Window for checking valve clash clearance

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Lineslinger said:
Right, "Visible".
In the long run it really made a difference when I was digging around inside of an Internal combustion power plant.
My dad had a clue.

I did get into my fair share of trouble playing with fireworks getting very creative in the never ending pursuit of the bigger bang.
Mailboxes were sacraficed...then we got caught.
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Saltpeter from the drug store mixed with sugar from mom's cupboard. Fill up toilet paper tube , wrap in newspaper, light the paper then drop into school mailbox , run and hide behind a bush to watch. Sparkly fun.
 
jseng1 said:
I've been using the carefully shaped bent wire through the exhaust port and viewing with a tiny flashlight and optivisor magnification. It can be done but its a PIA compared to the ease of the window cutout cylinders in the photo.
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Yeah, that's how I've been doing it too, but this idea looks a lot more appealing. I think I'll make something like it up next time I need to check clearance.

Ken
 
lcrken said:
Yeah, that's how I've been doing it too, but this idea looks a lot more appealing. I think I'll make something like it up next time I need to check clearance.

Ken
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Ken
I think the thick-walled alloy tubes would work.
The additional piece you'd need could be made of a couple of pieces of 1 3/16" or 30mm NB pipe welded to a plate that picks up the two outside 5/16" studs. The plate would have to be sufficiently stiff to hold the pipes at the tunnel angle while under pressure from valve spring action.
You're only turning over by hand so the followers should run okay in the pipes.
 
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robs ss said:
Ken
I think the thick-walled alloy tubes would work.
The additional piece you'd need could be made of a couple of pieces of 1 3/16" or 30mm NB pipe welded to a plate that picks up the two outside 5/16" studs. The plate would have to be sufficiently stiff to hold the pipes at the tunnel angle while under pressure from valve spring action.
You're only turning over by hand so the followers should run okay in the pipes.
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Probably could do that. But I have some junk cylinders, so I'm thinking of just opening one up for even more visibility than the picture above.

Ken
 
TomU said:

Depstech 4.3in IPS Screen Endoscope Dual-Lens Camera

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Yeah, I have a cheaper version of that, and it's handy for looking into cylinders, but I like the idea of being able to actually measure the clearance between valves, and the cutaway cylinder would let me do that.

Ken
 
I just have to ask: since we are trying to see that the inlet has more lift than the exhaust at TDC on the over lap stroke, would it be possible to measure this by determining how far off the seat each valve is? Using a drill index you can get close and
sliding in a long drill bit is pretty easy. You can still check for clash by passing a wire along the inboard face of the exhaust
valve or through the sparking plug hole whilst eyeballing through the exhaust port.
Am I right or wrong on this?
 
Onder said:
I just have to ask: since we are trying to see that the inlet has more lift than the exhaust at TDC on the over lap stroke, would it be possible to measure this by determining how far off the seat each valve is? Using a drill index you can get close and
sliding in a long drill bit is pretty easy. You can still check for clash by passing a wire along the inboard face of the exhaust
valve or through the sparking plug hole whilst eyeballing through the exhaust port.
Am I right or wrong on this?
Click to expand...

It's not that you can't eventually measure the valve-to-valve clearance using various wire diameters, drills, flash lights, endoscopes, etc., but it's difficult and time-consuming to get accurate measurements that way. And as I have unfortunately managed to demonstrate, you can get it wrong using that method, resulting in engine damage. The justification for making up something like the cutaway cylinders is that it gives you great visibility and direct measurement access. You can quickly see where the point of minimum clearance is and measure it accurately. If you only expect to have to do it for one or two engine builds, then it might not be worth the effort. But if you expect to be regularly building high performance engines where the clearance is critical, the cutaway cylinders are a huge time saver.

Ken
 
Agree that the cutaway jugs are quite the thing. As a lot of us don't have a spare set of jugs nor a lathe with which to run up precision posts, we are left with the list of fiddly tricks.
Tool power always wins the day and separates the pros from the rest of us.
 
Onder said:
Agree that the cutaway jugs are quite the thing. As a lot of us don't have a spare set of jugs nor a lathe with which to run up precision posts, we are left with the list of fiddly tricks.
Tool power always wins the day and separates the pros from the rest of us.
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My setup wasn't made with flash tooling. Just a vise, hacksaw, file and vernier gauge.
Worked for me anyway.
The commando setup would be even simpler - just need the tools to cut the windows in a spare set of jugs.
 
....I'll find a set of tired jugs and a new hacksaw blade. Paging
Allen Millyard...
 
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