3.5 VALVE CLEARANCE
• Intake — 0.10 ± 0.02mm (cold), (0.004" ± 0.0008" inches)
• Exhaust — 0.15 ± 0.02mm (cold) (0.006" ± 0.0008" inches)
After the first 50 hours of operation, check the valve clearance in
the engine and adjust if necessary.
Important: If feeling uncomfortable about doing this procedure or
the proper tools are not available, please take the generator to the
nearest service center to have the valve clearance adjusted. This is a
very important step to ensure longest life for the engine.
To check valve clearance:
1. Make sure the engine is at room temperature (60° - 80° F).
2. Make sure that the spark plug wire(s) is removed from the
spark plug and out of the way. Remove spark plug(s).
3. Remove the four screws attaching the valve cover(s).
4. Make sure the piston is at Top Dead Center (TDC) of its
compression stroke (both valves closed). To get the piston
at TDC, remove the intake screen at the front of the engine to
gain access to the flywheel nut. Use a large socket and socket
wrench to rotate the nut and hence the engine in a clockwise
direction while watching the piston through the spark plug
hole. The piston should move up and down. The piston is at
TDC when it is up as high as it can go.
5. See Figure 17. Insert a 0.002 - 0.004 inch (0.05 - 0.1mm)
feeler gauge between the rocker arm and valve stem. Correct
clearance is when a slight drag is felt when sliding the gauge
back and forth. If the clearance is either excessively loose or
tight the rocker arms will need adjusting.
To adjust valve clearance:
1. Loosen the rocker jam nut. Use an Allen wrench to turn the
pivot ball stud, while checking clearance between the rocker
arm and the valve stem with a feeler gauge (Figure 18).
The rocker arm jam nut must be held in place as the pivot ball
stud is turned.
When valve clearance is correct, hold the pivot ball stud in place
with the Allen wrench and tighten the rocker arm jam nut. Tighten
the jam nut to 174 in/lbs. torque. After tightening the jam nut,
recheck valve clearance to make sure it did not change.
2. Install new valve cover gasket.
3. Re-attach the valve cover.
Start all four screws before tightening or it will not be possible
to get all the screws in place. Make sure the valve cover gasket
is in place. Replace spark plug(s).
NOTE:
NOTE:
4. Re-attach the spark plug wire(s) to the spark plug(s).
Figure 18 - Valve Clearance Adjustment
3.6 GENERAL
The generator should be started at least once every 30 days and be
allowed to run at least 30 minutes. If this cannot be done and the unit
must be stored for more than 30 days, use the following information
as a guide to prepare it for storage.
NEVER store engine with fuel in tank indoors or in
enclosed, poorly ventilated areas where fumes may reach
an open flame, spark or pilot light as on a furnace, water
heater, clothes dryer or other gas appliance.
3.7 LONG TERM STORAGE
It is important to prevent gum deposits from forming in essential
fuel system parts such as the carburetor, fuel hose or tank during
storage. Also, experience indicates that alcohol-blended fuels
(called gasohol, ethanol or methanol) can attract moisture, which
leads to separation and formation of acids during storage. Acidic
gas can damage the fuel system of an engine while in storage.
To avoid engine problems, the fuel system should be emptied
before storage of 30 days or longer, as follows:
1. Add a quality gasoline stabilizer to the fuel per the manufacturer's
specifications, and run the unit for 10-15 minutes.
2. After engine cools down, remove all gasoline from the fuel
tank. Use a commercially available, non-conductive vacuum
siphon.
Drain fuel into approved container outdoors, away from
open flame. Be sure engine is cool. Do not smoke.
Maintenance
13