When to get your valves adjusted?

[JVantreese]

DC states that the newer 5. 9s are a low maintainance engine regarding valve adjustments and only needs attention when you notice a lost in power or milage.



At 21,000 miles I decided to spend the $85. to have my dealer adjust the valve lash. My tech waited for the block to cool down below the 140 degrees that the specs call for and found all 6 intake valves over the 10 thousands mark and 2 of the exhaust valves over the 20 thousands mark. None of the valves were way out of adjustment but none of them were perfect.



After a short 100 miles trip I find the engine running smother and the over head giving about 1 mile per gallon better numbers. Now I know these are rather subjective results but I feel the $85. was well spent. Hopefully it will be some 40 to 50 thousand miles before I need to have this done again.

 

[wcjp]

There have been a few threads on the TDR about valve adjustment. Many have had a similar experience to you. DC and Cummins response has been the valves are within tolerance despite the fact they're so far out. Mine were adjusted when the injectors were upgraded at 4k.

 

[bmoeller]

You should've seen mine when I bought my '97 used. Some of them, the gap was twice what it should've been. Ran a lot smoother afterwards.

 

[DPKetchum]

97 was a 12 valve with a totaly differant setup. Recomended adjustment on them was every 48k.

 

[gsbrockman]

Ol' Casper got a valve adjustment July 29th (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, July 28th and drive his 2006 RAM 2500 MegaCab in Inferno Red home... ... ... schweeeeeeet. I'm damn 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 at start-up..... 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.



The '98. 5 and up 24V's are . 010 intake and . 020 exhaust; for whatever reason, the 2006's are . 010 intake and . 026 exhaust.



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



I'll most likely re-check mine again in another 40k miles or so... ... .



As a rule, with little interstate driving, I typically get 530--550 miles per tank consistently.



The first tank following the valve adjustment, I chalked up 613 miles.



I have purchased my fuel at the same place (Shell) the previous two fill-ups as well.



I'd strongly suggest everyone get a valve adjustment, especially with fuel prices at the going rate. Every little bit helps, and the valve adjustment sure doesn't hurt.



Greg

 

[bmoeller]

97 was a 12 valve with a totaly differant setup.

True, I was just saying. Half the valves and no bridges to ajdust. But the truck hadn't even been touched in 140k miles.

Recomended adjustment on them was every 48k.

My FSM says 24k for the 12v. I check them every time I have to replace the valve cover gaskets.

 

[DPKetchum]

When NEW the FIRST valve adjust on a 12 valve was at 24k and AFTER that every 48k. I just told my customers at 50k it was easier to keep up with. Lots of 12 valves that NEVER got one every! If good oil changes were done on a timly manor etc. we came across some that maybe a couple of valves would just be off a little. Valve cover gaskets should bereusable for several times. hardly ever replaced any. Old ones and new ones after cleaning almost indistinguishable.

 

[olznut]

I notice on my '06 that mine sounds like an old lifter tick for a bit and it's been a bit noiser then it was new. Sad thing is, I don't trust my local dealer, so I think I'm gonna pay a local diesel shop to do a valve adj, I have 9k miles on my '06. How much does it cost?

 

[jelag]

We waited until our 04 had close to 160K miles... . we noticed right away that it was smoother, quieter, and the MPG went up 1. 5 - 2 mpg... . on the digital display... .



We've now set a standard of 60 K miles between checks... .

 

[bmoeller]

How much does it cost?

Depends on the shop hourly rate. Even if it takes them less than an hour, they may have a minimum charge.

 

[Spooled-up]

It doesn't sound like rocket science to adjust the valves. Are there any special tools required to do this? I haven't checked my service manual yet. Has anyone done the valves that would recommend having a shop do it instead?

 

[bmoeller]

Other than accessabilty, it shouldn't be that hard to do them. I haven't done a 24v B, but have done it on the BC 855 and N14s. They use bridges as well. It is harder on those because of the compression brakes, but not bad.



Unless they use goofy tools on the new ones, it shouldn't any more than a screwdriver or socket, and a wrench, plus the feeler gauges.

 

[JCasper]

My truck is at the dealer right now getting the door latch fixed. I wonder if I should have them adjust my valves now. I have 48,000 miles on it and they have never been touched. My dad is a diesel mechanic, I will call him in the morning and see what he says about how hard it is to do.



Joe