advantage to adjustable lifters?

christian

Senior Member
I see a lot of posts dealing with setting valve lash. Is there an advantage over the stock solid lifters?​
 
The advantage is that you can re-adjust the valves as wear occurs to engine parts. The original valves with out the adjusters had to be set by grinding the end of the valve to acquire the setting. It was a trial and error effort. If you went too far you then had to take the valve out and grind the face of the valve to set it lower in the valve seat, then start over by grinding the end of the valve again.

Tom Endy
 
" If you went too far you then had to take the valve out and grind the face of the valve to set it lower in the valve seat, then start over by grinding the end of the valve again. "

It is far quicker to weld the stem and re-cut it.
You could do 3 of them in the time it takes to set the seat or the valve face down.
 
When a model B cam is used in a model A engine with original mushroom stem valves, it is necessary to use adjustable lifters . The reason being model B lifters are longer than model A lifters . If a person tried to use original model A lifters and valves with a model B cam, the model A lifters would not reach the valve stem and there would be a fraction of an inch gap, I don't remember the exact fraction off the top of my head but it would be around 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch too short . If a reground model A cam was used with original model A valves there would be a similiar problem . Performance cams with more lift will have less material on the heel of the cam. The valve adjustment is made on the heel of the cam and a longer lifter will be needed . When the heel of the cam is ground down, the lift will increase and a longer lifter will be needed unless a longer modern style valve is used to take up the gap.
 
I like "solids". I made this tool for adjusting the valves on the "four cam Ford
Indy engines"....I use it on others as well. It gets them "dead nuts".

Dudley
 

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DJ - I see where you stick a valve in the end to get a "read" on it, but what do you use to get the measure? Am I seeing this right?

KRW had the BEST arrangement. An adjustable 'measurer' that one uses to measure the tappet height relative to valve seat, and then puts into the grinding machine and causes it to cut the valve stem to the correct length.

Including clearance, of course.

Joe K
 
DJ - I see where you stick a valve in the end to get a "read" on it, but what do you use to get the measure? Am I seeing this right?

KRW had the BEST arrangement. An adjustable 'measurer' that one uses to measure the tappet height relative to valve seat, and then puts into the grinding machine and causes it to cut the valve stem to the correct length.

Including clearance, of course.

Joe K

Okay Joe, after thinking about you question....I see were your going.
The valve is the "standard".....you stick it back in the hole, install
the spring and recheck. It only a couple of times and it's done.
When butt grinding the valve, you check it in the tool....you have to
do the math. Make sense?

Dudley
 
That which is adjustable tends to get out of adjustment. Murphy's 9th corollary. Don't take me too seriously, guys, but I do seem to have one lifter that will just not stay where I put it.
 
When butt grinding the valve, you check it in the tool....you have to
do the math. Make sense?Dudley

It does and I'm sure it speeds up the process. Another similar rig I have seen appears to be a SNAP-ON development. Pix below

gauge.jpg


The funnel tube seems to have been the Go-NoGo gauge and the other tool is the one used to set the gauge. I'm not sure about the use of the other parts.

Another site shows a catalog cut of this device. See http://www.collectingsnapon.com/catalogs/catalogs.php?loggedin=0&catalogPage=1296

"The gauge is placed in the valve guide hole and rests on the tappet. The “V” block rests on the valve seat and is set at that point on the gauge. It is then removed and placed inside the micrometer sleeve with the “V” block resting snugly in the sleeve. The micrometer is adjusted till its anvil just touches the bottom of the gauge shaft and the reading shows the amount of grinding necessary on that particular valve. Each valve can be tested to its own reading after grinding until the correct point is reached."

The other parts are not described here either...

I have played the "gee I ground too much off this valve stem game" with a Briggs & Stratton lawnmower. Only by dint of severe grinding and re-seating the valve in the block (lowering valve) was I able to restore the proper tappet clearance and the lawnmower to my wife's service (snicker.)

Joe K
 
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Joe,

I've figured out 3 of the 4 pieces....I see what there doing. I used mine to do
a 1937 Briggs in a Dryer kids midget last year.....kind of a pain with valves
that small....
 
When a model B cam is used in a model A engine with original mushroom stem valves, it is necessary to use adjustable lifters . The reason being model B lifters are longer than model A lifters . If a person tried to use original model A lifters and valves with a model B cam, the model A lifters would not reach the valve stem and there would be a fraction of an inch gap, I don't remember the exact fraction off the top of my head but it would be around 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch too short . If a reground model A cam was used with original model A valves there would be a similiar problem . Performance cams with more lift will have less material on the heel of the cam. The valve adjustment is made on the heel of the cam and a longer lifter will be needed . When the heel of the cam is ground down, the lift will increase and a longer lifter will be needed unless a longer modern style valve is used to take up the gap.

I have seen several Model A diamond engines which came with Model B cams from the factory, did these not use Model B cam followers in these engines? I know that the ones that I have seen did not use adjustable lifters.

Darryl in Fairbanks
 
They would have used model B lifters. Model B lifters are longer and have a larger base. At first glance the solid model B lifter resembles the model A lifter. Model B lifters can be used with the model B cam when installed in the model A engine . Actually the B lifters are better to use with the B cam because of the larger base. Solid lifters are harder to work with because valve adjustment will require cutting-grinding the valves, seats or stems .
 
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