Why Is It That Important?

The valve CLEARANCE WILL CHANGE  after a good period of time when the camshafts, valve seats, and valves
wear in. This is very common on any engine with a rocker arm setup like the Toyota 20R and 22R/RE/RET motors in
Pickup trucks and 4Runners.
Valves adjustment is something nobody wants to do but, Toyota recommends they be checked every 60,000 miles.
The importance of checking and adjusting your valves resides in that if you have too much clearance it can quickly
cause destruction or extreme damage to your engine. Also if a valve is burnt and isn't sealing properly you aren't
getting a fully sealed combustion chamber. Sometimes valve adjustment is so out of specs, it hinders the
performance of the vehicle or is extremely noisy. Some symptoms of misadjusted valves are: pour gas mileage, lack
of power or excessive emissions, among others.

How To Adjust Your Valves?

Valve clearances:  Intake=0.008" (0.2mm)
                                  Exhaust=0.012" (0.3mm)
1. 1-Start the engine and allow it to reach normal operating temperature (required), then shut it off.
2. 2-Be really careful because everything will be extremely hot.
3. 3-Remove everything connected or on the way to the valve cover.
4. 4-Remove valve cover and distributor cap.
5. 5-Position the piston # 1  at TDC (Top Dead Center) on the compression stroke. That means the balancer
mark on the crankshaft pulley aligns with the 0 mark on the timing tag, at the same time the rotor on the distributor
has to point at # 1.
6. 6-Make sure the rocker arms for the # 1 cylinder valves are loose and # 4 are tight. If they are not, the # 1
piston is not at TDC on the compression stroke.
7. 7-Check/Adjust only the valves indicated by arrows in (illustration)
 8-The clearance is measured by inserting the specified size feeler gauge between the end of the valve stem and the
adjusting screw. You should feel aslight amount of drag when the feeler gauge is moved back-and-forth.
1. 9-If the gap  is too large or too small, loosen the locknut and turn the adjusting screw to obtain the correct
gap.
2. 10-Once the gap has been set, hold the screw in position with a screwdriver and retighten the locknut. Re-
check the valve clearance and make sure it did not changed when the locknut was being tightened. If so, re-adjust it
until it is correct.
3. 11-Repeat the procedure for the remaining valves (illustration 1), then turn the crankshaft one complete
revolution (360º) and realign the notch in the pulley with the zero on the engine.
4. 12-Adjust the valves indicated by arrows in this second picture.

13-Re-check Valve clearances and re-adjust if necessary.

1. 14-Reinstall the valve cover, distributor cap and reconnect all hoses and wiring.
2.  
3. Valve Adjustment Tips:
 *Valve clearance for aftermarket performance cams may vary. Follow cam manufacturer valve
clearance specifications.
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 *Inspect cam lobes for abnormal wear and valve adjusting screws for flat spots and pitting. If the
screws are worn, this will make your valve adjustment inaccurate.