This is how to adjust the valves on a 3rd gen CTD. 1st and second gens should be similiar, they just have half as many valves to adjust
I am going to go through this as if you don't have the manual available. The manual says that valve adjustment is only required every 150K, but mine had one loose valve at only 68K on the clock. After 1 hour of work, the offending valve was adjusted and now runs as quiet as a CTD can
Before you begin, the engine must be under 100 degrees. I wouldn't attempt this if it has been running inthe last 6 hours.
On my engine label the valve specs are listed.
The intake valves are set to .010" and the exhaust valves are set to .020". The manual states that if the intake valves are between .006" and .015" that they are within spec and don't require adjustment. The exhaust valves don't require adjustment if they are between .015" and .030".
Lets get started. The first step is to set the engine to top dead center. There is a mark on the crankshaft pulley that you want on top (closest to the hood).
Here is a pic of the mark. I scraped it out with a scribe to make it a little more visible and mine has a green dot next to it. This pic was taken from underneath the truck to clearly see the mark. In this pic you can see it says TDC which wasn't legible when I was under the truck[:@] There are no other marks on the pulley.
You will need to turn the engine so that this mark points straight up. This is what you want to see from the top.
Its hard to see but the mark is next to the green dot. This picture was taken looking down from the top next to the radiator cap on the passenger side. There is no pointerto line it up with, just make sure it is on the top of the pulley.
To turn the engine over, I found that a 15mm socket on a long 1/2" drive ratchet works best. There are 4 15mm bolts that hold the pully on and any one of them will turn the engine over. Just make sure you go slow and the ratcheting action will let you turn the pulley all the way around without repositioning it. The compression of the engine requires you to turn slowly, if you go to fast, it will kick back and you may hurt yourself.
Now that we are at TDC, start pulling the valve covers. Remove the oil filler cap.
Then remove the 4 bolts that hold the cover on with a 10mm socket and this is what you'll see. I put the oil cap back on to keep dirt out during the next step.
Pull the crankcase vent hoses out of the breather assembly. They are pretty tight in there and require a lot of twisting and pulling to get them out. (quiet Mayfair
)
