valve adjustment

[dripley]

tried to adjust my valves today and could not turn the engine using the altenator bolt. i turned it both ways and it slipped either way. i clouldnt figure out a way to put more tension on it with the tools at hand and dont own a barring tool. any of yall ever done it a differant way?

[Wild and Free]

I just turn it by putting a ratchet and socket on the dampner bolts and turning it that way. I put a mark on the front cover and dampner to know where TDC is and then the next rotation you can just line it up with the marks. I never liked the alternator method, too much of a chance of loosening or overtightening the pulley and then creating other issues.If prefer the alternator method just reach down and put a little pressure on the belt while turning it and it will turn the engine over without too much effort might have to try each direction to see which way the belt will grab better.

[Mopar1973Man]

Typically towards the coolant bottle is the direction for the alternator but if the belt is slipping you might look and see if the belt is all glazed up from oil or from a weak tensioner.

[dripley]

thanks guys. i believe the tensioner is a little weak. but i went back out ofter reading w&f's reply and looked at the dampner and dont really have anything with me to try that way. so i tried a couple other things trying to use the alternator bolt. weeelllllll i learned a valuable lesson. when trying to turn the alt bolt be sure to take the truck out of gear:doh:. it sure works alot better that way.:rolleyes:next year iget to sit with the big folksthanks againyour humble screw updave

[thebullet83]

thanks guys. i believe the tensioner is a little weak. but i went back out ofter reading w&f's reply and looked at the dampner and dont really have anything with me to try that way. so i tried a couple other things trying to use the alternator bolt. weeelllllll i learned a valuable lesson. when trying to turn the alt bolt be sure to take the truck out of gear:doh:. it sure works alot better that way. next year iget to sit with the big folks [ATTACH=CONFIG]3198[/ATTACH] thanks again your humble screw up dave

huh!? i guess that might be why i hate the alternator method too, i leave it in gear all the time.

[BugJEB34]

Same thing happened to me about leaving it in gear. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why I couldn't get it to turn, and I even had the head off, so there was for sure no compression. After I really cranked down on it I noticed the truck was trying to run me over and the e-brake was holding it back. After I put my stupid hat on and took it out of gear it was back to work.

[dripley]

i noticed when the ground under the truck started moving.

[thebullet83]

this thread was started to make everbody feel a little silly. lol!

[dripley]

did not sart it that way, but sure felt like that when realized what was happenig. laughter is a great medecine even if you are laughing at yourself.

[thebullet83]

i'll go out someday just to see if that really is the problem! the time i tried the alternator, belt just slipped. i have a new belt on it now (i put it back on wrong once and lost a rib) so i would have two things to improve my chances.

[98whitelightnin]

I adjusted my valves a few months back and set them at 10 and 20, so I thought. I checked them again yesterday and they were all out, intakes were at 17-20 and exhaust at 30 or better. The engine had sat over night the first time and this time too. I redid them again setting them at a tight 10 and 20, by tight, I mean I had to force the gauge in and out not just go in easily. There is no way a 12 or 22 will go in now. I noticed this morning that when I started it it blew a little grey smoke instead of the usual black.

[Mopar1973Man]

Like my last go around I set at .008 and .018... How I check is see if -.001 goes easy and then check to see +.001 doesn't go at all. Then you know you've hit the mark exactly... But being there is a wide range of room I'm not too considered about it..

[98whitelightnin]

I guess me color blindness got me again. I have cranked it many times throughout the day and morning and its always black smoke.

[98whitelightnin]

Would the valves have anything to do with water temp? Since the adjustment I have noticed my temp gauge running warmer than usual. My quadzilla comander reads 188 but my ultra gauge and dash read high. MY UG is reading 200-217 and the oem gauge is fluctuating too.

[Mopar1973Man]

Something is wrong... Being the same OBD data is being sent to the dash, Qiadzilla and the UG... They should all read the same...

[98whitelightnin]

Thats what I thought as they are usually just a few degrees from each other.

[98whitelightnin]

I have been standing in my passenger door while cranking in the morning and its definatly light colored grey or white but only in the morning when its cold.

[mohok]

From a non-motor head at 90k miles. If all is well, i.e., uses 1 qt or less oil between changes with a 5k change interval, no loss of power or apparent performance problems, why adjust the valves? What is the adjustment interval in terms of miles?ThanksMohok

[dripley]

i dont know wether the owners manual covers it or not, but most places i have read about it say they ought to be done every 100k. i did not know anything about until i started hanging around here with these guys. i did adjust mine about a month ago at 240k. they were still within spec but i tightened them up a little and it is quite easy to do. it did make the engine a little quieter. other than just know every thing adjusted properly i could not tell another reason for doing it. but i am sure that someone else will have something to add to this.

[98whitelightnin]

Been getting a puff of white smoke still so I dug into the truck today. Just easy stuff but checked the exhaust side of the turbo and it was dry so I checked the valves again. I only have about 300 miles since I set them last and all were perfect except #5, I set it to 10 and 20 and it was at 12 and 17. I dont know whats going on because I know it was dead on when I set them. I set it back to 10-20 and will check again in a few hundred miles.