Valve clearances DECREASE when engine cold?

Posted by scott12180 On 2017/9/11 11:55:52

Maybe I'm just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I always believed that as the engine gets hot , valve clearances will decrease.

I just set the valves on my 32 902 to 0.004 with the engine good and hot after a long run. This morning before putting the valve cover back and the engine stone cold thought I'd see what the clearances were when cold. The intakes had essentially zero clearance and the exhausts were only 0.001 or 0.002. So all clearances got smaller as the engine cooled.

Is that supposed to happen? If so then why don't we set vdlves when the engine is cold? I'm now inclined to set valves to 0.004. when cold.

What do you think?

---Scott