my first disgusted spectator

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

Yep, I was slow, but very precise. The gaps were all too wide. Runs like a champ. Vacuum gauge steady too and idle mixture is right. Solved almost all of the run-on problem, maybe all of it.

Excellent. I think I might buy this: http://www.precisionmeasure.com/valve4.htm It looks awfully cool, but I can't find anybody anywhere that's actually bought one, much less that says it's great. But it looks great, and I love to buy funky tools that you only use once a year or so.

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Excellent. I think I might buy this: http://www.precisionmeasure.com/valve4.htm It looks awfully cool, but I can't find anybody anywhere that's actually bought one, much less that says it's great. But it looks great, and I love to buy funky tools that you only use once a year or so.

The ad is false (not that the product doesn't work). You would never have 3 people gap your valves. Since it's all one person, it just matters what their "feel" is. Frankly the biggest hassle was cleaning the valve covers of the old sealant. I think it was Right Stuff and it was a PITA. Oh, and I have a racheting breaker bar in my future. I could just turn the engine over with a 1/2 rachet, but the angle was such with other stuff in the way I couldn't easily use a cheater bar on the rachet - more hassle than it was worth.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

You would never have 3 people gap your valves. Since it's all one person, it just matters what their "feel" is.

You're probably right. When you were a kid, you probably knew somebody whose dad had a P&G Valve Gapper (which is pretty much what that tool is). It was one of the coolest tools you could have and you still see them from time to time on Ebay and at swap meets. But, like anything else, there's a "contrary view" as to the importance of getting your valve gaps "just perfect." In fact, here's a pretty good tidbit on valve gaps really not mattering as much as you think they would, and specifically addressing the ol' P&G Valve Gapper: http://www.dragracingonline.com/tech...sion/ii_4.html

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by patrickt

You're probably right. When you were a kid, you probably knew somebody whose dad had a P&G Valve Gapper (which is pretty much what that tool is). It was one of the coolest tools you could have and you still see them from time to time on Ebay and at swap meets. But, like anything else, there's a "contrary view" as to the importance of getting your valve gaps "just perfect." In fact, here's a pretty good tidbit on valve gaps really not mattering as much as you think they would, and specifically addressing the ol' P&G Valve Gapper: http://www.dragracingonline.com/tech...sion/ii_4.html

But since it sounds like you need to re-tighten the nut anyway, it's not going to be perfect and you'd need to check it with a feeler gauge anyway - or does the Gapper tool both turn the adjusting screw and then hold it in the exact position while tightening the nut? I had to re-do the adjustment 2-3 times per valve until I figured out how "loose" it should be before I tightened the nut which would close the gap just that touch more to make it perfect.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dcdoug

But since it sounds like you need to re-tighten the nut anyway, it's not going to be perfect and you'd need to check it with a feeler gauge anyway - or does the Gapper tool both turn the adjusting screw and then hold it in the exact position while tightening the nut? I had to re-do the adjustment 2-3 times per valve until I figured out how "loose" it should be before I tightened the nut which would close the gap just that touch more to make it perfect.

If "torquing" down the nut, after you've already adjusted the lash, changes the lash then you would see it on the gauge and then you'd have to re-lash it. The Gapper does not hold the adjusting the screw for you. You still have to do everything the same way you do with a feeler gauge, but you get "real time" feedback from the gauge while you're adjusting the screw and when you're torquing down the nut (which, as we all know, changes the lash and you have to "learn" how to adjust/torque to get the right lash).