Vave lash qun...

[Blownflatheaddeuce]

Guys my cam card says a HOT adjustment of int .012" / exh .014"

What should the cold settings normally be? Is there a .002" difference b/w the two?

If so should it be set cold int .010" / .012" exh ? I usually set em hot on the 8BA.

Thanks

BFD

[ford3]

ford flathead v/8 engines valves are set cold before you start the engine, other wise you will have to pull the intake manifold to set the valves, most valves are set at .012 int and .014 exh, some yrs use .014 int and .018 exhaust, need the yr engine to give you the exact info

[Blownflatheaddeuce]

Its a 37 21 stud with e regournd cam .330" lift [email protected]".

I really wanted to know what diff will be b/w a specified hot lash setting when setting them cold.

Thanx

[ford3]

I don't know, don't need to know, I set them as the factory did, set cold, if any difference between hot and cold the ford engineers have already computed that, why do you want to know that? do you plan on taking the engine apart to set the valves hot, absolutely no reason to do that, or are you just curious? I don't think you can set them hot, by the time you get to the valves the engine has already started to cool off, and by the time you set 16 valves half of them will be set cold, I don't understand what you want or your thinking

[4tford]

His cam card give HOT specs not cold.

[V12Bill]

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Warm up engine. Shut down, drain coolant, pull both heads, pull intake manifold, Check valve clearance and ,,, Oh damn the engine cooled done. Lets put it back together and start over.

[19Fordy]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see how a person could adjust flathead engine valves with the engine HOT.

[40cpe]

It would be unpleasant and inconvenient to say the least. Maybe it is a misprint on the cam card, as most overhead valve valves are set hot.

[Bruce Lancaster]

I think what you have is a standard cam card used in all kits, 99% of which would be overheads. I would think you are fine assuming that cold setting is intended here, call'emup and ask if you are nervous about it.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by Blownflatheaddeuce

Guys my cam card says a HOT adjustment of int .012" / exh .014"

What should the cold settings normally be? Is there a .002" difference b/w the two?

If so should it be set cold int .010" / .012" exh ? I usually set em hot on the 8BA.

Thanks

BFD

If you set them 10-12 cold they would be 8-10 hot. SO, set them 12-14 cold and forget about it. Walt

[scooder]

Can't call em up, they closed down back along.
I'd say it's a cold gap. Never gonna get um all done whilst it's all hot. Wouldn't bloody like to either.
Martin.

[Lawrie]

Listen to Walt, he has dome more of these engines than most of us have seen.
Lawrie

[Karl Wolf]

Originally Posted by Blownflatheaddeuce

Its a 37 21 stud with e regournd cam .330" lift [email protected]".

I really wanted to know what diff will be b/w a specified hot lash setting when setting them cold.

Thanx

I don't think it would be much, you'ld be talking about the expansion rate of the valve itself plus the lifter in relation to the portion of the block above the cam bore to the valve seats...

I think that it may be that the grinder does a lot of OHV cams and has sent a generic instruction sheet... Might be fun to inquire.

Karl

[Blownflatheaddeuce]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

If you set them 10-12 cold they would be 8-10 hot. SO, set them 12-14 cold and forget about it. Walt

The cam card states HOT.

And thats what I wanted to know Walt - its generally a .002" diff b/w hot and cold.

[Brian]

The method I always use, courteousy the late Great Rumbleseat...
Sounds like you are getting into building a real good 21 stud. Way to go, in my opinion the best flatheads Ford built.

(1)Degreeing the valves

(not the cam). Degreeing the cam using a single exhaust
and intake lobe assumes each lobe is EXACTLY the same. I don’t find this to be
true in very many cases. Degreeing the valves is by far the most accurate in my
opinion. This is done on the engine stand after valves, cam, crank and #1 piston
is installed. BTDC is Before Top Dead Center and TDC is Top Dead Center and CW
is ClockWise and CCW is CounterClockWise. Bring up #1 piston to exactly TDC.
Make and install a pointer near the crankshaft pulley. Install a degree wheel on
the crank pulley. Index the degree wheel so the pointer is exactly pointing at 0
degrees and secure the degree wheel to the crank pulley (a couple of strip
magnets work). Be careful to not disturb the degree wheel or pointer from this
point on.
Example: Let’s assume a particular cam’s spec for an intake valve to begin
opening is 20 degree BTDC. Back off the crank shaft CCW about 30 degrees (BTDC)
or so using the crankshaft nut and a long breaker bar. You want to be able to
rotate the crankshaft easily and smoothly, so use a long bar or a cheater pipe.
Install a dial indicator on #1 piston’s intake valve. Turn the crank CW (always
turn the crank CW (facing the front of the engine) when setting and checking
valve clearances) until the degree pointer is 20 degrees BTDC on the degree
wheel. This is when the valve should barely begin lifting off its seat. Adjust
the adjustable lifter until the valve moves the dial indicator’s needle less than
a thousandth of an inch. Time to check it. Turn the crank CCW several degrees
before 20 degrees. Now turn the crank very slowly CW while watching the dial
indicator closely. The needle should just barely twitch when the 20 degree BTDC
mark on the degree wheel lines up with the pointer. If it doesn’t, re-adjust the
lifter and check again. When satisfied, back off (CCW) the crankshaft until you
reach the spot where the lifter to valve clearance is the greatest. This is
determined by trying various thicknesses of feeler gauges while rocking the crank
back and forth several degrees. All that’s left is to measure the clearance
between the valve and lifter using a feeler gauge. This is #1 Intake valve’s
clearance. Record it for future use as #1 Intake for your records. That valve
is done. Now do all the valves. Don’t forget to record their clearances as you
go..... for your records. After the first couple of valves, it goes pretty fast.
I degree valves in a flathead in a few hours after the initial set up.
A real benefit is in the future I need only to re-set the clearances of each
valve to the clearances recorded and the valve is degreed. How? I turn the
crank so the lifter is the farthest from the valve. Let’s assume a particular
valve was degreed at 0.011" clearance. Since valve clearance normally increases,
we can use a feeler gauge thicker than 0.011" to determine where the lifter is
furthest from the valve. Use the thickest feeler gauge that’ll slide in between
the lifter and valve. Say it’s 0.014". With the 0.014" feeler gauge between the
lifter and valve, rotate the crank back and forth several degrees until you find
the spot the feeler gauge is the loosest. Now adjust this to 0.011" clearance
and it’s exactly the same as if you just degreed it! Neat... neat! Degreeing

valves always results in an increase in horsepower.

[ford38v8]

There is a KRW raised intake stack that leaves the valve chamber exposed for exactly the reasons stated, the valves are cold by the time you get to them otherwise. Failing to obtain one of those risers, quickly pull the intake and set one set of valves to the stated clearance, go have lunch and recheck clearance on the same valves again. That way you'll have generated your own answer and won't have to deal with questions of why, why, why?

[ford3]

I have installed a lot of cams in the ford flathead, stock mild and wild, and never have I had instructions to set the valves hot, clearly a miss print,i have had instructions from foreign parts, by some one at the factory who thought he could read and speak English, giving redicules instruction,s there are times when you have to use your brain and realize the instructions are wrong

[Bored&Stroked]

Okay, I've had a few beers, Friday before a long weekend and what the heck, post away!

Folks get all concerned about flathead valve clearances - I used to be the same. I read every dang cam card, pondered hot vs. cold, etc. So here are a few conclusions after many years of running them:

1) I have yet to find a situation where the clearances were tighter down the road then when I set them . . . hasn't happened yet.

2) I always set them on the tight side of any spec - as I've spent WAY too many hours taking intakes off, only to find the clearances were .003 to .006 bigger than I set them.

3) So . . . I pretty much set EVERY flat tappet flathead cam to about .010 to .012 on the intakes and .012 to .014 on the exhausts. It has worked very well for me - as noted above, they always seem to 'loosen' a bit in a very short period of time.

4) Adjustable Lifters: The single biggest issue is that a lot of them have a poor interference fit between the adjuster and the body - so they are too loose and won't hold adjustment. With BIG high-lift cams, the situation gets worse (think Potvin 425) - just not enough threads to hold the adjustment. So, think about thin 'jamb nuts' to lock down your adjustments with big cams on used Johnson style lifters. If you can jamb-nut them, you'll be amazed how your lash settings actually STAY PUT. Buy some thin 'lifter wrenches' - or grind your 7/16 wrenches down to be 'tappet wrenches' - then with a thin jamb nut on the adjuster - you can lock it in. Trust me - this is what you should be thinking about doing.

Okay - onto my next beer . . . glug, glug, glug . . .

B&S

[Straightpipes]

But....Can you drink beer with one hand and type with the other?????

I used to have one of those goofy hats with the beercans like an IV.....Now for another beer while I ponder my clattering lifters> The L-100 specs call for .016 for both. I should have went with .014 huh? Glug glug!!!!

[Blownflatheaddeuce]

Dale thats EXACTLY what Ive experienced.

The thrust of my OP was to learn exactly what the diff would be cold v hot ie: .002" so I could set them cold.

Ive set them exactly as you have described above knowing that a/ the cam ain't a radical one with spring or lobe ramps and b/ they tend to loosen a tad over time.

Mine were very tight on the adjuster threads but I also added Loctite to the threads before adjusting them.

Thanks to all for the input, below is the patient !