International Lancia Forums

Where should the valve clearances be set? I have attached an image of the connection between the tappet screw and the valve tip as you can see from the image Point A and Point B have different distances.

I have been setting them on Point A, is this correct?

Also should the feeler slide through the gap or should it be tight?

What are the 0.40mm checking clearances used for?

Thanks!

The feeler gauge should drag smoothly through A when it is set properly. If it can't be moved it's too tight, if it's flying through it's too open.

I think the .40mm is the clearance to check the timing of the camshafts. If so you won't need it to set the valves. Of course the piston needs to be at Top Dead Center (TDC) for each pair of valves you set, which means turning the motor with a wrench to get the piston in positon for the set of valves you're working on, setting the clearances and then turning the motor for the next set of valves. Since you can see the camshaft, TDC will be when the lowest part of the both cam lobes are activating the rocker arms for the valves you're working on.

Apologies for being pedantic, I don't know what your knowledge level is.

Thanks Ralph, that's exactly what I did just needed to make sure.

To be sure we all are talking about the same, the lobe on the camshaft has to point away from the pad of the rocker of the valve you are adjusting.

As Ralph says, the feeler should go through with some resistance.

There may be dents in the top of the valve stem or the small push rod. This upsets the setting as the feeler covers the dent while the tappet goes right into the dent.

The 0.40 is used when setting the timing by measuring the angle before / after TDC / BDC where valves open / close.
When the engine is out I use this method as double check by counting teeth on the flywheel rather than measuring degrees.

Alternatively you can download a timing disk by clicking on the picture below. Print it. Paste it on cardboard. Plastify it. Cut out the center. Put it on the bolt of the pulley. Attach a piece of metal wire to one of the screws of e.g. the waterpump. Put the engine at TDC. Bend the piece of wire to point at the TDC mark on the disc.