Morris gets lashed for being too loud

The valve train lash is important, and I know it’s off… it’s louder than it should be, and I’ve known it since the first minute I heard this car run. I’ve never set valve lash on anything. The closest I have come to it was removing the heads on my 1990 Caprice V8 and having them reworked. So, I was a little unsure of the process. I needn’t have been. Now that I’ve done it, I realize it’s no more difficult than changing the oil or a thermostat. Everything you need to know is in the Morris shop manual. But I was in for a surprise, the results of which may still lay ahead of me.

Setting each valve clearance to 0.12″ (0.305mm) is pretty easy to do; loosen the locking nut, adjust gap, tighten back down, verify gap. Repeat. The trick is to know the (well-documented “rule of 9”) order to check them. It’s easier on a Morris due to the fact that there is hand-crank to start the engine should the battery fail. The hand-crank is used to roll over the crankshaft as you go, making the move from valve-to-valve very easy.

What I didn’t expect was this. A lot of rust under the valve cover, probably due to condensation over time. This ended up taking more time to clean up than the valve adjustment by far. The rust seemed mostly contained, but was gritty and easily loosened. I hate to think how much of this was raining down into the valve train ever time. It cleaned up well enough for now, but I’m looking for a new valve cover. Also note in the image below – the cracked plastic bushing on the left hole – parts of that bushing went down into the engine, I found a few loose bits. The right side is still intact.

This hard grit is only maybe 1/4 of what I removed using wire brushes, a large flat-blade screwdriver tip and two cans of carb cleaner. I made sure everything I loosened was fully washed away. A protective film of WD-40 was applied before re-installation of the valve cover. Since the adjustment the motor ticks over quietly like a well-oiled sewing machine. Valve 8 was particularly loose – way over 12 thousandths – and was making all the racket. Most of the others were pretty close, and a couple were too tight, which isn’t a good thing when the engine is good and hot.