Left cylinder not running properly

[Badot]

Valve shim tool: $15, ebay
Metric feelers: $4, ebay (china)
Shims $5-$9 each on ebay, liable to be cheaper elsewhere.

Chinese stuff will take about an extra week to ship but will usually be a little cheaper.

A magnet is helpful to grab the shim but not required.

You shouldn't need a new gasket on your valve cover unless something is pretty messed up. Also, .10 clearance shouldn't give you any problems, a lot of people here (myself included) run exhausts .08-.13 (one step up) to make the exhaust valves last longer and the only 'problem' I've heard of is a tad bit noisier valves.

So in total you shouldn't have to spend more than $60 (that's if you replace every shim) and then you'll have the tools to do it for the price of shims next time.

If you've got access to a surface grinder (and preferably a micrometer or good calipers) you can just grind your old shims down a bit... just make sure you grind off the size marking so it doesn't confuse anyone and put the ground side down on the bucket in case it lost the temper. $20 for the tools and then your valve adjustments are free!

[jestercinti]

A few things to add here.

I don't understand how grinding shims would help.  They are made of hard metal.  Although theoretically possible, unless you grind evenly, you are subject to camshaft damage due to the grooves in the shim.

Why not do what I do...My dealer (Cycle Specialties in Fairfield, Ohio) will do an even swap.  If I bring in the old shims, then tell them what size I need they will give me the new ones at no charge.  Yes, no charge.  I gave them the strange factory in-between sizes that I will no doubt ever use again, and they gave me some 2.60mm at no charge!

Some other dealers will give you a hefty credit, so the new shims will be less.  Adidiasguy once stated that his dealer in Seattle, Washington swaps out shims for a $1-2 each.

[Badot]

A surface grinder is basically a bench mill with the head replaced with a griding wheel. These machines easily hold ten-thousandths of an inch thickness (0.0001") without any problem. The finish quality of properly surface ground metal is smooth enough to go straight to a polish if desired. Regardless of finish, so long as it's flat and the ground side is down it doesn't matter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_grinding

[rharding91]

So my clearances should be .08? So if my .038 isnt fitting in then i am extremely tight?

[Badot]

To check if it's overly tight, see if you can spin the bucket freely. If not, that means it's too tight. Otherwise, you're okay*

*by okay I mean your engine should run fine. That doesn't mean you shouldn't put it back to spec though.

[OldTwinzNeverDie]

A surface grinder is basically a bench mill with the head replaced with a griding wheel.
<snip>

You're right, surface finish would not be a problem. You could easily put a mirror finish on them! Key word "if" he had access, like if someone he knew would do it as a favor, right? Otherwise I imagine the minimum shop labor cost would be prohibitive.  Novel idea though! No reason you couldn't do it. I worked in both general and automotive machine shops years ago and that idea never occurred to me. I doubt most automotive machine shops would have a surface grinder, 'course I could be wrong.

Heck, I couldn't even find a shop with the proper lathe set-up to turn the rotors off of my 23 year old F-150. The truck was ultra low mileage when I bought it and there was enough meat left on them to turn down at least once. I specifically did not *want* to buy the cheap throw-away chinese rotors. They're prone to warping. Partly because they don't make them thick enough.  But hey, that's my problem, right? (believe me, it is, I'm on my third set of the damn things.)

Oops, sorry, wrong forum, eh? 

Anyway, In this hypothetical situation of ground shims, I'd grind the numbers off the shim so it would have to be checked for thickness before being used again. I think it is common practice to "recycle" them at shops. Heck, would you believe the two year old dealership, Suzuki only, where I bought my shims for the DL (they didn't want my old ones) handed me the shims from a brand new unopened set? Three mechanics working there and not *one* of them had ever done a valve adjustment on a DL...honest! Sounds "fishy" don't it? Well, six months later they were out of business, never knew what the story was. They gave me killer deals on changing tires though (off the bike) I hated to see it. I changed my own on the GS cuz shops around here want too much $$. Glad I did (change them myself). A little patience and finesse goes a long way it seems...comes with age I guess, I used to HATE changing tires! Of course "size does matter".

Ok, I ramble elsewhere now, bye!
Hube

[mustangGT90210]

So the real question here! Does having the intake valves open at .10mm instead of the specified high end of .08mm make a difference worth worrying about?


Just to be absolutely clear. You mean a measured clearance of .10mm?
I have not measured yet, but if my .05 feeler doesn't fit, then dropping .05 on the shim thickness should bring it up to .08-.10mm IF they valves are still in spec. The way I see it, if I measure my valves and all don't fit the .05mm gauge, then just go down .05 for the next shim and be in spec (and measurable with my gauge set)
A bit loose always better than too tight. My left exhaust valve is out on the high end by the same amount as your intake. I might get around to adjusting it this winter or I might not. Not in the least bit worried about it though. I think in inches, that's roughly two one-thousandths of an inch. If you give two people a feeler gauge I would be surprised if both measured the same clearance within one-thousandth in. unless it was an accurately ground "go, no go" feeler. Sorry, two many words. In my *opinion*, ride it another 10K miles and check it again. I can hear the loose valve on mine when it's cold, it goes away once warmed up. To me that's close enough!

My smallest gauge is a .05mm, and I believe the shims each go down by .05mm anyway. Am I right in thinking I could just drop one size on the shim and all be alright?

I believe they come from the factory with smaller increment shims than you can buy. If they've never been touched, You might luck up pulling them all out and swapping them around and end up with it spot on. Or you could waste a whole bunch of time and gain nothing. $100 for the valve adjustment seems very reasonable to me if it's done right and it really needs it, but if you already know what you have, is that worth it? Your call. My 23 year old F-150 gets 12 mpg,, loaded, unloaded, uphill or down. My GS gets 55-60mpg minimum the way I ride it. I wish I *could* be riding it now, it makes me sick to waste money on gasoline! Good Luck, I'll leave you to it, promise!

What engine do you have in your 23 year old F150? I'm driving a '91 150 with the 300 straight six in it, pulls a solid 16mpg all day with a 2.5" lift and 31x10.50 tires. I should have it up on 33x12.50 when the funds allow and the current tires wear out more. That was my first truck 3.5 years ago when I turned 17. Paid $200 for it, and I love it to death. Did a lot of work on it to get it where it sits, but only about $300 in mechanical stuff, the rest was all fun mods



Custom made those headlight lenses as well. I'm the only '87-'91 in the world with clear lights I believe 

[OldTwinzNeverDie]

What engine do you have in your 23 year old F150? I'm driving a '91 150 with the 300 straight six in it, pulls a solid 16mpg all day
Custom made those headlight lenses as well. I'm the only '87-'91 in the world with clear lights I believe 

1990 Supercab w/351 Windsor. It's an "XLT Lariat" which just means it has fancy trim, power windows and locks that don't work!
Only 51K miles on it when purchased 7 years ago, about 102K now. It's solid, dent-free, badly faded red/white with camper shell nearly identical to this one:


300ci 6 is a good engine. Had one in Econoline van years ago. Bro/law has one in his 94 (I think it is) 150. It's going on 300K miles! He pulls his landscape biz trailer with it now, was using his F-350 diesel. He's saving a bunch on fuel now, go figure!

Re: lenses, yep, reckon you;d be right on that one. I've polished mine out a time or two. Pointless!

[bigfatcat]

Re grinding shims ... be aware that these shims may be 'surface hardened' - therefore you wouldn't want to grind too much, if at all.

"Induction surface hardened low alloyed medium carbon steels are widely used for critical automotive and machine applications which require high wear resistance. Wear resistance behavior of induction hardened parts depends on hardening depth and the magnitude and distribution of residual compressive stress in the surface layer."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_hardening

But yeah I might do it, in a pinch.

[Badot]

For the third time... you put the ground side down... come on people.

[iclrag]

What does a new coil cost anyway? I have yet to chase down that price
[/quote]

depends on the brand, but for under $20 you have quite the assortment to choose from.


and nice ford, im a big fan of the straight six (and thats saying something, im not a ford fan) one of my friends has one with 985,XXX miles on it when i left OR and he's still driving his bronco. though i disagree on the tail-lights, my buddy has clear tail-lights on his truck 

[mustangGT90210]

What engine do you have in your 23 year old F150? I'm driving a '91 150 with the 300 straight six in it, pulls a solid 16mpg all day
Custom made those headlight lenses as well. I'm the only '87-'91 in the world with clear lights I believe 

1990 Supercab w/351 Windsor. It's an "XLT Lariat" which just means it has fancy trim, power windows and locks that don't work!
Only 51K miles on it when purchased 7 years ago, about 102K now. It's solid, dent-free, badly faded red/white with camper shell nearly identical to this one:

.
300ci 6 is a good engine. Had one in Econoline van years ago. Bro/law has one in his 94 (I think it is) 150. It's going on 300K miles! He pulls his landscape biz trailer with it now, was using his F-350 diesel. He's saving a bunch on fuel now, go figure!

Re: lenses, yep, reckon you;d be right on that one. I've polished mine out a time or two. Pointless!

My '91 is a Lariat as well. Love being top of the line, and having the power stuff still work. The A/C and heat are another thing, but with the vent windows, even Florida summers are fine

Polishing those lights are so pointless. You can get the yellow away, but they still have those dang lines in the lenses so they're never actually clear :/

What does a new coil cost anyway? I have yet to chase down that price

depends on the brand, but for under $20 you have quite the assortment to choose from.


and nice ford, im a big fan of the straight six (and thats saying something, im not a ford fan) one of my friends has one with 985,XXX miles on it when i left OR and he's still driving his bronco. though i disagree on the tail-lights, my buddy has clear tail-lights on his truck 
[/quote]
But I was talking about the headlights My tails are smoked stock ones. Here's a better shot of the before/after. Plus during this 3 days I removed the fog lights, painted the bumpers, and blacked out the Ford oval. And a week later got the 15x10 wheels from the pic farther up





As far as the coil goes, I'm glad to say it's not my problem! After swapping the 2 coils, and getting new plugs, the plugs are reading really close to one another. Gonna do the valves this weekend and check for air leaks in the intake system, and see if I can't get this thing to idle properly

[adidasguy]

[The Buddha]

OK you crazies, I stop posting a few weeks due to lack of laptop and this happens.

So here it is on plain english:
YOU DO NOT GRIND A SHIM. Dont make me come down there, dont do it.
You can measure it with an accurate caliper and it may be a few 1000 under, so use that for what it will help. Put the next thinner one in, larger gap wont hurt anything except be a little click and clack.

Left cyl issues in an 89-00 bike is usually the vacuum line leaking. especially if its worse @ idle and looks lean on the plug.

If it is still acting wonky on 1 cyl, you may need to open and clean the auxillary ground. <- Search that on this forum.

@ higher revs, you have to do a high speed run+plug pull, that aint easy or safe or neccesary.

Cool.
Buddha.

[adidasguy]

OK you crazies, I stop posting a few weeks due to lack of laptop and this happens.

While you were gone we turned this into a cat forum - in case you wondered.

and just for you,

BUDDHA CAT!

[mustangGT90210]

OK you crazies, I stop posting a few weeks due to lack of laptop and this happens.

So here it is on plain english:
YOU DO NOT GRIND A SHIM. Dont make me come down there, dont do it.
You can measure it with an accurate caliper and it may be a few 1000 under, so use that for what it will help. Put the next thinner one in, larger gap wont hurt anything except be a little click and clack.

Left cyl issues in an 89-00 bike is usually the vacuum line leaking. especially if its worse @ idle and looks lean on the plug.

If it is still acting wonky on 1 cyl, you may need to open and clean the auxillary ground. <- Search that on this forum.

@ higher revs, you have to do a high speed run+plug pull, that aint easy or safe or neccesary.

Cool.
Buddha.

Nothing wrong with loose valves, awesome

Which vacuum line are you talking about? I've still gotta check the carb boots for leaks as well. This bike has never really liked to idle. Requires constant adjustment, like every couple rides. It always fluctuates, stalls when I get hard on the brakes, and the weird part of it - I've tried setting the idle the proper way, but then as soon as I give it throttle it'll hang... a lot. But if I leave the idle low enough it'll idle badly but the revs won't hang up.

And by hang up I mean it'll sit at what feels like 4-5k rpm for 30 seconds and then come down. And go back up there again

[BockinBboy]

Wow, it sounds like Buddah has your number on this problem.  The symptoms that you just described are screaming vacuum leak.

- Bboy

[mustangGT90210]

Sounds like it. To check the stuff for a vacuum leak, I get the carb cleaner in a can and spray that, right?

[BockinBboy]

Yep.  Carb boots are the most common spot for a vacuum leak. But check everywhere for rpm changes with the carb cleaner.

- Bboy

[mustangGT90210]

The only places I know to look are the vacuum ports on the top of the carbs, the line to the petcock, and the boots. Are there any others?