Pinto Valve Clearance

[Guest andydav]

Has anyone has any experience with valve clearance on Pinto 2.0 litre with FR32 fast road cam and Dgav carbs. head is unleaded.

 

I recently rebuilt the engine and everthing is great apart from the top end sounding like a sewing machine. Originally i set the gaps to .25 & .30 as per kent cam settings. It was noisy straight away so i reduced them back to Ford spec of .20 & .25, but still it sounded noisy. The cam is fine, no wear etc, and was bedded in correctly.

 

Anyway i gave it 100 miles to bed in and set them again, but still got the sewing machine noise. Today i gave it a good hard run and let it get hot and lifted of the cam cover whilst hot. All the valves have the set valve clearnce although it was hot. To prove point i manualy took away the clearance to 0 and ran the engine, and it is as sweat as anthing.

 

Has anyone has similar experince?

 

any advice or ideas appreciated.

 

Andy

[Guest old_timbo]

If you had .2 and .25 clearance when hot they must be too big. Clearances are for when the engine is cold and get less as it heats up. Which side did you put the feelers in from? I go in from the side opposite to the adjuster, I only put the feeler in sufficient to just get under the cam (too far and it fouls the follower) and a rock the follower from side to side to find the loosest position. It a bit of an art to set Pinto clearances correctly.

[knights_templar]

you haven't indicated how you are checking the clearances.

 

performance cams profiles may mean that the clearance gap must be checked at different point to the standard.

 

I would try setting the gap to that advised by Kent, then turning the cam a small distance ether way to see if the gap increases. If you find the position with the greater gap, set it there.

 

It is not advisable to run with clearance smaller than that advised by the manufacturer. Valves heads can become overheated and burn out.

 

Pinto's are renown for for oil feed problems to the cam, although, if I remember Kent come with a new oil rail.

[Guest paulrrh2b]

Hi

 

Yep, I have exactly the same problem with a Piper cam in my Pinto. Ive tried all sorts - Measuring from different sides, measuring from one point then moving the cam slightly and measuring again, etc etc. Closing the gap right down seems to make a considerable difference, however, I wouldnt have thought it was recommended??

 

Ive put mine down to a combination of valve vounce and the high lift cam. Im running it and nothing seems to be wrong / worsening.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Shaft]

Mmmhhhh, very interesting topic developing here gents.

I too have a tuned Pinto, FR32, new rockers, pedestals and valve springs. Done 800 miles now and its also beginning to sound like an old Fiesta that's missed a few services??

 

Looking forward to the opinions of the Pinto experts before I delve in. I need to baffle the filler neck and add some more baffles to the sump anyway, so will investigate the clearances very soon.

 

Nick.

[Guest mower man]

Re valve clearances, posters have quoted .2 and .25 hopefully this is the metric measurement? and e quals 8 and 10 thous [i hope I 'm not being pedant] which are std settings if you are setting them at 20 and 25 thou its no wonder they rattle , set them cold , overnight not run and they should be fine ,performance cams tend to be noisier than std any way so don't expect the engine to be Rolls quiet I think you will find if you shut them down you will lose performance and probably burn exhaust valves in short order !--- mower man

[agent_zed]

Re valve clearances, posters have quoted .2 and .25 hopefully this is the metric measurement?

 

my haynes manual quotes them like this. We are in Europe now

 

still don't know how tall i am in cm's though....

[Guest andydav]

I should have perhaps said i was an experinced engineer with a reasonable knowlege on engines, but certainaly not an engine specialist. This one was starting to get me thinking i was missing the obvious.

 

1. The valves have been set in Metric and not imperial, although after i first built it up i did think i had made this error.

2. The FR32 Cam was a complete kit with springs, rockers etc.

3. The max clearance is achieved with the lobe at around 11 o clock or 1 o clock depending on the inlet or exhaust.

4. The engine was only ran for a few miniuted with zero clearance to prove a point. Did sound nice though, but of course i would not leave it like this. Inetresting if tonight when i recheck if a clearance has developed after it has cooled back down.

 

Keep the thoughts coming as i cant stand that sewing machine noise.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Andy

[Snapperpaul]

New cam and followers need bedding in, cover lobes with cam lubricant, set gaps to Kent settings, run for 15 to 20 mins at 2000 to 2500 rpm, don't let it idle, if the engine gets hot shut down wait till cold and run for remaining time.

This hardens the rocker pad and beds in the lobes.

[Guest mower man]

Didn't want to seem a clever b---er but it has been done ! I'll be interested in cause and cure mower man [mick ] 45 years on the spanners still learning and occasionaly dropping round hairyones

[Guest paulrrh2b]

Hi,

 

Yes, same here - ex Rolls Royce Engineer and I'd like to think pretty good mechanic, so OK on the basics. This one is just annoying more than anything. I must say I've been measuring at 12 o Clock, lobe up, so I might investigate 11 o Clock and 1 o Clock positions etc.

 

Paul

[Bob Tucker]

Been a while since I set up my Pinto, with FR32 cam, DGAV, big valve head.

IIRC the clearances were 10 thou inlet 12 thou exhaust.

Didnt rattle, but did sound a bit tappety.

Also IIRC the rule of "9" works for a pinto.

 

Set valve 1 to fully open then adjust 8 (adds up to 9!)

2 open, adjust 7

3 open adjust 6....etc.

But dont do them in this order...it'll take ages.

Just turn the engine over slowly, see which valve opens next & adjust the corresponding one.

I think this is the right order for a pinto...BUT PLEASE CHECK BEFORE USING IT!!!

 

Valve fully open Check and adjust

Valve #1 Valve #8

Valve #3 Valve #6

Valve #5 Valve #4

Valve #2 Valve #7

Valve #8 Valve #1

Valve #6 Valve #3

Valve #4 Valve #5

Valve #7 Valve #2

 

 

KENT CAMS state .25 mm inlet, .30mm exh.

[Shaft]

Had a look see at the clearances on my FR32 last night, they where all between 10 and 12 thou'.

Backed them all off and reset all to 0.010" then had a look at the clearances with the lobes in various positions between 3 and 9 o'clock.... no difference. I then put a finger clock on the back of a lobe and turned the cam through 180 deg to look for the run out points. I recorded that the back of the lobes are concentric to the bearings for a full 150 degrees before any movement registered on the clock.

Please note this is a FR32 cam.... others may be different?

 

Nick.

[Guest andydav]

Had a look see at the clearances on my FR32 last night, they where all between 10 and 12 thou'.

Backed them all off and reset all to 0.010" then had a look at the clearances with the lobes in various positions between 3 and 9 o'clock.... no difference. I then put a finger clock on the back of a lobe and turned the cam through 180 deg to look for the run out points. I recorded that the back of the lobes are concentric to the bearings for a full 150 degrees before any movement registered on the clock.

Please note this is a FR32 cam.... others may be different?

 

Nick.

After this post i thought i would take another look tonight. It apears after the engine had cooled, a gap of 0.125 (5thou) inlet and 0.15 (6 thou) exhuast appeared. Was hoping for .25 & .30 (10 & 12), but not that lucky

 

I put a dti gauge on number 1 lobe and had the same result as Shaft which contradicted my last post. On closer inpection i had previosly checked the point of max clearance on No 4 & No 5 valve, next to the center post. When incerting the feeler gauge in a very small movement in the center brg is present. The spring force of the adjacent valves under spring force are moving this center brg clearance giving a false indication that the highest clearnce at either 11 oclock or 1 o clock as you rotate the cam, but in fact the lobes are concentric for the full 150 degrees as per Shafts post. Well we learn every day!!!!!

 

However i am sure this movement is not the the cause, as i used the DTI over the center pillar and could only record 0.03, when quite forcefully applying positive and negative load to the cam.

 

Removed the rockers to double check wear and everything is perfect, the polish marks are exactly in the correct place according to my Des Hammill Ford Pinto book.

 

So i guess it will go back together with the clearance given by Kent, and i will just have to get a more noisy exhaust (he,he )so i wont hear the tappet rattle.

 

Unless of course someone can come up with any further suggestions!

 

Thanks for all the input so far.

 

Andy

[Snapperpaul]

Did you put new cam bearings in when you fitted the cam?

If not centre cam bearing wear is your problem, if there is noticeable movement change it and the rest of the cam bearings.