I have never adjusted the valves on my ’66 Volvo, so I thought I should take a look under the valve cover, they were starting to tick a little. I discovered I have a B20B, not a B18, because the valve adjustment is different. A B18 it is .016″ – .018″ on my B20B it is .020″ – .022″. I decided to go in the middle and set them at .021″, wow, they were clicking like crazy. I read somewhere on the interwebs another guy had a B20B and set his clearance to .019″. So, I readjusted the clearance to .019″ and it sounds wonderful. Just a slight tick until it warms up, then pretty quite, well as quiet as an old push rod engine can be. I used the popular rule of ‘9’ to adjust the valves, turn the motor until you see a valve completely open, then adjust the valve that when added makes 9. So if you see valve 2 open, adjust valve 7. If you see valve 4 open, adjust valve 5. I have some examples in the photos. To adjust the valves loosen the lock nut on that valve and turn the set screw to make the clearance less or more, then retighten the lock nut. Be careful with the lock nut, this is not a head bolt, I don’t know the torque specs, but you can break a rocker arm if you get these too tight.
Also, if you remove the spark plugs you can turn the engine by hand by rotating the fan. I did have to bump mine a few times with a wrench on the crank bolt. It’s a pretty easy operation and it is good for the health of the engine. While you have the oil fill cap off, take it apart and make sure the wire mesh inside is clean and free of dirt. Yes, the inside of the motor looks pretty bad, the reason; I ask the previous owner what oil he used, he said “whatever was on sale”. Some people just do not care…
Products used:
- One Felpro valve cover gasket.
