Valve adjustment.. rotating the crank

[krede]

Right.. not much too it.. I would just like to know if there is a "trick" to rotating the crank when adjusting the valves?..(if you are just one guy).. I will I have to employ one of my overly lazy friends as a helper?
It will be hell if I have to get in and out of the boot to get the valves just right for adjustment.

I plan to change the plugs while I'm at it.... removing them first will of cause make the engine alot easier to rotate...  perhaps this can be done by hand using the waterpump pully ?

 

[Anders Dinsen]

You are a tall guy, Krede, I don't think you actually need to sit in the boot to reach for the valves adjustment screws.

I'd find a helpful freind to do the turning. Or one of my boys

- Anders

[macaroni]

Stick it in 4th gear and rock it back and forth until the cam rotates to where you want it?

Are they shims or rockers?

[krede]

Or one of my boys

Finally... a reason to have children...

[Matra_Hans]

..and one day the kids will ask for the keys to the Murena.
When my oldest son got his driving license I told him that Matra cars were not for beginners so he could have a try when he had been driving for 10 years without accidents.
One day 10 years later he asked for the keys for a test drive. I found it difficult to find any excuses!
Regards Hans

[krede]

Did he at least help adjusting the valves then?   

[Anders Dinsen]

Or one of my boys

Finally... a reason to have children...

Oh... there's at least as many good reasons to have children as there are to have a Murena! 

[davidewanprice]

With the amount of fuel my murena drinks if have children it'd have to go..... but which one?

[lewisman]

4th gear, jack up one of the rear wheels, turn the wheel.

Unfortunately you can't reach the wheel when sitting in the boot

[michaltalbot]

There is a small hole in the place between engine and gearbox where You can see the flywheel. With screewdriver You can turn it slowly - and be sitting in the boot

[roy4matra]

With the amount of fuel my murena drinks ...

If any Murena is using lots of fuel, either you are using lots of throttle, for lots of short bursts of acceleration just because you are enjoying it and love hearing that noise as it comes on cam, so it's your own fault! :-)  or it is badly set up and over-rich because I drive mine fast and never get less than 25 mpg but usually get between 30 and 33 mpg.  I only once had it drop to about 19 mpg and that was when the fuel pump started leaking.

Roy

[davidewanprice]

Well I had mine tuned up a couple of months ago and I’d love if i got anything near that. I’m really not sure my Webbers are jetted correctly and at some point need to have it looked at as I’m using fuel like its going out of fashion

[davidewanprice]

You may also have a point with the "FUN", but doesnt it just sound nice! I bet i dont even see 25 mpg on a good run!

[roy4matra]

You may also have a point with the "FUN", but doesnt it just sound nice! I bet i dont even see 25 mpg on a good run!

A good 'S' or Prep 142 using the original twin sidedraught Solex 40's, on a run (so the cold run period is short compared to the hot) and mostly on open roads, will easily give 30mpg and I'm talking about running at 140kph when the road is clear and using acceleration to overtake other cars.  I can verify this as I have done it many times.  With my Solex (or Weber) progressive twin venturi downdraught carb. I would get 32mpg under the same conditions.  Using a little restraint, but still doing up to 120 kph I would get 35mpg.  I proved this to Chris House last year when I said the Murena would give better consumption than a Bagheera, and we went to a club meeting in mine.  We brimmed it before and after and it did 35mpg.  His Bagheera gave 34mpg on the trip to Classic Le Mans.

Fuel consumption is always down to the way the car is driven too, but things like brakes dragging as the calipers are not really free will make things worse.

Sounds like plenty of work to be had putting cars right! :-)

To get back to the topic of valve adjustment, I have never had to do mine much as the cams have just never worn as a consequence of using full synthetic oil from new, but I have always put the car in 4th gear and pushed it forward to turn the engine.  You only have to do it four times to check all the valves so whilst it does mean getting in and out of the boot, it's not really a big deal.  You could turn the engine from the boot, by rotating the cam gear but I'm never keen on that.

Roy