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How do I know which shims go where?

  • Thread starter Thread starter humblepie
  • Start date Start date
Adjusting shims sit into a recess on top the valve bucket. Don't mean to sound harsh but you need to sit down and read the manual. If you don't have one, get one before going any further.
 
i have one,I just don't know which shims should go on which valves


the shims i have are three-2.70
one-2.70x
two 2.75
one-2.80
one-2.65
 
Well, in no specific order, 2-5-4-6-1-3-8-7
](*,)

Do you know the purpose of the shims?
They are of diffent thicknesses, because you need to measure the space left after you put them in the buckets to get your proper clearance.
 
I dont have feeler gauges can I adjust it by trial and error?
 
There is no set shim thickness for valve adjustment.
It is not possible to shim the valves correctly without proper feeler guages because you must know what the original clearance was to be able to calculate the difference between that and what it should be. Then you must replace each shim with a new one that has that correct thickness difference to arrive at the correct clearance between the shim and cam lobe. Before you go any further, you need to get a book and read the proceedure as many times as it takes until you are certain you understand it. There is zero possibility you will get it right by luck.

Earl




humblepie said:
I dont have feeler gauges can I adjust it by trial and error?
Click to expand...
 
okay I understand it completely.Just curious,what happens if it's not within those tolerances?
 
earlfor said:
Most likely, it will not run, but if it does run, it will run very poorly.
Click to expand...

If the clearance is too much the shim can spit out thus leading to cam and bucket destruction. If there is not enough clearance the valves will not close all the way which will result in burned valves.
 
It's easier with pictures

It's easier with pictures

Mr. humblepie,

Get yourself some feeler gauges, the metric kind that go down to at least .04mm. The clearances between the bottom of the (properly rotated) cam lobe and the top of the shim should be between .03mm - .08mm. It's a little tougher using ASE (US inches) feeler gauges. Depending on your gauge set, you may not get all the fine measurements you need.

There is a valve adjustment procedure with pictures in PDF format at:
http://www.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

You'll have to measure the clearances, check the shim thicknesses and then do a little math to replace the shims with thicknesses that put the clearances within spec. If your clearance is too tight, usually going down one size will bring you back into spec (i.e. replacing a 2.70 with a 2.65).

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Last edited:
Thank you BassCliff,Nessiem pointed me to your thread and it's a big help..it should be a sticky. :)
 
If you would like a little help keeping track of which shims you need for your valve adjustment, send me an e-mail. I will respond with an Excel spreadsheet as an attachment that will help you keep track of your valve adjustments.


.
 
A set of metric feeler gauges is about $5 at any auto parts store.

If you don't have $5 to spare, you have no business fooling with old motorycles. Get a(nother) job! :-D

You don't need a lot of money, but geez, you need to invest a little.

The proper shim tool is less than $20 from Z1 Enterprises, CRC2, or Dennis Kirk. Shims are about $5 each if you need different sizes.

Manuals are about $20 - $25 each at http://repairmanuals.com .
 
bwringer said:
A set of metric feeler gauges is about $5 at any auto parts store.

If you don't have $5 to spare, you have no business fooling with old motorycles. Get a(nother) job! :-D

You don't need a lot of money, but geez, you need to invest a little.

The proper shim tool is less than $20 from Z1 Enterprises, CRC2, or Dennis Kirk. Shims are about $5 each if you need different sizes.

Manuals are about $20 - $25 each at http://repairmanuals.com .
Click to expand...

yeah, as soon as I understood what I needed to do and the costs.I realized this may be a cakewalk..I hope so anyway. 8-[
 
Yeah, those things too..if it runs. LOL

E.

Nessism said:
If the clearance is too much the shim can spit out thus leading to cam and bucket destruction. If there is not enough clearance the valves will not close all the way which will result in burned valves.
Click to expand...
 
What you should have done before taking it apart is now obvious. However, it is no nearly the disaster some of these guys make it out to be. The max difference between the smallest shim and largest shim is .006 of an inch. That is only twice the maximum allowable clearance.

You could put them in without the feeler gages to get an exact check but that would be foolish to save a couple of bucks on a cheap feeler gage. The only lifters you would have to worry about are the ones that would be too tight. On those you would have less than zero clearance. You can tell when you don't have clearance because you won't be able to rotate the shim in the bucket. If you can rotate all the shims easily with your fingers than you at least have some clearance.

You don't need metric shims. A .04mm shim is almost exactly .001 inches, actually ever so slightly more. Shims of .001, .002 and .003 should be more than adequate.

There is absolutely no way you are ever going to "spit" a shim.

I'm one of those cheap guys and I've been known to slip a one or two thousandths shim underneath rather than taking the time and money to go get a shim that I don't have. I know I have one or two in this bike and they have been there for over twenty years.

I guess I can expect it to self-destruct any day now.:rolleyes:
 
N56629 said:
There is absolutely no way you are ever going to "spit" a shim.
Click to expand...


You sure about this? Sure enough to bet someone else's engine?

Actually, I don't think there is much risk unless running the engine up to redline; Valve springs get weak, and missed shifts can cause crazy over reving. Not worth the risk.
 
It's not a question of my wanting to risk someone else's engine because the risk is ZERO. You would have to have at least ten times his worst case senario to have a shim come out of the bucket and if you manage to somehow achieve that much valve float he would more likely have a valve slamming into a piston. I don't recall how deep the buckets are but I'm thinking some where near 2mm. It is simply a physical impossibility.
 
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