65 dart gt 225

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Oct 27, 2008 | 03:07 PM

jcope1

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65 dart gt 225

I am helping a friend with his dart slant 6, 225. We took the valve cover off and found 4 bent push rods. I figure that the rods were not properly adjusted with the rockers. How do you do it. I read that you need .010 and .020 gap on the intake and exhaust but by looking at the rocker bar? that holds the rockers you would just tighten that down and then rotate engine until you have the best slack and then adjust according to the feeler gauge. help?

Oct 27, 2008 | 06:09 PM

67 GTX

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From: Brooklyn, N.Y.

You will need a 1/2" breaker bar and a good, six point socket. You might need a small extension too. The engine must be HOT before you adjust the valves. You want the engine hot to allow for expansion. This was always stated in the shop manual.

Bar the engine over to get each cylinder to Top Dead Center (TDC). When you're at TDC there will be no tension on the push rods and springs. Adjust the intake to .010 and the exhaust at .020. Don't mix them up.

If you can't bar the engine over you can bump the starter by jumping the starter relay. It takes practice, but, you can do it.

Remember, tight adjustments can cause push rods to bend. Loose adjustments are noisy, but basicly harmless.

Oct 28, 2008 | 02:34 PM

jcope1

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Thank you, we have the head off and will be putting back on. We wanted to make sure the valves were good. Do we adjust cold and then when the engine heats up, do an adjustment again?

Oct 28, 2008 | 05:13 PM

MOPAR GUY

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Set them loose when cold. If you set them tight you run the risk of bendind a push rod or burning a valve. Try cold settings of .030 for the intake and .040 for the exhaust. Run the engine for 5 to 10 minutes and adjust again. While you have the head off you should change the valve stem seals. If they are old they most likely will be dried out.

Oct 30, 2008 | 09:51 PM

jcope1

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Thanks for the tip. I am running into a problem.
We have #1 cylinder at TDC. I can adjust the slack on the intake and exhaust on #1 cylinder. How do I know when #5 cylinger is TDC as is in the firing order of the slant 6. On the balancer, we have a mark for TDC and that makes sense. My question is, do we turn the crank 180 degrees for the next TDC at cylinder #5 or 360 degrees. Or does this make sense.? We have the head back on and the push rods in and the rockers on.

Nov 1, 2008 | 08:57 AM

MOPAR GUY

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Bring each cylinder to TDC, one at a time. Look at the push rods. When each cylider's rods are at their low point, adjust the valves on that cylinder. You could jump from cylinder to cylinder, but, it's easy to make a mistake. Play it safe and do one cylinder at a time.