I was dumb enough to let a mechanic I did not know deal with my valves. He "adjusted" them and now .. compression ( I think ) is bad. The RPMs drop and the car dies.. I must hold it in neutral or hold brake and gas at the same time. How can I fix this?! I don't want to burn up my tranny or having to learn how to drive with my left foot

 

Adjust valves again. It's actually one of the simpler things you can do yourself. Do not drive with the valves too tight, as you risk valve damage.

 

If anything I believe the valves are loose. I bought a feeler gauge thinkin that if I must do it myself I will. My concern is the damage. I'd rather take it to a shop, but no one in town will risk valve work. It makes absolutely no sound when driving.. just the loss of power when idling.. ticking is gone. I think the guy adjusted it with a flat head and by sight.. ahh.. can't trust anyone around here with an import.. good ol midwest.

 

it really is very easy. get the proper feeler gauges. remove valve cover, plugs, and wires. take the drivers side wheel off and attach a socket with an extension to the crank. put a long screw driver in the cylinder closest to you. turn the crank counterclockwise until you see the screwdriver has raised all the way and started to fall. back the crank off a tad. now adjust your valves for number one cylinder. repeat the process for the others (keeping in mind firing order is 1342)

the feeler gauge should have enough friction where you need to use your wrist to remove it, but not so tight that you need to use your entire arm to pull it out.

If you are not the kind of guy who likes researching on the computer, buy yourself a used Haynes manual for you car, it has step by step directions with pictures and diagrams for any job you can think of. Its a most helpful investment.

 

I'm not the kind of girl.. who likes using the computer. i did buy a manual and a gauge.. I just don't feel that I know how to properly get the valves dead center.. Timing was a .. sigh.. I never want to touch my crank again. How.. bad is it for me to drive like this? Should I hold the brake and gas at the same time.. or hold the accelerator in neutral? There is a shop about.. 5 miles away who said they'd fix it for me..

 

Don't drive like that. When a valve doesn't close completely, hot exhaust gas will blow past it and overheat the edge. Though it doesn't often happen, it can lead to a cracked valve and major repairs.

If you don't want to go through the whole process, just loosen them until they are definitely slack when closed. At any given time, 3 out of 4 of the valves are closed. Grab the rocker arms and try to wiggle up and down. There should be some give and a slight clicking noise. If a rocker arm is pressed down, turn the crank until it comes all the way back up, then check again. If it never gets slack, loosen the locknut and back the screw out then tighten it. There may be some noise but it should run properly if that was the problem.

What I think is the easiest way to do the proper procedure:

When you have the valve cover off take out the 2 bolts that hold the top plastic timing cover on. Now you can see the timing marks on the cam pulley. Stamped on the end is the word "UP". Rotate the crank by hand (counterclockwise, always counterclockwise since that's how it turns when running) until "UP" is at the top. Now adjust all 4 valves on cylinder #1, which is the cylinder closest to the timing belt.

Rotate the crank 180 degrees counterclockwise, which will turn the cam 90 degrees, so "UP" is now at 9 o'clock (toward the front). Now adjust #3. Repeat to 6 o'clock for #4, and finally 3 o'clock for #2.

When properly adjusted you may still hear some ticking from the valves, especially when first started cold. That is not going to hurt anything. Too tight is really bad.

 

I readjusted the valves.. it is A LOT better.. not quite right but I found out the guy measured it at like .007 instead of .009-.011.. TOO TIGHT.. adjustment tweak tomo..