Valve Job

[zexus]

Sean's loner shim kit showed up today so I figured I'd start the work. I have been following the 'How to' guide provided here in the How to' section and so far things are going alright (man that front valve cover is a SOB!). Anyway, according to the step by step guide I need to make sure the lobes are straight up before I start to gauge the clearances. My first problem is I want to make sure I understand 'straight up' correctly, because when I look at the picture in the guide the lobes don't look straight up (inline with the cylinder). So when it says "straight up" does that mean in line with the cylinder or straight up perpendicular to the ground?...sorry if this is a stupid question, but I have another one which is for sure even dumber. The exhaust valves are the ones on the inside...right? :confused2:

Thanks

 

[mr.maxx]

the lobes should point up away from the cyl head ...the exhaust valves are outer

 

[dannymax]

Perpendicular to the shim, so the lobes will be pointing slightly forward on the front cylinders and slightly backward on the rear cylinders.

 

[zexus]

Okay, got it! Perpendicular to the shim and the exhaust valves are the outer ones. Stay tuned for future stupid questions

Thanks guys.

 

[dannymax]

No problem....it's easy to get confused.

Good way to keep track....exhaust valves are by the exhaust ports, intakes valves by the carb intake ports.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Straight up meaning pointing in the same plane as the valve stem, not the cylinder, meaning the bucket and shim are as far away a possible from the lobe tip.

I think the manual and some other resources perhaps fail to depict this correctly.

 

[zexus]

No problem....it's easy to get confused.

Good way to keep track....exhaust valves are by the exhaust ports, intakes valves by the carb intake ports.

That would make sense:biglaugh: I also noticed that the shafts are labelled 'EX' and 'IN'...probably for newbies like meunk:

Have done two pairs of exhaust shims sofar. Working on the right side of the bike now - pain in the butt having to go back and forth to turn the crank:damn angry:

 

[zexus]

Okay, just when you think you know what you are doing you realize you don't! This is now my problem - Every time I adjust the shim size based on the clearance I can never get the correct Exhaust clearance. What ends up happening is I measure the clearance and it is out of spec so I adjust and end up with 0.20 which according to the Valve Clearance Chart has no shim size, yet I am still not at the suggested clearance of between 0.26 and 0.30.
I'm starting to think there is a mistake in the manual. According to the Intake Clearance Chart there is no adjustment between 0.11 - 0.15 because that is within spec. So I then ask myself why is the Exhaust Chart specify 0.26 - 0.30 as spec, but have 0.16 - 0.20 blank?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Throw the chart away and just do the math.
The shim steps are in .004" (.0039 something) inches meaning a 251 is .004" bigger than a 250, 250 also means 2.5 mm if that helps.
It sucks that they set these up at the factory using odd size shim steps they don't sell at the dealer. Finding the right shims is a big pain in the ass too. I traded some with an old as dirt Honda mechanic I found that had a huge box of them. And still had to order some online.
Even borrowing a kit invariably the one you really want isn't in there.
When I had ones that were WAY off (setting up new cams) I had to do the math, install calculated shim, then now that room for error is reduced recheck it and then change it again to get them perfect.
I went with .006" & .008" (inches) as stated by megacycle cam but I forget which was intake and which was exhaust.
I'm sure those numbers are probably good for a stocker, and they are also the ones spelled out in Damon F'a engine building video which is for a stock motor also.

Also. When you install a shim you need to turn the motor and get the lobe on the shim and wipe it back and forth a bit (don't go crazy with turning the motor backwards tho, I think it's hard on the chain tensioner maybe) to make sure the shim is fully seated so it doesn't introduce error into the calcs or you'll end up chasing your tail.

 

[zexus]

Thanks Rusty. I took your advice and ignored the chart and simply started to do the math...things are working out now.
Another question, I have noticed that I have oil dripping out of the stator now. It seems the more I crank the more oil seeps out. Is this normal?

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Thanks Rusty. I took your advice and ignored the chart and simply started to do the math...things are working out now.
Another question, I have noticed that I have oil dripping out of the stator now. It seems the more I crank the more oil seeps out. Is this normal?

Thanks- my pleasure.

Not sure about the oil question, probably normal since when you turn it your pumping oil to the main bearings. The one closest to the stator is prolly discharging its oil there. All the bearings"sling" oil out the sides so to speak.

Sean would know better than I

 

[zexus]

Thanks- my pleasure.

Not sure about the oil question, probably normal since when you turn it your pumping oil to the main bearings. The one closest to the stator is prolly discharging its oil there. All the bearings"sling" oil out the sides so to speak.

Sean would know better than I

Okay, I'll check with Sean to be doubly sure. All the valves are done now and everything is in spec. Now comes putting the valve covers back on:bang head:I hated taking those things off.

Thanks again Rusty - you really helped me out.

 

[mr.maxx]

its common to loose a lil oil over there zexus

 

[PATMAX]

Zeus, you my friend need to obtain Damon Ferriaolo's video on the Engine rebuild which makes shimming valves very clear and confidence inspiring. A great gift to yourself.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Zeus, you my friend need to obtain Damon Ferriaolo's video on the Engine rebuild which makes shimming valves very clear and confidence inspiring. A great gift to yourself.

Absolutely!

 

[vmaxinID]

That shim kit and me need to meet up some time in march-april.

 

[gamorg02]

the chart in the oem manual (i believe) is WRONG, so thats probably why it was all off. mike and i figured that out. i think haynes is correct or if you have the addendum.

perpendicular is sure as hell a lot easier than reading timing marks.

 

[zexus]

Zeus, you my friend need to obtain Damon Ferriaolo's video on the Engine rebuild which makes shimming valves very clear and confidence inspiring. A great gift to yourself.

I actually have both his videos. I rebuilt my carbs a couple of months ago using the carb vid and it was awesome. When I went to use the Engine Rebuild vid it wouldn't run (faulty Disc)...I have to get a hold of Damon to get a replacement.

 

[mr.maxx]

once you get a shim type valve job under yer belt. the next one is tit lol

 

[zexus]

once you get a shim type valve job under yer belt. the next one is tit lol

I would think so. After I did about 5 or 6 shims I started to get a lot easier, especially after I stopped using the manual chart and figured out how the thicknesses worked, thanks to Rusty. After I did all 16 and then, double checked the gaps, and then triple checked the gaps, and yes then quadruple checked them I felt pretty confident. However, at the beginning I was not so sure and even recalled thinking that maybe a newbie guy like me should have passed on the procedure...glad I didn't. Thanks to the people here I had all the back-up a guy could want.unk: