New Tune
New Tune
Tuning Up
Went out late this morning after getting all the Christmas revelers on their way. Started out by breaking loose the engine mount bolts, as I had soaked them wth Kroil a couple days ago. They came loose easily, even the socket head cap screws. I left them at that, with the intent that I’ll replace engine mounts in the next day or two. Today I wanted to get the valves adjusted and ignition system sorted.
Go the valve cover off and was both pleased and displeased. Pleased because the valve cover and head were super clean with no sludge or crud on or in them.
Displeased because there are some areas where the cam lobes are a little corroded and pitted from the car sitting for extended periods of time. Nothing substantial, and hopefully the high zinc content of the Brad Penn oil will make the valve train happy.
The valves were all over the place as far as adjustment. Most were loose, which I expected due to the sewing machine noise the engine made while running. It’s been so long since I used my feeler gauges they were a little corroded, but fortunately not towards the ends where it matters. Guess I’ll need to buy a new set.
Got the valves adjusted and a new valve cover seal in place. The old seal wasn’t bad, but since I had a new one I went ahead and changed it.
Next I removed all of the spark plugs. They all looked good despite being Autolite plugs. Consistent across the board as far as condition, so that’s good. Replaced them with a set of Bosch WDC7+ plugs. Did the same with cap and rotor using new Bosch parts. Had to reuse the condenser, as the one I got is not correct and wouldn’t fit. Hmm.
I removed the bracket with the spark plug wire gutter from the engine and took the ends off the new wires I got so I could thread them through the gutter. Rang them out once I got it all back on the engine. Found that the #1 plug wire was just too short to run in the tubing with the other wires and still reach the distributor, so I had to leave it out.
So it’s not perfect, but I turned the key and it fired right up. The engine is amazingly quiet now with properly adjusted valves - the sewing machine noises have completely disappeared, surprisingly. I figured it would still “tick” a little, but there’s nothing to hear. Nice.
I’ll give my back a rest tonight, then tear into the engine mounts and installing new bushings in the steering coupling tomorrow, as the old bushings have completely disappeared, making for some pretty sloppy steering.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018