ATV Valve Adjustment Symptoms: Why it’s Important to Adjust Your Valves

Regular maintenance of your ATV and valve adjustment ensure that your ATV runs perfectly and smoothly. Sometimes if your ATV ceases to function and won’t start, then you can start checking the problem at the valve lash. In this article, we are going to discuss the ATV valve adjustment symptoms: why it’s important to adjust your valves.

What Does Valve Clearance Mean?

You are supposed to have a seal that is gas-tight in space between the ATVs valve face and the valve seat. To make sure that the valve is perfectly well-seated, valve clearance should be present between the ATV’s valve stem and the ATV’s rocker arm. The lash or rather in other terms, the valve clearance can be adjusted by use of a shim, hydraulic device, or a shim. As the heating is increased in the ATV’s engine, this causes the metals to present inside to expand. This is the same for the components of the ATV’s valve train. In case the valve clearance is insufficient between the operating mechanisms of the ATV’s valve stem and the valve stem itself when the ATV is not running, it will expand more when heating is increased. This shows that it is very important that you know the ATV valve adjustment symptoms: why it’s important to adjust your valves regularly n you’re ATV.

How to Know Whether the Valves Require Checking

There are several signs that can be used to tell whether the valves present in your ATV require slight adjustments. For beginners and all those that are interested in ATV repairs, the best way to tell whether the valves present in your ATV are functioning properly is to remove the cover on top and measure the valves. It is very easy to notice valves that are out of adjustment as:

You can at times hear a certain click sound when idle
You can hear a certain clatter coming from the valve region
The ATV could begin overheating
You may experience compression or rather a power loss
The ATV’s intake valves get tighter
The presence of tight valves in your ATV makes it very difficult for the ATV to start and can at times lead to poor idling

How the ATV Can Lose Clearance

The ATV valves are able to lose clearance because of:

Loose valves. This occurs when normal wear is experienced between its components. As you are already aware, the loose valves are very noisy as they hammer their way into the components of the ATV’s valve train thus accelerating and aiding to physical wear.

At other times, the loose valve present could cause the pushrod to come off from the ATV’s rocker arm thus destroying itself together with other bits that are very pricy

Seat recession. When the valve hits the ATV’s valve seat, this lessens the operating clearance of the ATV
Wear and tear. From time to time, the valve head and face wear out. The valve stems rise higher thus lessening the clearance. This is one of the ATV valve adjustment symptoms: why it’s important to adjust your valves especially after they wear out.

See Also: How to Clean the Air Filter on an ATV?

Why Valve Adjustment is Very Important

It is very important that you adjust your ATV valves from time to time. Most of us tend to ask what can happen in case we don’t regularly adjust our valves. You should know that metal when heated expands, therefore in case the clearance is too tight, this will cause the ATV’s valve not to sit down fully inside the head. As we have already discussed above, this can lead to ATV overheating, and compression loss is experienced in the ATV. Overheating can destroy the valves present in your ATV as the ATV head assists in heat dissipation away from the valve. In case the valve is not able to fully close, the chance for enough heat traveling towards the head is lost. It is very crucial that you are aware of the ATV valve adjustment symptoms: why it’s important to adjust your valves, so as to prevent major problems such as the ATV overheating.

How Does Lack of Valve Adjustment Affect the ATV?

In case the valve present in the ATV is too tight, this causes the ATV to lose compression together with its performance, and the gas mileage of the ATV suffers. If it is very loose, it is very noisy and metal parts bombarding each other and excessive clearance damages it. In other instances, in case it is loose, the ATV valve does not fully open and the engine does not function optimally. The valves that are poorly adjusted in the ATV can cause the whole valve train in the ATV to wear out. In other instances, if the valves got a lot of clearance, this could cause damages in the valves and finally cause valve failure.

How Does Proper Valve Adjustment Impact the Performance of an ATV?

Adjusting the valves accurately is crucial for maximizing performance in an ATV. If the valves are not adjusted properly, it could lead to inferior engine performance and reduced power. To enhance the performance of your ATV, especially for increased visibility during night rides, choosing the best LED light bar option is essential.

When One is Supposed to Adjust the ATV’s Valves

The engines that offer high-performance properties require regular servicing slightly more often than the other quads. Because of this, you will require to adjust the valves present in the ATV after every 20 hours or rather when you are changing the oil. This is very important that you do so, simply because if you leave the valves present in your ATV to go for long periods without adjustment, the tighter the intakes become thus causing leaking. This will be preparing you for big repairs that are very costly.

ATV Valve Adjustment Symptoms: Why it’s Important to Adjust Your Valves

Depending on the ATV type that you possess, you notice that the valves present in the ATV tend to tap slightly when they are set correctly. Any sound changes will indicate that the valves need to be adjusted. You should know that the valves present in the ATV tend to fasten with age. We recommend that you adjust the looser ends other than the tighter valve ends. It is very important that you are aware of the different ATV valve adjustment symptoms: why it’s important to adjust your valves regularly in order to have a smooth ride and eliminate future possible problems.