C12 Valve Adjustment

[Fred Cook]

I have 61,000 miles on my motor and has never had a valve adjustment. I have been on other forums and some say get it done now while others say later or not at all. Engine seems to run ok and getting 8.1 mpg according to Silverleaf VMS. Any thoughts?

[Dave Atherton]

Fred, looking in technical section ( Ask Dave ) information valve lash. Very good question
that has many different answers from service shops. Ask Dave has posted technical information
off Caterpillar service information system which will answer your question. One thing many
over look is the injectors adjustment on Caterpillar C-12 along with checking valve lash. In
checking valve lash there is a plus / minus of .003 on both intake and exhaust valves the if
feelers gauge falls within these parameters adjustment is not required.
Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic

[Jerry Emert]

Dave, if I have understood your posts about this in the past, you have basically said that this adjustment is probably not necessary unless something else indicates it should be done.  I bought my coach 4 years ago and it had 34K miles.  It has 65K now with no problems.  I have no idea if this has been done or not.  Should I have it done or not?  If yes is there something else that should be done at the same time to save on future labor?  Thanks for your help!!
Jerry

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dave's response is located in Ask Dave on the BAC web site.
http://beaveramb.org/acadp_listings/valve-lash-and-pm-schedule/

[Gerald Farris]

Jerry,
If your engine valves were adjusted at a Caterpillar dealer, the service was recorded in the Caterpillar database. A phone call to Caterpillar or a visit to your local dealer with your engine serial # should give you a list of all services that have been preformed on your engine as long as they were preformed at a Cat dealer.

Gerald