When setting valve lash it's important that the lifter being adjusted is squarely on the base circle of that particular cam lobe. The way I've done it in the past was rotate the crankshaft to TDC (firing) on the cylinder to be adjusted and set both the intake and exhaust valves, and continue on to each cylinder in firing order the same way.

I assumed that TDC (firing) had to mean the camshaft has both lifters on the base circle of the lobes? Is this the case? Got the 292 running real good, so it's close, but accurate valve adjustment is critical, and supposedly even a single misadjusted valve makes a big difference on how it will run. Would the following result in better accuracy?

For example:

• Bring cylinder #1 to TDC (FIRING)
• Rotate engine until the exhaust lifter begins to open
• Set the lash on the INTAKE valve for cylinder #1
• Rotate the engine until the intake valve opens and just closes
• Set the lash on the EXHAUST valve for cylinder #1
• Repeat for the rest of the engine

 

I need to do the same thing.....

 

That is how we did mine. We also set the valves at 15k cold instead of the 19k cold like the manual said. Someone here suggested 15k. And the valve train is way quieter now then at 19

 

What method?

As far as the lash itself, the "1/4 turn" method works slick and is consistent. I set it stone cold the last time though, so it's probably a little more than .019 hot. Because of rocker arm wear it's tough to get an accurate measurement with a feeler gauge.

 

Went down right side then left front to back. Set intake as exhaust was going down. Then exhaust as intake was going down. Went to next cylinder and did the same. Tim McMasters has a video on youtube explaining how to do this. Search Y block valve adjustment

 

Yeah, I've done all that, and read quite a bit on it. As Tim mentions in the video there's more than one method/way to do it, just wondering what is the best setup accuracy wise.

 

What manual says .019 cold? Every manual I have says .019 HOT and thats how I have done them on all my Y's for years. Ford engineers have the lash at .019 for a reason, I would never set them at .015.

 

Actually the '64 shop manual specifies .019" cold lash for both intake and exhaust valves. .018" both valves hot, (for the 292) it may have been different other years.

I agree .015" sounds a little close though. That's the thing though, due to rocker arm wear a flat feeler gauge is about useless in terms of accuracy or consistency. It may be .015" measured with a feeler gauge is actually closer to .018" lash because of dishing or grooves.

I will probably warm up the engine thoroughly and try resetting the valve lash to approx. .018" using the "1/4 turn" method from zero lash on the actual base circle. This should be about as close as it gets.

 

That should get you into the ball park using that method.
I don't have a 64 manual but several previous years Ford shop manuals and many Motors manuals and all other Y block publications and that all say .019 hot and I wonder if it was just a misprint in the 64. Shop manuals aren't always Gospel as many revisions are made in service bulletins that the public never sees. I've been building Y's since the mid 60's and always used .019. My understanding was this clearance was determined by the engineers to allow enough time for the valve to be seated to transfer heat to the seat and running tighter can lead to burnt valves. My last build was last year and I set the valves to .019 cold and fired up the new engine, ran it at 2500 rpm for about twenty minutes to break in the cam. After re-checking the lash when the engine was hot they were closer to .016 and I had to re-adjust them back to .019..

 

Interesting! I'm "pretty close" now, especially compared to what it was. Just want to start with the process exactly on the base cam lobe circle. Since I prefer the "1/4 turn" method I am looking at making sure the initial zero lash setting is accurate as possible and consistent.

One thing that I didn't pay enough attention to - at least with iron heads, the valve lash is spec'd tighter when hot, for some reason thought that the expansion would decrease lash. But again, using a feeler gauge, .001" is just noise, depending on user technique and wear on rocker arm face. The Nuckels method compensates for this and any slop in the valvetrain. And I don't have to get burned on the Y block's odd exhaust manifold this way.

There's also a bit of debate on how noisy a solid lifter engine should be on various forums. One school says "if ya can't hear 'em rattle, they are too tight". Another claims a well tuned engine is "quiet as a Cadillac". They do allow that valve lash has to be maintained through the life of the motor, and that excessive lash beats the hell out of the valvetrain. All the engine builders say that valve adjustment is critical to good performance, and that tiny adjustments can be made in either direction that will improve either low end performance ("loose") or top end ("tight")

 

My original 1964, 1964 Ford F100 shop manual that was purchased the day the truck was purchased says 19 cold 18 hot. There are many debates on this as previously mentioned. I prefer no noise as when there is noise it means metal is slamming down on metal and we all know what a hammer can do to a piece of steel. Also a well known Y block builder will tell you 15 cold. This guy builds 4 and 5 hundred HP motors. I also agree with the statement that the rockers are dished and 15 is probably 18 where the rocker actually contacts the valve stem. At 19 mine sounded like a damn diesel. At 15 there is no valve noise, unless you stethoscope the valve cover then you can hear a slight tick.

 

After digging around in the garage I did find a 64 Truck manual I forgot I had and see where it says 19 cold and 18 hot. I have no idea why as I don't think anything changed in the 64 from previous years that all have .019 hot as the spec. I'm sure .001 won't hurt anything.
These engine builder that build high performance engines can get away with tighter clearance because these engines only run for short period and short distances. I run mine for thousands of miles and feel safer at .019. My new engine has 4,500 miles on it in the last year. I only have slight valve noise when cold and when it reaches full operating temp it's pretty quiet. I'd rather have a little noise then burned valves.

Now my 390 has a 427 solid lifter cam set at .025 and thats a little noisy but I love it.

 

The proof should be how well it idles, how well it runs. I'm persuaded there should not be any clatter on a well tuned Y block. Mine sounds a little like a typewriter but very faint if you hold your ear next to the valve cover. Also, all this is predicated on the stock cam. Use the cam manufacturers guideline if running something exotic. A lot of them specify .016?

If valve lash are too tight, it won't idle well, engine vacuum would drop off quite a bit I imagine, and likely a burned valve or two. It is worth doing this correctly though if your Y is clatter city, for sure.

Another question, how often do they require adjustment? Some people complained that they had to do this every week or so back in the day, (what??) others said they did theirs about every oil change, the manual says every 10k miles, some mechanics said they hardly ever saw them out of adjustment, but they were getting paid to check, although every now and then would find a customer's car way out. Seems like quite a range - "weekly, to never" I think somewhere between those extremes will work best.

 

I got my truck in 1978 with 17K miles on it. In 2011 when I started the restoration it had 95,500 miles on it after sitting since 1990. From 78 to 90 and 78K miles the valves were never adjusted and they did not rattle. I would imagine the father in law checked them at 10K.

 

That's what I'm thinkin', if they are adjusted properly to begin with they should be "good" for a long time, certainly longer than 10k miles. Why do some people claim they had to mess with them every week, is the question.