Joel Lester

I bought a '86 3.2 Carrera about 2 months ago. I've put 1000 miles on it so far and lov'n it!

Looking through the receipts... the car had the top end rebuild at 122K. It now has 132K (all "in line" with what the guy I bought it from told me). No sign that the valves have been adjusted since.

Is it time? Some people I've talked to say every 15K, my book says 10K (101 projects for your 911). Are these cars very forgiving? What do you guys think?

Thanks for your input,

Joel

jet911

You will get varying opinions. I have an '86 coupe, the owners manual says every 15,000 and that's what I do. However since there was a top end done 10K miles ago, I think I would get one done, or better yet, do it yourself.

Good Luck!

Regards,
Jim
'86 Coupe

mkimber

Being the obsessive complusive that I am, I adjust the valves every 10k on my '87 coupe.

SandyI

Per my owners manual, and my mechanic's advice, every 6,000 miles.
But I own a '69 911E.

theiceman

Do the guys who do it thmselves use that special valve clearance feeler or did you construct your own ?

jet911

I use the special valve feeler gauge. You can get them through Pelican Parts. I've done only one valve adjustment, used the tool and found it worked fine (bought additional blades as well). When I got the tool, I did have to bend it a bit so the blade was at a 90 degee angle to the stem. It worked much better that way. Also, I use locktite (blue) on the two little screws/nuts that hold the blade in place.

I've heard of others constructing their own using several different ideas.

Gary R.

Joel -
On a new top end rebuild I would say you should definitely get it done soon. After that go with the 15,000 mile suggestion.

Bob Westmoreland

I would have done a valve adjust and at least an oil and filter change at 1000 miles after the rebuild then would go 15,000 miles unless I track the car. In that case I would do the valves more often depending on the track miles.
I am probably wasting my time but at the 1000 miles on the rebuild I also pull the plate off the bottom of the engine and clean the screen.

Peter Zimmermann

Bob W. is correct, the valves should always be adjusted about 1K miles after a top end or rebuild. This is critical for long life regarding the valves, rocker arms & camshafts. Changing the oil at that interval is also a good idea, we also took down the crankcase screen, when applicable, just to look. Adjust the valves every 15K miles after that (if they're done right there is no need to do them more often), and change the oil every 5K miles, or once a year, whichever comes first. Many people that use Mobil 1 will stretch that interval to 7500 miles, or in later cars to 15K miles. The type of driving that one does dictates how often those changes should be done, but I like the old standard of 5K or one year the best. If you do little more than sit idling in LA traffic, you might want to consider 3K miles!
Sandy: Nothing wrong with your interval, but you're spending too much money. With today's high quality oils, and post rebuild valve guides, etc. it's just not necessary. Red Line tracked a number of cars of your vintage, over a number of years, and found them to be as stable as later cars regarding adjustments, but instead of moving them to 15K mile intervals, we moved them to 12K miles. The oil in MFI and carbureted cars gets dirty more quickly, we kept their oil change interval at 3K miles, so we did the major service with valve adjustment at every 4th service. Worked very well across the board.
Pete

A4

This interests me as I am looking at an '88 3.2 next week and will have PPI if all goes well.

It has 115K on the clock and has had the guides adjusted at the 12K intervals by the PO (also had cam grind and new seals) ..Records for previous 3 owners show also good maitenance.

I guess my question is once PPI leakdown results are back (PO had them done in '03 and were factory spec) and look good, is a 115K on 3.2 with original guides, valves, rings and all good for another possible 20K, 30K, 50K miles with on-top maitenance??

Thanks!

Peter Zimmermann

A4: Your "cam grind" reference is really weird! Do you have an idea as to why that work was done, and can you verify that it really was done? Usually camshaft replacement (regrind?) doesn't occur so early in life, unless that car's oil was never changed (they went the full 12K miles between valve adjustments with either Castrol or Pennzoil and the lobes were pitted), or the valves were not adjusted correctly (too loose) and on schedule. In either case the problem points to poor maintenance (regardless what the records state), which is a good thing on which to base an assumption regarding what's down the road. You say that the "records show good maintenance," but that doesn't quite line up with camshaft work. Have you discussed this car with the shop that has maintained it, at least for the most recent owner? The big question is, "How much oil does the car consume and what type of oil have you been using?"
Pete

A4

Thanks Pete,
I haven't spoken to the mechanic as of yet. It has been maintained by the same shop for the last 4 years, 20K miles and the work on the cam, seals and other work. The explanation from the PO on the re-grind was the fact the owner before did not adjust the valves for 12K miles (which I thought was factory spec) Not sure on the consumption either. I had planned on a visit to review all the docs an THEN move on to a PPI.

Crivens

If you had the top end rebuilt you should check the valves after about 6k miles to be sure the built sets properly. Normally around the 12K mark is fine.



www.red964.com/html/dyndex.php
www.projectsonly.co.uk

GrantG

If one has a 911 with a higher than stock redline that sees quite alot of track time, should the interval be shorter between adjusts?

Peter Zimmermann

Our shop always readjusted the valves, following a top end or overhaul, in the 800 - 1200 mile range. We felt that it was important enough that we voided the warranty for our work if the customer did not comply. My office manager contacted forgetful customers to set up an appointment for the service, which was done at no charge. We regularly discovered that 9 or more of the 12 valves had changed sufficiently to require adjustment. On rare occasion we found a rocker shaft that had moved, and we were able to correct that at the same time. We changed the oil and filter, probably an exercise that was a holdover from the days when break-in oil (non-detergent) was used.

Grant: I adjusted the valves on my PCA Club Race car after every two events, and I did high rev engines used on the track (time trials, etc.) every 3 - 5 events. Adjustments were minimal, but that's exactly what you want. Make those changes before a loose rocker can beat a cam lobe into submission, etc. It also enables you, should you find a tight valve, to do the disassembly necessary to find out what's going on in that combustion chamber before something breaks and takes expensive parts with it. It's a good idea to start a log, if you haven't done so, that tracks hours, not events, and do it that way. A PCA weekend included open practice on Friday, practice and qualifying on Saturday, and warm up and the race on Sunday. All laps are run at near the car's capability, so the loads are far more than, say, a DE day. 7500 rpm in an engine designed for 7200 revs won't have a huge impact, but 7800 rpm is enough of a load change that even rod bearing life should be recalculated. Custom engines always need more care and more frequent inspections, but they're worth it!

Pete