotate, so be sure you have it a bit advanced from where it needs to end up. Once it is pointing to number one, you can bolt it down. The timing will be close enough to fire the engine, and then you can set the timing per specs. The specs for this engine are 12 degrees advanced, at 800 rpm, with the vacuum advance hose disconnected.

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