Hi There

Just posting on behalf of my son......

He has an 84 Mazda 626 / Telstar with the 2.0 litre FE engine.

Head gasket needing replacing, so we have done the following.....

1. I stupidly forgot to check the valve clearances at the appropriate
TDC etc, with the engine cold, before I removed the head.
2. Had head machined, lightly lapped the valves and reassembled the head.
3. Everything is basically reassembled and its nearly ready to go.

The factory manual states the valve clearance is 0.3mm with the engine
at operating temp.

At this point ( cold ) the clearances are all over the place, even at the correct TDC / cam position etc.

What would be a safe clearance to set, to get it up to operating temp and do it properly ??

Does the valve clearance increase at operating temp or decrease ??

Should I set the ( cold ) clearances at say 0.4mm or 0.2mm or take a
punt and just set them at 0.3mm and hope for the best ??

Thanks

Are you checking the valve clearance's on each valve pair with the cam lobes towards the bottom????? You can set them at .3mm and run till hot, then recheck.

Hi
Thanks for the reply.
Yep, I know how to check / set the clearances.
After thinking about it and reading your reply, I think you're right and
it should be OK to set them at 0.3mm to get it running to operating temp,
then check / reset.
I was probably being a little over cautious.