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Sorry for the confusion, should have been more accurate. Set them to the factory spec of 0.20 on the intake and 0.25 on the exhaust. It is a EJ 25 SOHC.
(Must have been thinking/remembering that .01 inch spec)
So back to the original question - clacking when warm....I figured with a fresh rebuild if anything the clearances would get tighter as the valves seated. This condition where they're quiet when cold and then start clacking as they warm is baffling to me.
if those clearances are correct then that isn't the cause of any noise so would be looking at other potential issues including possibly even a dislodge shim??
The machine shop assembled the heads and I checked at the bolts for factory specs when I adjusted the valves. I don't remember seeing in the heads and I don't remember seeing in the schematic any shims.
Last edited by AndrewVanis; 27 January 2023 at 04:24 PM.
Turns out the spacer bolts were loose. You can see them between the intake valves. It is clever (or lucky) that the valve covers are designed so the bolts don't fall out if they get loose. That would cause all sorts of damage. I'm grateful for that design feature.
The spec is 5Nm 3.6 FtLbs so very little. Upon sharing with a friend they reported they had two engines come back from a rebuilder that did the same thing.
At that low torque value they might have vibrated loose. I reinstalled with loctite. I did degrease the bolts and receiving threads with brake clean. I also (likely) tightened them to more than 5Nm since I don't have a wrench that reads that low and I didn't want them to get loose again.... Tighter is better, right?
It is possible I missed the torque process since it's buried in the procedure and I was, maybe without realizing it, relying on the heads being assembled by the machine shop.
It is also possible it was missed because the attention grabbing image does not have those bolts in the tightening sequence.
Last edited by AndrewVanis; 28 January 2023 at 01:41 PM.
Reminds me of my £200 Nissan Sunny; Some rocker shaft bolts kept vibrating loose. First few times it happened I didn't notice, it just clattered like loose tappets so just readjusted the tappets (10minute job and it was a doddle to work on), which fixed it for a short while but kept happening and got worse until it dropped down to two cylinders as the shaft backed further and further away from the cam at the one end so was losing valve lift. Wasn't visibly noticeable due to the position and springs holding it under tension until it became obviously sloppy when I grabbed it.
Came loose three times over a few years despite torquing and thread lock (blue thread lock, probably should have used red), last time I made locking tab washers on the bolts heads. That sorted it.
27 January 2023, 03:53 AM
[SOLVED] Valve clatter when warm - fresh rebuild EJ25
