rotated without shim.........

[Johnny K]

82 850GZ. Yup, rotated without a shim and was cursing my head off and so forth. The top edges of the cam are slightly scratched/nicked. The center is fine. I bought some emery cloth along with wet/dry 320 and 600 grit. I noticed when I put a shim back in, it wouldn't just plop right in like the rest of them. I know there are tiny cam particles inside that bucket and around it, but didn't know the best way to make sure there are no sediments left in that bucket. To sand the lobe, what is the best method without making more a dent on the sides?
Thanks in advance,
John.

[duaneage]

Obviously this was a huge mistake so let's move on to the fix.You don't want to remove too much material in either direction as that would adversely affect the interaction between the two. Fortunately Suzuki has the best system with a large contact area between the cam and the lobe. I would remove any burrs and leave it alone. Pits are the pits but raised edges cut more.


alternatively you could try and replace the cam, but that is a project and a half.

[Johnny K]

Yeah, a HUGE mistake and am so sorry it happened. But how to make sure all the sediments are out of the bucket? So wet the sand paper and gently rub on the edges? Emery cloth seems very coarse to run on the lobe.

[DimitriT]

I'm guess your tappet has been damaged as well as the cam. This is why
the shim won't slip in cleanly.

The cam is probably ok since the lobe bearing surface was not hurt but
the side (which came into contact with the tappet).

You can replace the tappet or you can try and fix it but be warned that
you are dealing with very tight tolerances for all these parts.

To remove the tappet you will need to remove the cam caps and move the
cam out of the way. Try not to lose its timing position on the chain.

Then remove the tappet using a small suction cup.

BTW, I have a spare tappet which was donated to me by a forum member.
It's from a 550 but I believe it will fit the 850. I can be convinced to part
with this for a very small round number.

[Johnny K]

Any way not to remove the cam? Is it okay to leave the tappet by itself and just round the edges of the lobe?

[DimitriT]

Any way not to remove the cam? Is it okay to leave the tappet by itself and just round the edges of the lobe?

Maybe. If the dings are small you might be able to file or rub them out.
But I'm guessing the reason the shim won't drop in is because the tappet
also got dinged and not because some chips fell in.

[Johnny K]

Okay. What's the best method to clean those sediments out of the bucket?

[atchbo]

Maybe this is the blind leading the blind, but have you tried Q-tips? Any burrs will tear off some of the cotton and show you where the problem is. Otherwise, it will absorb the oil and the filings may just stick to it.

My 2c.

[DimitriT]

Maybe this is the blind leading the blind, but have you tried Q-tips? Any burrs will tear off some of the cotton and show you where the problem is. Otherwise, it will absorb the oil and the filings may just stick to it.

My 2c.

Good suggestion. You can try depressing the tappet as low as you can
and soaking up as much oil as you can to get a better look at what's in
there. An eye dropper or turkey baster might help get the oil out too.

Then look to clean out chips which fell in but also look for burrs along the
tappet edge.

[Johnny K]

Thanks atchbo, I never thought of using Q-tips. Awesome suggestion. I am going to go try that.

[duaneage]

Do not use magnets as things in there are hardened and will magnetize rather quickly. Remove the oil, use q tips, blow out with air.

[Dogma]

Do not use magnets as things in there are hardened and will magnetize rather quickly. Remove the oil, use q tips, blow out with air.

Now you tell me.

On a lighter note, everything looked good on the next adjustment. No funny wear on the cam or new shim after making sure there were no burrs on the cam.

[Johnny K]

The Q-tips worked really well. I sanded just enough to make the edges of the lobe smooth. I flipped the shim over because it had tiny scratches towards the outside of it. I then rotated the crank a bunch of times to make sure there were no scratches on the shim. It worked and thanks again guys.
John.

[ryonker]

Hey Johnny K....I did the same thing !

Several thousand miles later and no worries. I think it would be tough to really wreck it. As long as the cam lobs are mostly smoothed down (the edges that is).

Good luck!