How often should you adjust your valves?

Every 15k miles just like the book says.

 

I have become ambivalent on this issue myself. Over the last few years this topic has come up and there are cases where the wrong specs were installed- but did not hurt anything. Its not even clear to me how the specs are checked! In one instance it seemed to me the valve lifter spacers were selected based upon a pre-determined list, not an actual measurement.

Those discussions took place a long time ago and I do not have links. Perhaps a few of our techs can elaborate on the matter? And sometimes these things can get silly. For instance, change your belts every three years or 15,000 miles. I read for sale add where the car had very few miles but had something like SIX belt changes.

IMHO, it is possible every last one of those replacement belts could have been manufactured in the very same year. Are cam belts like wines? Personally, if I am aging my cam belts I would rather do it under tension, installed in a parked car idled five minutes every six months. Or maybe just once a year.

 

Not sure what information you are looking for.
I wouldn't be concerned about the valve adjustment. The oil leak becomes an issue of tolerance vs cost on your part. The six year thing would make me want to put a set of belts on it though.

 

I look at it this way... Valve(s)/adjustment do not have a time expiration (lifespan) like a bearing (grease/rubber), hose (rubber) or a belt (rubber). Its a wear issue so go with actual useage/miles. Sorry, I know a lot of / & ()'s in a short reply

 

Its a good question. From a casual scan of older posts, it appears that when many check, the clearances are fine, within what appears a wide range of tolerance of what is acceptable. It also does seem like a pretty finicky job with a fair amount of labour cost. I am sure a check every 15,000 is a good idea, but the real question, how long can they be left alone if you know the car is not abused or revved to redline all the time? I am going to put a wild uniformed guess out there that one could get 50,000 km before a check would be constructive? Unless we have a reasonable (say 20 cars) owners sample size and inventory of shimming needed after various amounts of km's, it's all probably just anecdotal views that will be provided, and no one generally wants to advise deferring maintenance as the consequences can be big. A burned valve, from valve seat recession or incomplete closure at the right times would be the consequence of out of spec valve clearance. I would usually rely on a factory service recommendation, but the Ferrari low production and well heeled customer capacities to over service probably resulted in very conservative factory recommendations. I think on the whole, regular serious inspections, and being attuned to anything odd in feel and sound, and dealing preemptively with known areas of weakness makes more sense with these now quite old cars, more so than some rigid time or mileage based criteria. If you do indeed do the clearance do start a thread and identify what the clearances are at the mileage from last check or adjustment. Maybe we can get some better, real world data on this over time.

 

Valves and everything them come into contact with are metal or other "hard" parts. Sitting forever - as long as they are lubricated - doesn't impair their lifespan. As others have said, mileage, which causes wear and therefore "unadjusts" them, is the issue.
Belts being rubber can decline just from exposure to air, as can tires, hoses, etc. Having said that, there are at least 3 dozen threads on changing cam belts w/ little mileage, and there is only one consensus; if they break while the engine is running, you will wish you had changed the darn things. Many, many people with more experience than mine (tripled) think changing low mileage belts every 3 or 5 years is BS propagated to make Ferrari service and parts centers more lucrative. Me? I have no idea other than to speculate why rubber belts in Ferraris last less long than rubber belts in most other cars.
Note that changing cam bearings before they seize is another topic.

 

Belt service is every five years (3 if you go by what Ferrari says). If your pulling the covers to set timing check them every time you do a belt change.

 

Most times it seems like time is more of a rule than mileage I say every 10 years. Call me crazy but I just had mine done and though the adjustments were minor the car seems to run exceptionally and better than before. In Ferraris you can notice minor engine tweeks.

 

DDD, I agree about noticing minor engine tweaks.

 

I think the main question Ron is asking is how much are we willing to pay for "minor engine tweaks."

If adjusting the valves every 5 years costs an extra $X,000, is it worth the cost, considering that the car may have only been driven a few thousand miles?

Someone please fill in the "X" above.

Alden

 

I am sure your car runs better, however the "butt dyno" improvements we notice are sometimes inversely related to the lightness of one's wallet.
Alden

 

Throwing money away, as others have said engines don't wear when not being run.
Only rubber perishes over time so needs relacing eventually ie Belts will need doing every few years even if the engine isnt run. Rubber seals and hoses go hard and crack with extreme age.....bit like people ;-)

 

If you have to do the valve seals it does not cost much more to adjust the valves.

 

Which then begs the question, when would one expect to have to do the
valve seals...

 

can be simple as monitoring the amount of oil burn ( smoke ) at start up and deceleration in gear leave tell tale signs of oil smoke, as does an oily inside of tail pipe... while not generally fatal, excessive smoking is embarrassing except when fumigating for mosquito control

 

With a leak, valve covers should be done. With those cam covers off it is easy. Almost no time to check valve clearances. If it's good you know. If not, easy to swap a shim. I say go for it. It's not just the leaks you have. It's the ones that might occur over the next six years. I think a full proper service will make your car more pleasurable. peace of mind.

 

It's so much more reassuring to do the belts with the valve covers off.
When they're off, check clearances.

So, every belt change sounds as a good interval for checking valves.

 

My hangup is my car runs perfectly and has not one drip of anything leaking from anywhere. So while I absolutely believe in preventive and scheduled maintenance, I always like to revisit what is essential to do based on others real life practices. Mind you, I am only at 60,000 kms (30,000km under my stewardship), but as the mileage and age is getting more advanced I am thinking more around things that will maintain what has been bullet proof reliability for past 10 years.

 

+1