Valve adjustment questions...

[hikermikem]

Thanks steve, PM me that spreadsheet if you don't mind - can't hurt to have it & it might minimize the math errors I might make.

I've never done this with the shims, only experience i've had is with the TSCC 16 valve engines which use conventional adjusters.

I'm waiting to see what shims i have before I order new ones - i agree, the old switcheroo is a good idea, need the tool first so I can get those darn shims out for a look-see.

Thanks,

Mike

[Steve]

It's on the way, but not by PM. :shock:

It will be an attachment in your e-mail. 8-[


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[egent]

Spread Sheet

Steve,

Do you think you could send me a copy of that spread sheet? I received my valve adjuster tool a few weeks ago before vacation, and I am now planning to try the adjustment this weekend or next. \\/

Thanks,
Dirk

PS: Any GSR members in the Philadelphia burbs willing to help a newbie learn how to do maintenances on a 78 GS 750 E available this or next Saturday? :shock: I can supply Beer and food as desired for payment of your assistance. I am planning on adjusting the valves; changing the oil and filter; Drain, clean and replace fork oil; Clean, adjust, and oil the chain. ](*,)

[GLDIVER]

I bought a stubby screwdriver in a feeble atempt to remove the shims. I placed it next to the cam shaft over the shim bucket and said to myself, "this is a bad idea".

Now i own a new stubby screwdriver which I'm sure will see action on tasks OTHER than valve shim removal.

I ordered the tool from Z1 - due on Sat.

Mike

LOL! One can never have too many screw drivers Mike. In a pinch you can even use them on screws!!

[GLDIVER]

If you feel like it, post some pics sometime showing us how its done. I'll stick with my tool but it would be interesting (at least to me) to see what you're doing.

I should have kept my mouth shut. Everyone is going to think I'm such a hack mechanic now ](*,)

I would be happy to get some pics next time but hope not to be in there for a while. It actually worked quite well, I thought..... If you hold the stubby screw driver vertically the tip of it just fits in between the cam shaft and the edge of the shim bucket. The edge of the screw driver is tapered so a few taps with a hammer and it forces the bucket down and holds it there. So you just put the cam lobe up out of the way, have the cut out in the edge of the bucket in a convenient location to lift shim out, slide screw driver on the edge of the bucket furthest away from you for working room, tap, tap, pull out old shim, slide in new one. I did all of my valves twice this way. Once to check what shim was in there, and again to install the needed shim to get my clearances correct.

After that I just duct taped the valve cover back on. Wrapped some bailing wire around it to keep if from falling off, poured the old oil back in, put some paint thinner in them spark plug holes just to git er goin, and drove off into the woods!

[mark]

After that I just duct taped the valve cover back on. Wrapped some bailing wire around it to keep if from falling off, poured the old oil back in, put some paint thinner in them spark plug holes just to git er goin, and drove off into the woods!

LMAO. I think its pretty cool. You'll just have to put up with us "by the book" establishment squares that never learned to color outside the lines.

[hikermikem]

The paint thinner - that's a nice touch!

[Steve Lowe]

I just made a tool from an old wheel nut wrench. (see picture) The tool said Yamaha on it and I haven't had a Yamaha for a long time so I'm not sure where it came from. This tool was about 6" long but I cut it to about 4" so it would be easier to work with. It took some grinding with the angle grinder until it worked but it does the job well. My inspiration was the picture of the tool on the Z1 site.

To remove the shim I had success with small forcepts or a set of tweezers.

When measuring clearance after adjusting, make sure the shims have seated properly. I turned the engine around a few times and this sproperly seated the shims.

This is the first time that I have done this procedure but I have found every shim to be too tight so I have needed to do lots of swapping beack and forth. In the end I need 2 of 8 shims. The bike has 30,000km on it and this may be the first time it was touched.

I look forward to trying the bike again. I was having extreme difficulty with cold starts and from what I have read this is a first step to improved health.

Yes, that's a Canadian Nickel.

[Steve Lowe]

Oops! Here is the picture of the tool.

[Don-lo]

Don't have your heart set on getting an exact clearance, like .003: the shims sizes make that difficult/impossible to do. Usually only one size will get you in the range unless you have access to many shims, especially the X ones. I mic the shims to find small differences. Even though I have a large collection of shims, the ones I need (2.50-2.60) are slim pickins (anyone wanna trade for a bunch of 2.90s?). Maybe its time to steal some more from the unused motor, lol. This can change if you do valve work, especially shaving a bit from the tip of the valve. I have no problem going a little loose (.004 or so) because I don't really visit redline that much these days, and yes the clearances do tighten up over time, but very slowly.

[mortation]

Don't have your heart set on getting an exact clearance, like .003: the shims sizes make that difficult/impossible to do. Usually only one size will get you in the range unless you have access to many shims, especially the X ones. I mic the shims to find small differences. Even though I have a large collection of shims, the ones I need (2.50-2.60) are slim pickins (anyone wanna trade for a bunch of 2.90s?). Maybe its time to steal some more from the unused motor, lol. This can change if you do valve work, especially shaving a bit from the tip of the valve. I have no problem going a little loose (.004 or so) because I don't really visit redline that much these days, and yes the clearances do tighten up over time, but very slowly.

I've got shims if someone needs some. I think they are all 2.5/2.6.

[Steve]

Steve,

Do you think you could send me a copy of that spread sheet? I received my valve adjuster tool a few weeks ago before vacation, and I am now planning to try the adjustment this weekend or next. \\/

Thanks,
Dirk

No problem, but it is quicker and more reliable to e-mail me your request. My e-mail gets checked several times a day. There is no guarantee that I will come back to visit this thread, so I might not see your request. Another problem is that not everybody has an e-mail address in their profile (you do), and I can not use PM to send it, either. It has to go as an attachment to an e-mail.


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[Steve]

Don't have your heart set on getting an exact clearance, like .003: the shims sizes make that difficult/impossible to do. ... I have no problem going a little loose (.004 or so) because I don't really visit redline that much these days, and yes the clearances do tighten up over time, but very slowly.

This is what is so confusing about standard/metric values for valve clearances. :shock:
You mention .003 without saying inches or mm. The "fun" part here is that .003 inches is the maximum clearance, but .03 mm is the minimum clearance. The presence of the extra zero might be a typo, but we won't know for sure unless the units (inch/mm) are specified.

This is precisely why metric feeler gauges are important.


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[Don-lo]

Yup, had problems with sae/metric confusion too. I started using just sae because that is what my mic is in. Its also easy to remember that these are basically the thinnest feeler sizes you generally have in a set. I also like the idea of .001 - .003 because 1 sounds like the beginning, right? No matter what, its good to check yourself also.