It's not broken; Should I fix it?

[Rich Stidger]

I have two conflicting philosophies- one says if it's not broken, don't mess with it. The other is a strong belief in preventative maintenance.

I have a Volvo MD22L-B with about 1500 hours and a Westerbeke genset with about 1700 hours. Both run very well without any problems.

However, both manufacturers recommend that certain PM tasks be performed, and I am late according to their schedules.

One is valve adjustments. Now I have done this adjustment on other engines and it is not hard to perform. It is a somewhat messy job with removal of the rocker covers and oil running out over my nice clean engines.

What is the feeling of all of you? Specifically is valve adjustment something that I really ought to do or is this just some motherhood and apple pie stuff that the engine manufacturer's proclaim?

 

[sailingdog]

I would recommend doing the PM tasks...

 

[Ross]

Adjusting the valves isn't as messy as replacing burned valves.

 

[sailingdog]

Adjusting the valves isn't as messy as replacing burned valves.

Or as expensive.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Rich
I think you get the consensus from the above...
The worst part of the job is getting the valve covers off given the limited headroom under the stairs. I made up a couple of shields out of aluminum flashing to conform to the heads such that they catch and divert the oil hack toward the valves rather than spilling/spitting out.
I've only done it once as my engine at a little over 600 hrs and a couple of the valve spacings were way out of tolerance.

 

[ITMaster]

I think that you will find Rich

That you will notice a particually remarkable improvement over the overall performance of the engine with the valve lash properly adjusted. You should recognize an appreciable increase of available output RPM's with an increase of making way, you should increase the efficiency of fuel consumption, and you should notice the engine runs more quiet and smooth.
It should be done for my Yanmar at 500 hours initially and I don't recall the service interval thereafter. I do the valve lash adjustment on my 911 every 10,000 miles also and it makes the engine run quieter and gives me better giddiup

Now to comment on the first part of your question.

I am an advocate for "It it ain't broke, don't mess with it!" The engineer in me won't let me screw with something that ain't broke.

Let me give you a little analogy though. My 92 FXLR Low Rider scooter seeps oil at the bottom of the jugs where they mount to the case. Harley in subsequent years has recognized that the gaskets they used in 1992 didn't last and developed a different gasket with a material that has more longevity than the ones that are on my bike. So...my bike marks its' spot with an attitude. Does that mean I'm going to pull the engine and tear it down to replace these gaskets? No way, not yet until I have to go that deep in the engine. Even though I have had the bike for 16 years and put over 45,000 miles on it, it still works. The valve covers have never been off and there is no reason to pull them off, so I'm just accepting that it's a hog and that's what they do. I don't have to add oil between oil changes, so I'm not going to fix it yet. I throw a kotex pad under it and change the pad out when the rag is soaked Hell, I park the Porsche on top of a shower curtain also, like all air cooled engines, they seep oil.

But that isn't following a PM schedule like changing out the fork fluids, the primary case fluids, the tranny fluids, rebuilding carb, keeping the belt and chain tension set properly, adjusting the clutch, etc. are called for.

Valve lash is critical, shaft alignment is critical, things that come out of adjustment that if you don't do will require fixing eventually, so that is my take on it and the difference from my perspecitive. I'm a lot like you in that I am a firm advocate for if it isn't broke don't fix it and will be for a long time

 

[Benny]

Both philosophies are good and valid and they are not mutually exclusive. I believe that every part and component has an anticipated work life. Some of these parts and components are dependant on our actions to propely work and attain their anticipated duration. To me that is maintenace. The most common, oil, filters, adjustments, lubrication and fluids. The other parts and components that seem to do their job without our frequent overseeeing are those that to me fall under the category of repairs. I further classify them into those that if they break will cause additional serious damage to other components and those that their breakage will cause no further or significant damage. Another classification is the ease of repair as I would like to have control of the time and location I would like to tackle the repair. Each part gets assigned in my head a probablity factor for breakage based on experience. I find the secret to maintenace and repairs to be frequent inspections of all systems and an updating on the assesment of dubius parts or those that are approaching the end of their theorical life . External circumstances like a planned trip may induce me to replace a part or component ahead of time. My system is not perfect as I have overlooked or misjudged some parts or their condition. Other times a component just fails prematurely or I may replace a part that probably could have lasted a few more years but overall it has served me well in helping prevent breakages at the wrong moment. The problem with repairs is that there is always the possibility that a perfectly working part may be damaged in the process. This contingency is just another factor to weigh when choosing to perform a repair. My philosophy on valve adjustments is to veryfy the valve clearance whenever I hear a tapping sound out of norm or whenever I feel slugish performance. Good luck

 

[Rich Stidger]

Thanks to all for your opinions. I will add aux and genset valve adjustments to my Spring commissioning list.