A Slight Misadventure

 I've had such a good run of luck with Gidget - starts up, purrs like a kitten, always happy - that even a small problem warrants a little news.

Gidget and I had a little adventure – well, misadventure – a little while back.  On my way home from an errand one morning, I was about to get on the freeway when I started hearing a loud ticking.  It got worse, and then I heard (and felt) an even worse problem – she was only running on three cylinders.  This was a Bad Thing.

I immediately thought of a burnt exhaust valve and feared the worst.  I managed to limp to an O’Reilly’s near my house, shut things down, and grabbed my tools.  Pulling the valve cover resulted in a huge sigh of relief.  Can you spot the problem?

Okay, I can’t make you wait for it.  The adjuster on #3 valve backed all the way out.  The intake valve wasn’t opening at all.

Well, I could fix that!

I turned the adjuster back down, guessed at the valve clearance, and tightened it up.  After reinstalling the valve cover, I turned the key… and she started right up, as pretty as ever.

I drove home and thanked the automotive gods for it not being serious.  I reset the valve lash (checking them all – the others were okay) and Gidget is happy once again.  I don’t know why that one adjuster backed out, but I made sure to double check everything!