Well, I finally adjusted my valves the other day.
This isn't very significant in itself (I hope, as this operation really
should be done far more frequently than I do), but what is significant is
the fact that we haven't had leaded gasoline here in Norway in 6 years. And
I have used unleaded fuel with my -72 Triumph 2000 all these years.
I know that leaded gas will be withdrawn in year 2000 in Britain, and there
has been a lot of writing and worry on this subject, and that is why I
write this, to give a report on how the matters stand here in Norway.
Anyway, the petrol companies here in Norway took away the lead and put in
chemicals with the same effect (lubricating valve guides and maintaining
contact and heat redirection between seat and valve), namely Kalium, I
think also know as potash potassium in English. They replaced the lead, and
guaranteed that the older engines could use this fuel without any excessive
wear. In fact they were known to fix a few engines in the very beginning
before they knew the amount of Kalium to be used.
So, I was adjusting my engines valves after six years since the last time I
did the same operation. I know that adjusting the valves on a worn engine
(you know, when the cam, tappets and rockers are worn at all, it can be
quite difficult to adjust the valves properly as the rockers and in
particular tappets aren't seated the same way with every revolution of the
cam), but what I found could not be explained by this.
The valve clearance was tighter than it used to be (and I am not referring
to one valve, it was a quite clear tendency), so this means seat recession
(or more correctly, more seat recession than cam/tappet/rocker wear since
the two affect the clearince in reverse directions) has taken place. And as
I have installed a external oil feed for the rockers, I take it that my
valve gear hasn't been subject to much wear. When I opened the lid this
time, the amount of oil inside each tappet was exactly the same (you know,
you can see how much oil there is in there by peering down the cylinder
head), and that should indicate even and good lubrication.
But, to my surprise, I found that the clearances were *only* 0.05 mm off
(they were around 0.20mm, it should be 0.25mm). I think that 0.05 mm valve
seat recession is quite acceptable, I have driven at least 40 000 kms
during the last six years, including trips to the Riviera, Paris, London
etc with moderate load (whole family in car and luggage) and high speed.
So, In other words, the replacement chemicals for lead work fine here in
Norway, kalium instead of lead is a good solution to a difficult problem.
Kalium does not represent any environmental danger, it is a common chemical
in nature.
And I find it somewhat strange that none of the british petrol suppliers
can offer this kind of petrol to the enthusiasts. There are, after all,
many thousands of enthusiasts cars in Britain, and they will need petrol
after year 2000 (other than that I can't see the triumph engines
representing any year2000 fault... ;-)...
Sorry about the metric stuff, but, I guess you have to convert sooner or
later anyway, so... :-)
I got a bit lengthy there, sorry about that.
BTW, has anyone had any experience with remake of the rocker shaft? The
original is a bit pricy, but I understand it is harder than the remake.
---Asgeir---
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