The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Valve Clack

I need some opinions, I adjusted my valves on Saturday and it may be because I've never heard what they're supposed to sound like but to me it seems loud.

I recorded this video this morning after I got into work, you can't see much but you can hear it just fine.

235 Vavles on Youtube

I followed the advice from Deve's Valve Adjustment and set the intakes to .008" and the exhaust valves to .020".

Is that how the 235 with valves set to those numbers should sound or do I have the numbers to high?

Thanks

Hard to tell
Sounds about right
Your idle sounds like it set too high

I would use the valve settings called out in the manual for your year engine.

Manual calls for .006" and .013", so I'll adjust them down and see how load it is then.

Idle is at 600rpm

here is one of my videos you can listen to compare

235 ...video...

my idle is set at 450rpm
I took that video just after adjusting the valve.

the mailman walked up and asked whats wrong with my engine,
I told him they just sound like that.

Set them to the book with the engine warm and you should be fine.

I think the 235 calls for .016 to .018(depending on year) ...click...

If the face of the rockers that contact the valve have not been refaced you will not get an accurate adjustment. The face is wider than the valve and gets a recess worn in it from the valve. The feeler gauge bridges this while adjusting giving a false setting.
This can make adjusting for quite operation imposable.

I'll have to check that as well Dave, Thanks

Valve last setting for various years from 1942-1960 are given in links near the bottom of this procedure for the Adjustment of mechanical/solid-lifter valve lash on 216/235/261 Chevrolet truck engines.

The 1955 pass Shop Manual calls for .006" intake & .013" exhaust (middle right of this page). I know that the truck manuals call for more clearance but most of these trucks are not worked very hard these days.
I set all 216's and 235's at this setting, have been for close to 50 years.

I plan on adjusting them this evening after work so we'll see how it sounds after that.

So how do I compensate for the recess without refacing the rockers when adjusting the valves?

>> chadkiser
Here are two videos of the valve sound from my '54 235 w/'59 head. Don't take them as correct. I have only adjusted solid lifter valves ONCE in my life. I believe that the first was made before I adjusted them (not sure.) The second was made after I adjusted them. They sound about the same as DADS50. I also have a "tick" like DADS50. Don't know if it a loose adjustment or something else.
> Video 1
> Video 2

- Lonnie

Lonnie,

I do not recommend this (I grind the surfaces/faces and polish them), but I've seen people use narrow feeler gauges that fit inside the slot (ah, the good old days . . . just keep 'em runnin').

So I got them all adjusted to .006" & .013". None looked worn so that's not an issue

235 Valves #2

I'm still hearing something, so I listened with a long screwdriver and valves #4 & #6 are louder than the others. They have a thunk sound where the others are just ticks. Any ideas of what to look at next? The push rods don't appear to be bent. Could it be the valves themselves?

Chad,

I may have missed some key point in this thread and my comments may be out the window. I read your profile and it appears the engine in your truck came out of a '55 car.

The valves sound absolutely horrid to me, there is definitely something awry. I would have thought a '55 car motor would have had hydraulics, not solids. More wise folks could confirm this, but adjusting hydraulics to solids specs would be very interesting...yikes!

Stuart

Just to clarify yes it's from a 55 car, the block casting # is 3837004, serial #0012298T55Z. From my understanding Z means std engine so it should have solid lifters. Is that correct?

55 car with standard transmission 235 has solid lifters. Without polishing out the divots in the rocker arm faces, you can adjust the valves while the engine is running to close the gaps and quiet down the clacking. To do this, turn down the idle as low as possible without stalling, and use a wrench and a stubby screwdriver to adjust. You have to learn to develop noodle arms, wrists and hands to have success doing this, as muscling it is counter-productive. Tighten it until you start to here a miss (this is the valve not closing because you tightened it too tight). Then back it off until the miss goes away plus a little more for your final clearance. You should be able to feel the clacking in your hands to know how much to loosen or tighten to achieve your final clearance.

Good question

If you go thru the passenger manual Pre68Dave linked its shows instructions for both. The instruction manual makes it sound like it depends if the 235 was with powerglide as to the type of lifters.

Someone on this board ran my engine SN and let me know my 54z was mechanical
Maybe your S/N can be ran?

the difference for lifters was manual or automatic, and the Z means standard [manual] transmission, not 'standard engine'

Bill

T55Z means 1955 car engine from the Tonawana plant - Regular engine. The Regular engine would have had solid lifters and would have been delivered with the Regular transmission, a 3-speed.

It is either interesting or odd that GM seemed to use the term "Regular" equipment with cars and "Standard" equipment with trucks?

sort of the same difference Tim, a 'regular' engine came with a 'regular' [not HD, OD or automatic] 3 speed, which in my experience is called a standard transmission, sorry if I confused anyone

Bill

If I can make time tomorrow evening I'm going to try 52Carl's technique on the 2 noisy valves and see if I can quiet them down.

I didn't get around to it until this morning. Went for a nice country drive and got everything nice and hot. Then listened to each valve and adjusted those that sounded like they needed it. It wasn't to hard to do it while running, you just have to have loose wrists. I'm happy with the results now, and it seems to idle much better now.

235 Valves #3

Sounds like you will have just enough noise to be able to tell that she's still running at a stop light.