T3 California Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 Bought a Gunson Click Adjust to "easily" set my tappets , a job I have always avoided doing. Nice idea but does not work on my Vitesse straight 6. Firstly, for some reason, the outlet valves adjuster have a smaller slot than the inlet valve. The flat head screwdriver part is too thick to fit the outlet valve adjuster. So that 6 valves I can't set. Secondly, and more importantly, when setting the start point for adjustment when winding down the black knob to achieve the "loud click" it has already started to compress the valve. So you are not starting from zero and does not set properly. One can try and do it by eye but this completely defeated the reason for this tool. You also need two feeler gauges to calibrate it initially. Very disappointing as had waited 20 years to be able to afford to purchase this item. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 yes mine stays firmly in tha back of the cupboard. its back to a 0.010" feeler 1/2"af ring spanner and a wooden handled cabinet screwdriver ( better control than a skinny plastic thingy ) on a 6 its the rule of 13 or do both valves when on each is on its compression stroke (save turning the engine so much ) pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 one of those "Must Have" items Pete! we've all got them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: its back to a 0.010" feeler 1/2"af ring spanner and a wooden handled cabinet screwdriver ( better control than a skinny plastic thingy ) on a 6 its the rule of 13 or do both valves when on each is on its compression stroke (save turning the engine so much ) pete That's the way I adjust the valve clearances, rule of 13 for the sixes and rule of 9 for the four cylinder motors. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 The Clickadjust comes in useful if the faces of the rockers are badly worn, as it enables one to set the clearance correctly. Using a feeler gauge with worn rocker faces usually results in an excessive clearance unless the feeler gauge is no wider than the valve stem so that it fits into the groove worn in the rocker. when the rocker faces are in good condition, the feeler gauge, spanner and screwdriver wins every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerH Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 I like to fiddle with things just to see if there are other ways of doing things (usually more difficult as it turns out) The tappets on a TR four cylinder has 5/16UNF adjusters (24 tpi) If using a known good rocker arm (no valve tip wear) you can unwind the adjuster (from tightish) to get your gap (eg 0.010") and record the angle that the adjuster turned through. You should now be able to use this to set any of the tappets with no worry about the wear depression. If the rocker arm was such that adjuster centre and the valve were equi-distant then 0.010"would be 90 degrees as near as damn it. But it isn;t. One could do the simple maths if the ratio was known. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 How very strange, T3! To have the slots in the rocker adjusters of different sizes. Not at all standard. And half of them too narrow to take the screwdiver bit?? Extraordinary! I have mine in front of me as I write, and a micrometer. The edge of the bit is 47thou wide, 1.2mm. I cannot imagine a machine screw with a slot smaller than that , that wasn't itself tiny and probably to do with electrical apparatus. But my device is an original "SPQR" one, like this: Not my picture but one I quickly found on the Net. It shows the bit, and its thickness very clearly. Yours is a Gunson copy, so do they have thicker bits? Here's a pic of one, again from the Net. And yes, without any possibility of measuring the bit, except by eye, I'd say that it is thicker! Still, the slots in the heads of your adjusting machine screws must be very narrow indeed! It is difficult sometimes, even with the SPQR, to get the bit into that slot. Not because the slot is too narrow, but because you can't see the bit and the slot together, they are covered by the socket. I deal with this by marking the knob on top so that I know where the bit is. Then I can align it with the slot in the screw head, before I cover it with the tool Try that? With this exception,, and using this procedure, I find the device a quick and accurate way of setting gaps! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3 California Posted July 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 I thought it was odd to have different sized slots , buts its true. The rocker arm assembly is a replacement I bought from rimmer bros many years ago. The flat blade measures 1.22mm at one end and 1.32mm at the other end! The real problem is the winding down stiffness to achieve the loud click. One can see the valve being compressed before the click is heard. I remember when these first came out and wanted one then. I did not realise that Gunson were making a copy, obviously not v well machined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 I have one from about 15 years ago, as Peter says, they were a 'must have' and I fell for the hype. Tried to use it once, and it went back into the packet. It's still hanging on the garage wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 4 hours ago, KevinR said: The Clickadjust comes in useful if the faces of the rockers are badly worn, as it enables one to set the clearance correctly. Using a feeler gauge with worn rocker faces usually results in an excessive clearance unless the feeler gauge is no wider than the valve stem so that it fits into the groove worn in the rocker. A while back Uncle Pete said "Wire feeler gauges!" to set worn rockers, I did find some on line, but never got around to buying. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6M Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 Some times the socket is wrong length, so it dont fit reet some times, if a grease momkey been at tappets, the threads on nut deformed, lead,n t,stick,n adjuster, that thinks its tight doon, but aint cos of bad thread Im think,n that yer valve springs are well an truely weak, hence hoo its compress,n em solutionee is t, wedge summat between the coils so it cant compress em Rodgers solutionee is sound, as it teks oot the wear that Kevin was on aboot some thing ive always said aboot, but yonks ago folk just laffed at it that gaps could be 0 thou gap, an still be 10thou in reality If yer rockers are worn, then easiest way t,set em is wid a clock gauge an on a worn set of thingys, a ..correct 10 gap should in reality be aboot 7-8, t,tek into wear int shaft, and guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 5 hours ago, T3 California said: I thought it was odd to have different sized slots , buts its true. The rocker arm assembly is a replacement I bought from rimmer bros many years ago. The flat blade measures 1.22mm at one end and 1.32mm at the other end! The real problem is the winding down stiffness to achieve the loud click. One can see the valve being compressed before the click is heard. I remember when these first came out and wanted one then. I did not realise that Gunson were making a copy, obviously not v well machined Such a blade isn't very good, some work with a small round file might even it up, but I doubt will ease your difficulty. But "The real problem is the winding down stiffness to achieve the loud click. One can see the valve being compressed before the click is heard." This means that either the valve springs are very soft, or the spring in the handle is very stiff! If I take off the socket of mine, I can turn the top handle and get the loud click if I grip the bit in my fingers. Perhaps you should try that test. If the mechanism is so stiff that you cannot hold the bit and get the click, then it's clearly too stiff! They aren't built to take apart and check the mechanism. It would be interesting to use a torque wrench and check the stiffness. If you can, I'll do the same on mine . John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3 California Posted July 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 Good points. It takes a firm grip with pliers to earn a click. Not sure how to check a torque with a flat blade screwdriver and can't get near my torque wrench at present. With all the other tools I don't trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjit Posted July 20, 2020 Report Share Posted July 20, 2020 19 hours ago, T3 California said: Not sure how to check a torque with a flat blade screwdriver and can't get near my torque wrench at present. With all the other tools I don't trust. I've had exactly the same experience with you, which gets me thinking... Get an old, good-sized bolt and cut a screwdriver slot in the top. Bolt in to socket, socket on to digital torque wrench set to record peak. Put it all together with the ClickAdjust held in a vice and load the torque wrench until the ClickAdjust clicks, then check the recorded peak torque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted July 22, 2020 Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 HI, just checked my SPQR tappet adjuster. 30 clicks a rev. What is the TPI of the adjustment screw? I will put a sticker on mine. Wonderful kit. Cheers, Iain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 not checked but as the nut is 1/2af the thread must be 5/16" x24 unf thats 0.0416666666666667" per revolution 30 clicks at 0.0013888888" per click 0.010" = about 7,2 clicks is that right ????? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 7 clicks is what I use. The tool should come with a chart that shows the click number for a wide range of engines, and IIRC that said 7. Thanks for the confirmation from first principles, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 school was a looooong time ago Ha i might blow the dust of mine and give it another go i decided the 2000 didnt need 3 silencers so cut one off and added a braided sleeve, this fight to cut it has given the back a little end rattle so wont be leaning over the tappets this week Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) I know there is too many L's. Tape is expensive. Here is a mil to thou calculator. Enjoy. http://www.alcula.com/conversion/length/mil-to-thou/ Edited July 23, 2020 by SpitFire6 added conv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 Use Google, it's quicker! Just type "0.0138mm to thou" (omit th quotes) and get the answer, 0.54330709 thousanths of an inch! Which is the wrong gap, if seven clicks = 10thou, approx. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 29 minutes ago, JohnD said: Use Google, it's quicker! Just type "0.0138mm to thou" (omit th quotes) and get the answer, 0.54330709 thousanths of an inch! Which is the wrong gap, if seven clicks = 10thou, approx. John To be honest I found a calculator & google to be slower than my brain. Much slower. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 2 hours ago, SpitFire6 said: Here is a mil to thou calculator. I was going to reply with a comment that I see a lot of people getting confused by what "mil" means on a PCB CAD tool that doesn't even mention "thou"... and then John came along and demonstrated my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 Americans use mil a lot. Easy confused with MM when spoken! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 From memory 1 mil = 1 thou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted July 24, 2020 Report Share Posted July 24, 2020 How on the gods' Earth do the Americans make a thousanth, a "mil"? It's not a millionth, it's not a millimeter, IT'S A THoUSANTH, OF THE INCHEs THEY ARE SO FOND OF! No wonder they lost the Mars Climate Orbiter! JOhn 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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