valve clearance figures plus how to remove shims

[TheG]

hi i have been following the valve clearance and shim swap thread which has been very good so far

this is my first valve clearance service

the reason why i have posted this is due to my figures i have got whilst checking the clearances with a feeler gauge

so here goes

cylinder 1

ex valve left 0.12mm right 0.11mm
inlet valve left 0.13mm right 0.11mm

cylinder 2

ex valve left 0.11mm right 0.17mm
inlet valve left 0.13mm right 0.11mm

cylinder 3

ex valve left 0.13mm right 0.15mm
inlet valve left 0.14mm right 0.14mm

cylinder 4

ex valve left 0.11mm right 0.16mm
inlet valve left 0.11mm right 0.11mm

ex valve tolerance 0.16mm - 0.21mm
inlet valve tolerance 0.12mm- 0.17mm

so my valves are very tight which im worried about, the other problem im now having is i cant get the shims out so any advice on how to get them out would be appreciated thanks

[guitarcarrot]

Short answer:- inspection recovery magnet with a 4 inch flat head nail attached to it.

Long answer:- (couldn't sleep)

Hi mate, bloody hell! Good thing you opened her up! Some of those zorst clearances are making me cringe, if the clearnaces get too small, the valve spends longer open, and therefore doesn't have the oppotunity to pass as much heat onto the cyclinder head to be dissipated, so you're right to be worried in my eyes, but at least you've caught it before its too late

in extreme cases the valve will never shut, and will result in burnt valves, which will be expensive,I'm doing my vavles at the moment too, most of mine where on the lower edge of the boundary so I'm being cautious and moving them up towards the larger gap boundary lol,

As for getting the shims out, the rocker arms are spring loaded so you can slide them along the shaft and nudge them up or down to secure them out of the way. Now you can see the shim in the centre of the spring, the way I got mine out was using a magnet, however the inspection/recovery magnet I had was too strong and kept sticking to everything but the shims, so I took a 4 inch flat head nail and attached the flat head to the magnet and used to pointy end of the nail to poke the shim and they will lift out usually on the first or second poke because the magnet has temporarily magnetised the nail (Y) having said that, the inlet shims closest to the frame were too awkward to use the delicate nail, so I resorted struggling with the original magnet alone,

Anyhow good luck!

Anthony

[beermaker]

Good thread - will be checking my valves and the like when I start rebuilding the bike. Great tip about the nail, will definately bear that one in mind!

[RedexRobB]

Out of interest did u let the bike cool for 24 hours before measuring? If not that will give inacurate measurements.

[guitarcarrot]

Yurrpp I did indeedy

[TheG]

yes the bike wasent used for 2 days before i checked them

[TheG]

Bit of a update i did manage to get the shims out but measuring them proved difficult with a imperial micrometer getting allsorts of odd readings, got a different reading checking the same shim a few times so thought it was no good.

I have been away since now im back i want to finish it so i can get out on my bike, i have ordered a metric digital guage but after buying it i have read the accurecy is within 0.02mm.

I spoke to someone earlier who said valves normally become loose and its odd mine are tight, i am sure iv read tight valves are normal over time and use of the bike ?

Before doing this work the engine clicked from cold and went whilst warm but starting it once it was warm was a pain.

I have checked my clearences more than once on different days and there was no way i could get a feeler gauge within spec in the gap so they must be tight.

Starting to feel a little nervous about this now as people are saying i am brave to be doing this and that its a "very difficult job"

I would be gratefull if someone could post back about the micrometer and that evreything im doing sounds right, at the moment i have put all the shims back in as the results i got with the imperial guage and once converted were no use at all.

Once again much appreciated cheers.

[RedexRobB]

I have digital vernier calipers and they are fine to use. When i did mine i did exactly as you did and measured everything twice. I assume you are taking measurements at the correct part of the engine cycle by turning the crank till the lines mark up on the pick up? Otherwise someone could have just done thier measurement wrong in the past and everything is tight.

[TheG]

the gasket on the pulsar cover stayed on perfectly but it covered up the line you are suppost to mark the T with on.





from the pics it looks i am not lined up correctly but its due to the angle

[Tirpitz]

Don't worry that you're measuring tight valves, they do tighten up. Whether clearances tighten or loosen as a result of wear depends how the valves are actually actuated in a particular engine, so anyone making a blanket statement that 'they loosen' is talking shite.

This is not 'a very difficult job', it is maintenance. It is fiddly and time consuming but it is within a competent home mechanic's skills if they take time and care.

My valves were tight at 11k - none of them were loose. I made the whole lot looser as required and the engine now runs beautifully and with much less valve train noise. Some of my valves were a hell of a lot tighter than yours and they were done at 6k. Take your time and trust yourself, you'll get there

[TheG]

ok thanks i too and hoping for a smoother easier starting engine

just waiting for the vernier caliper to arrive hopefully later this afternoon

[TheG]

measuring tool arrived and have got all the shims measured as accuretly as possible, i also measured the shims before with a imperial micrometer and results are the same or very very close

once again my valve clearences are below

i have changed the odd clearence and i have measured them all again so in total twice now

cylinder 1

ex valve left 0.12mm right 0.11mm
inlet valve left 0.14mm right 0.11mm

cylinder 2

ex valve left 0.11mm right 0.17mm
inlet valve left 0.13mm right 0.11mm

cylinder 3

ex valve left 0.13mm right 0.15mm
inlet valve left 0.14mm right 0.14mm

cylinder 4

ex valve left 0.11mm right 0.16mm
inlet valve left 0.11mm right 0.11mm

my shims sizes that came out the bike today are

cylinder 1

ex valve left 3.09mm right 3.08mm

inlet valve left 3.00mm right 3.04mm

cylinder 2

ex valve left 3.08mm right 3.04mm

inlet valve left 3.04mm right 3.04mm

cylinder 3

ex valve left 3.09mm right 3.10mm

inlet valve left 3.05mm right 3.05mm

clyinder 4

ex valve left 3.05mm right 3.00mm

inlet valve left 3.04mm right 3.05mm

what i want to know is how do i get the correct shim sizes, iv done some working out from a formula of google but im left with odd shim sizes like 3.02 and i cant buy that size shim

if anyone could get back to me about this it would be great thanks

[thomp1983]

if your sure the 3.02 is the right size just round it up to the next 0.05 you can get probably 3.05 the tolerance on valve shims are big enough for that the inlet clearance is 0.12mm to 0.17mm and exhaust 0.16mm to 0.21mm thats a 0.05mm range so going up 0.03mm (3.02 to 3.05) will still leave you in spec

chris

[TheG]

Hi done all the maths going to order new shims in the morning hopefully my measuring is accurate

i have measured evreything twice from taking the clearences to measuring the shims

so fingers crossed evreythings ok when the new shims go in and i check the clearence and hopefully i can put it back together and start it

cant belive iv missed all this good weather

[Tirpitz]

All of your shims should be sized in 0.05mm increments (i.e. dividing by 0.05 gives you a whole number). If you are absolutely sure that you have measured the ones that aren't correctly, that means the shims themselves have either worn or are poor quality. However, given that the tool you bought is only accurate to 0.02mm you need to factor that error in. TBH I would be surprised if 9 of your shims were crap / worn as they appear to be from your measurements, I suspect it is an accuracy issue with the tool. For any of the measurements which are not in a 0.05 increment I would round them up or down to the nearest 0.05. This will make working out required shims easier.

These modern electronic tools eh? I've got an old manual vernier caliper and it's more accurate than that. £10 off Ebay! Progress?

When you put the new shims in, whatever you do make sure you have blocked up the oilways in the head and the camchain tunnel with rags. You WILL, GUARANTEED, drop a shim and it WILL go into the engine if it can.