[Mk2] [Turbo] Valve clearances

[Harold]

Hello chaps,

Are valve clearances something that need to be checked and adjusted? Are they on the original Toyota servicing schedule?

If they do happen to be out of spec, then how would this affect the engine?

My car has 117000 miles/km on it now which is a fair amount so I was just wondering whether this is necessary maintenance.

Thanks.

[T.F.S.]

yes, normally checked at 100k on most cars with solid lifters

the valves will not open fully if out of tolorance

[Harold]

yes, normally checked at 100k on most cars with solid lifters

the valves will not open fully if out of tolorance

Ok, so if the valves are not opening fully then the engine will not be making the correct power?

And how are clearances adjusted, is this using valve shims?

And if they are out of tolerance does this give any particular symptoms whilst running? Or just a loss in power?

I apologise for all the questions, I know very little about the inner workings of engines.

[T.F.S.]

well it will make less power but at least you know the valves are being fully closed i guess

yes you use shims

no real symptoms until things get very very worn, power drops, head taps

[Super_red]

Yeah mine rattled when I bought it so I re set all the shims. If they are out then you run the risk of un evenly wearing the nose of the cam or worse the shim coming loose.

You re set them by measuring all the gaps, then taking off the cams (unless you have a rev1/2 and can borrow/buy the tool) and measuring all the shims, move them all around until you get the majority right and buy the rest, I had to buy 6 but moved 13 around.

[dawesy]

yep if you search around for the BGB its all in there.
start by removing cam cover and measuring what clearances you have
REV 3 turbo is 0.15-0.25mm inlet and 0.28-0.38mm exhaust. if any are out then you need to remove the cams to get the shims out. measure the shim size using an external micrometer then cross reference that to the table in the manual. ive just done mine as it was rattling.
shims are about £7 each so move them about if needed.

[Harold]

Ok, thanks for the information guys. I can't hear any rattling from the engine but will add this to my to do list, it all sounds far too technical for my liking so will probably take it to 3s later on in the year.