Valve adjustment

[CBrabec]

I had my valves adjusted at 42,500 miles. Jon at Floor it Diesel said they were way off. They were in the thousands of a degree off. Hope I said that right. Anyway, what causes a persons valves to get off by that many degrees? And how often should a person have them checked? I will say this, after the adjustment the truck runs a lot smoother. Thanks in advance.



chris

 

[MMeier]

Couple thousands of an INCH off perhaps. Normal break in and manufacturing tolerances I believe are the main reasons they would be off that soon. Believe normal adjustment interval is every 100,000 miles on the 3rd gens! Did mine for the first time @130k , nothing way out of whack though.

 

[KKlepfer]

I seriously doubt they were that far out. I think 3rd gen need adjustment every 130,000. There is a reason for this and that is the variance is large and rarely do they need adjustment. I just don't believe you needed it at 42,000. I have 60k on mine and no valve problems. You would also see alot of post on this if it were the case.

 

[RPolidora]

I don't think he is implying that he had a problem. I did mine at about 38,000 if I remember correctly and yes, a few were way on the loose side of the huge tolerance. I corrected them and the truck was smoother at an idle and seemed to run a litttle better overall. Not a huge performance addition or anything like that, but it made a dif for sure. Just because the book says "xxxx amount of miles" doesn't mean anything to me. It is super easy to do and why not check them.

 

[CBrabec]

I don't think he is implying that he had a problem. I did mine at about 38,000 if I remember correctly and yes, a few were way on the loose side of the huge tolerance. I corrected them and the truck was smoother at an idle and seemed to run a litttle better overall. Not a huge performance addition or anything like that, but it made a dif for sure. Just because the book says "xxxx amount of miles" doesn't mean anything to me. It is super easy to do and why not check them.

Thank you, I wasn't implying I had a problem. I have to listen to the man when he said they were off. The reason I had them done was because I had my Flux 2 injectors and sgt 1 cp3 done, so I figured I might as well have them checked at that time. My truck wasn't running or acting bad, Jon just said they sure need to be done.

 

[JohnCollins]

Super easy to do

Adjusting the valves: Are detailed instructions avail for this somewhere here? I can do this on my simple tractor engines, but I can't imagine how I can rotate the engine manually to tdc to set valve clearances. Must be a trick to it. Do you have to remove the glow plugs?

 

[DPKetchum]

These engines don't have glo plugs. You can use the proper barring tool to turn engine over(fits into the flywheel from the pass side bell housing) or use the alternator bolt and turn it BACKWARDS.

 

[RPolidora]

No trick at all. I rotate it with the alt as mentioned already. Whole process takes me about an hour maybe a little longer if I am being slow about it. TDC do half the valves and rotate 360 and do other half. There are some posts on here about which ones to adjust together.

 

[6speed]

where are the timimg marks, can't seem to find it my service man, I know what valves to adjust each time but can't find the marks on a 04 24v

 

[RankRam]

where are the timimg marks, can't seem to find it my service man, I know what valves to adjust each time but can't find the marks on a 04 24v

As you turn the engine over look at the vibration damper and you will see the TDC mark. When it is at the top you are ready to run the first set.

 

[DPKetchum]

Touch it with some white paint or finger nail polish.

 

[jwilliams3]

I did a set a while back and to tell you the truth there were all within factory spec and close.

The truck was an 03 with like 60k.



It really didnt need it done.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

I just had mine done at 250,000 and was told they were pretty close to factory. Pistons must have slapped them back home

 

[TCluff]

every truck is different and will be different because every mech has his own feel, i adj my valves at 40k and they were 6-10 thou out of exact spec, that is bad in my book and the truck def idled alot smoother after, i did it again at 50k and they were pretty close, then again at 57,000 and only had to adj 4 rockers, then it lost a seat at 57212, oh well, bombs away..... Oo.

 

[CPG]

Depends on the individual that set them at the factory. If they were set correct, they should be good to 100,000 miles average. A lot of people "monkey" around with the valve train too much.

 

[jwilliams3]

There is no individual that sets them at the factory. A big machine does them all. All automated.

 

[RankRam]

There is no individual that sets them at the factory. A big machine does them all. All automated.

This is the reason I ran the valves on my 06 when it only had 2k miles on it.



They were all within spec, but not close enough for me!



The tolerance is just too wide, every truck I have set has ran better and sounded much better.

 

[gsbrockman]

Ol' Casper got a valve adjustment Saturday morning (truck has only 42k on it) courtesy of my great friend Ken and, after the fact..... it really needed it. Both the intake and exhaust specs were ALL over the place. I'd read some various threads here and on DTR regarding the subject, and everyone was right. Ken was nice enough to allow me to run my truck down Friday night and drive his 2006 RAM 2500 MegaCab in Inferno Red home... ... ... schweeeeeeet. I'm dern near hooked. That 48RE in Tow/Haul Mode does great.



Cummins / Dodge says the valve adjustment is not needed until 125k or 150k (?), but everyone should get'em checked.



After the adjustment, I could tell a tad different exhaust note..... but, the big difference is the ability of the truck to pull the same hill I see frequently in 6th gear... . at 1100 or 1200 rpm the truck pulled better under the load of the hill.



Mine were as follows :



Cylinder #1 Intake : . 007 Exhaust : . 016

Cylinder #2 Intake : . 014 Exhaust : . 014

Cylinder #3 Intake : . 013 Exhaust : . 021

Cylinder #4 Intake : . 015 Exhaust : . 016

Cylinder #5 Intake : . 011 Exhaust : . 013

Cylinder #6 Intake : . 012 Exhaust : . 013



Greg

 

[Tomeygun]

Mine were as follows :



Cylinder #1 Intake : . 007 Exhaust : . 016

Cylinder #2 Intake : . 014 Exhaust : . 014

Cylinder #3 Intake : . 013 Exhaust : . 021

Cylinder #4 Intake : . 015 Exhaust : . 016

Cylinder #5 Intake : . 011 Exhaust : . 013

Cylinder #6 Intake : . 012 Exhaust : . 013



Greg

Is perfect spec . 010 intake and . 020 exhaust?



Geez, yours were goofy!

 

[gsbrockman]

Is perfect spec . 010 intake and . 020 exhaust?



Geez, yours were goofy!

Yep... ... forgot to include that..... and stop calling my truck goofy ! :-laf :-laf :-laf



Supposedly the 2006's are . 010 intake and . 026 exhaust.



Greg