replacing shims

zxrtbone · Post by **zxrtbone** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:59 pm

anybody changed the shims??? i need to do it myself so any help or advice would be most gratefull,cheers dudes.

Jackson · Post by **Jackson** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:28 pm

No got any extra advice really from whats been said on teh other thread, but when you buy new ones they are about 5.50 + vat from kawasaki dealers, quite pricey if you need a few,

hoever there is a guy on ebay that sells them for 2 quid each posted, -thats where i got mine from. its the 7.48mm diameter ones you will need.

Have fun!

Post by **diesel** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:46 pm

u have a link?????

Post by **masterofinsanity** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:04 pm

click here

zxrtbone · Post by **zxrtbone** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:41 pm

to jackson.

how many shims did you need when you done yours? is it a proper pain in the butt to do?

Post by **diesel** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:46 pm

i think ill do mine in winter. grind and polish the valves and head too. now, wheres that dremel?

zxrtbone · Post by **zxrtbone** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:14 pm

is it a Camel of a job?

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:33 pm

zxrtbone wrote:to jackson.

how many shims did you need when you done yours? is it a proper pain in the butt to do?

It depends on the clearances mate, it may well be that only a few need changing, you wont know tho till you get it apart and measure the gaps.

Post by **deviant** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:39 pm

yep, anywhere between none and sixteen.

Post by **diesel** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:20 pm

lol @ deviant

Jackson · Post by **Jackson** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:32 pm

hi,

think it was 5 or 6 i had to change. Wasnt difficult at all for me, thats because when i actually changed them for the new ones i had the cams off.

Its pretty easy to check the gaps, just follow the manual and note the gaps of each valve as you check them. Then when you've done them all compare them to what the recommended gap should be - if yours are too big get a thicker shim and too tight a smaller one. But you will need a vernier to measure the thickness of the ones already in if they do need changing. If you aint got a vernier you can get them dirt cheap, i bought a cheap digital blackspur one, brand new for 4 quid and was quite surprised by its accuracy

I imagine swapping them over with the cams on could be quite fiddly, especially on the intake side due to the angle of the engine in the frame. Either way definately get one of them magnets to draw em out - they are only held in by oil suction.

oh, and the seller id was morris2006 on ebay, just mailed him the sizes and sent paypal, got em the next day. Although it looks as his price has gone up a little, still cheaper than dealer though

Black Box · Post by **Black Box** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:58 pm

Baz and Rob how about a writeup under the workshop section about this for us non ZXR specialists.

BigNinjaDave · Post by **BigNinjaDave** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:22 pm

Granted it is for a ZX6R so the engine layout is a bit different but in conjunction with the 400 workshop manual it should tell you everything you need to know:

http://www.themcdonalds.net/richard/bik ... lves.shtml

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:33 pm

Black Box wrote:Baz and Rob how about a writeup under the workshop section about this for us non ZXR specialists.

Ive never done it, so wouldnt know what to write, it is something id like to get round to doing tho purely so i can do the work myself and get a write up. Ive still got loads of other stuff to do for the workshop section which ive never got round to yet, only managed whats there at the moment in two years!

Post by **cargo** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:03 pm

I've never done shims with the engine still in frame but certainly you can change them with the camshafts in place..........fiddly but yes it can be done.

I found for getting the little buggers back in a lightly magntised scribe or small jeweliers screw driver was best along with a non magnatised one to help remove the shim from the magnitic one and manouver it into place