disepyon

I havent readjusted anything yet. I just checked the clearance to see if the gauge would fit or not on cold settings. Honestly i dont think it matters if you measure directly at the base of the heel or off to the side like the manual talks about when the piston is at top dead center and the cams are point upright on its side. But yes i did rotate and it did not matter, the gauge would still not fit. I think i will readjust again with cold settings one last time and leave it and forget about doing it hot. just go one measurement step down for that one rocker arm and cam lob to get a tighter fit and see it that works. Honestly i really dont care much for this motor, i have a ls1 i want to swap in, so if over time this motor goes out on me thats ok, i just wanted to know the cause of this problem and we figured it out, im happy. Ive never seen anybody adjust clearance while hot because if you think about it, your just making a bigger gap for when the engine cools down and the metal shrinks. It is the exact noise i am hearing, just a lot louder. I dont know either why combustion would affect it. Maybe with combustion the valve has a lot more force acting upon it.

Thanks for the reply. I just went out to check the clearance on cold settings since the engine is cold and hasnt been running since yesterday. When i checked all the exhaust clearances with .010inch, only that one rocker arm assembly and cam lob wont allow me to fit my gauge in, all the others slid in fine. So i think its like what you said either something isnt seated right or something is bent giving me a false reading. everything looks seated right though.

With the engine hot i am using the correct gauges like the manual said and what that guy said in the links i posted in my first post: .012 exhaust and .010 intake in inch. I know on a lot of engines you measure and do the valve lash when the engine is cold and thats it. But for some reason this engine needs another adjustment at hot. the links i posted on how to measure is not correct i am starting to think, or it might be. I have two different manuals. One says to measure at cam shaft lob and rocker arm. The other manual says to measure at the ends of the valve stems and rocker arm tips. How do i know if something is bent with out taking apart things?

Thanks for the help all. I believe I found the Cause of the symptom. The rocker arm for exhaust valve to cylinder one is very loose. Keep in mind that this is after ive adjusted and checked like 6 times and its still loose. Any ideas on why its so loose? Ive checked all the other arms for the other valves and they are not this loose and does not make a clicking sound like this. Could it be a worn shim or something? My terminology may not be right so correct me if i am using wrong terms to describe. Here is a video i made: <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ageYcen1mkA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I just got done fooling around some more and no luck. Nothing in cylinder 1. Guys have to remember that having ignition to cylinder 1 creates the noise. I replaced the new distributor cap with my old one and that didnt work. I replaced the coil wire and that didnt work. I havent tried to replace the spark plug again, to test, but i doubt that will do anything, if i had no luck last time then wouldnt help me this time, but you never know.

You know thats not a bad idea. I did have the spark plugs out the first time i did the valve clearance. Cant recall anything dropping into the cylinder chamber though. Ill go check. I really dont feel like taking the valve cover off again today, so ill wait to check the valve area tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply fellows. Ive checked the clearance literally like 6 times and made the adjustments needed. Ill check again to see if everything is seated properly, i didnt see anything out of the ordinary though.

I adjusted my valves according to this: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/1803105 http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/valveadjust/index.html After I adjusted it I began to hear a ticking noise, very loud as if something is clinging against something else. Its constant, I hear it on idle and through the rpm range. However everything else seems ok, engine idles super smooth (better than before), revs fine, no hesitation. I did a compression check and I got starting from 1-6(165 165 170 170 165 165). I thought maybe the oil tube next to the rocker arms might be rubbing against, but all is fine and I have clearance. I found out that while the engine is running and I unplug spark plug wire to piston 1, the noise stops and of course the engine starts to idle rough like it should. So I swapped the spark plug wire and same symptom, i changed the spark plug it self and same symptom. I dont get it. Whats wrong? Did i bend a valve for piston 1? bad valve spring? I dont get how that would affect that noise if there is no spark. Shouldnt the noise still persist since the cam shaft is still spinning and the rocker and valve/valve spring would then have to move? I had a snapped stud on exhaust runner 1 and there was a leak on that runner. I took the manifold to the machine shop to get resurfaced and bought a new gasket and i also got the snapped stud out and now i am able to use a bolt. After all that i still get that sound. I though it was the exhaust leak but it isnt. The sound actually gets louder when the car is warmed up. This is for a 240z l24, all stock. Anybody have ideas?

I dont understand how something like that gets out of adjustment. Drove fine for 3 weeks ever since i pulled the motor out and did some work on it and put everything back together. I didnt touch the transmission or clutch cylinder, was like that from the previous owner. oh well, its fixed now.

CASE SOLVED!! Car feels fantastic and performs superb. Turns out the clutch slave cylinder just needed to be readjusted. I guess it wasnt allowing something to disengage. I went ahead and took out the suction chamber and piston, cleaned it and filled with new fluid. Both were pretty nasty. After that i retuned the carbs and everything works great. Thanks for all your help experts!!

inspected the clutch fluid and cylinders. Turns out the slave cylinder is leaking. Now can this cause my problem and why would it?

I just took the spark plugs out and looked inside the piston chambers to see if maybe i flooded them. Results are that the first two pistons are wet and the rest are dry. I checked spark before this and they all sparked. could this wetness cause this issue?

So the problem i am having is kind of hard to explain. I wanted to take my z out for a drive tonight but it seems i cant. This is a stock 72 240z. The motor idles fine and revs great like it should, but the problem is when i try and drive the car. When i step on the gas pedal to get going, the car wont go. I have to lightly press on the pedal to get the car up to speed. I dont hear any unwanted noise from anywhere. The clutch and flywheel are in ok shape because i just recently put the engine back together not to long ago. spark plugs are only about 3 weeks old. Could my distributor be the problem? Any idea? Thanks, Brent

kool i got it figured out. have full adjustment within the timing marks range. works great now. just needed to rotate the distributor/oil pump shaft one tooth over. thanks for the help everyone!!

gotch yah. when i had the front cover off i just put the chain on with the cam and the crank shaft, then i put the tensioner on. So i didnt have to have any support to hold the tensioner from coming out.

The wooden block is what your talking about in the rebuild guide? Yeah i may be off one tooth. Damn!!!! so does that mean i have to unbolt the oil pump and restab the spindle?

I just bolted it back on the way it was before and according to the manual. ill look into it. Some pics showing my timing. Just took these. I have the light hooked up to number one cylinder. The previous owners put this ignition box thing in. I made sure i have it wired in right, i took pics before i removed it so i could see how it looks when to install.

I just replaced all the gaskets, head gasket too. I made sure everything was aligned.

Well i have bad news, I got the motor in the car and running today but i cant seem to bring the timing to the 5 degree mark. with both of the adjustments on the distributor turned all the way i can only get to the 20 or 25 degree timing mark, the one furthest from 0 mark. Whats my problem? Before i pulled the motor to work on it, i checked the timing and it was at the 5 degree mark, so it was working before. My mechanical timing is right.

i feel dumb, but hey thats why we ask for help if we dont know right. Thanks for the help fellas. here is what my mechanical timing looks like. Pretty sure this is close to right according to the manual. look ok? So after i get the motor running i time it like steveJ said to the 5degree mark (second white mark) i whited out on the pully and i should be good?

I need help figuring out the distributor. I have a 1972 240z stock motor (head and block). This is the first time ive owned a car with a distributor so im not too familiar with them. Is this the right numbering for the wires? I numbered it this way based on the firing order givin in the manual. I did not change any of the wires, so this is how the previous owner left it. Also to confirm, this is the right firing sequence? Is this the adjustment i use when timing with the light? Or is this the adjustment and if not what is this used for?