GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

OK so I rewatched Kerry's valve video again for fun last night.   But one thing I am confused on....  why do we do valve adjustments?  I realize that there is an accepted range, but what happens if you're out of range?  Do you over heat?   Backfire?  Engine seize? Too much vacuum pressure generated?    I kind of understand how carbs work, I guess I'm just kind of confused on the next section of the engine.

Quote from: JCHOK so I rewatched Kerry's valve video again for fun last night.   But one thing I am confused on....  why do we do valve adjustments?  I realize that there is an accepted range, but what happens if you're out of range?  Do you over heat?   Backfire?  Engine seize? Too much vacuum pressure generated?    I kind of understand how carbs work, I guess I'm just kind of confused on the next section of the engine.

If the intake valve does not open at the right time, by the right amount , for the right length of time the mixture cannot get in and your bike will run like crap - after a certain varience from standard, not at all.  Given that the valves on this bike tend to get "tighter" meaning  that the cam ends up not letting the valve close all the way, or at the right time and it opens too far when it does open - that means that the intake charge can get blown back out the valve as the piston rises on compression -  and,  on the exhaust side, the only way the valve has to reject heat to the environment is through contact with the valve seat - if it is not incontact long enough, it overheats and burns.

This is one of the reasons for the delay of the "final" version of the video - I want to add a section about "what goes on" in there, and why valves need to be in adjustment.  I took some footage using drawings on a white board, but it's all kinda hokey.  Sigh.

Anyway, to answer your question:

* If an intake valve is too loose it will open too late and close too soon.  So the cylinder gets an insufficient "charge" of air/fel mixture to burn.

* If an intake valve is too tight then it opens too soon and closes too late (stays open too long).  That can result in backfires through the carbs as well as "burned" valves where hot exploding gases whoosh around the rim of the valve and expose it to excess heat.

* If an exhaust valve is loose the valve won't stay open as long as it should, so you'll have "leftover" exhaust in the cylinder when it's time to suck in a fresh charge of air/fuel.

* If an exhaust valve is tight the valve will be open too long.  Again, possibile burned valve AND loss of power because the exhaust is allowed to start exiting the cylinder before all of the "oomph" from the combustion has been used to push on the piston.[/list:u]Does that help any?

For more background info on how the whole thing works, see this post (http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=118214#118214).

hey Kerry...
I have a few questions for you

Does the bike have to be unwinterized before I do a valve adjustment?
What's the worst case scenario that can happen if i mess up?
What special tools do I need?

Quote from: FrostDoes the bike have to be unwinterized before I do a valve adjustment?

I guess that depends on whether winterizing the bike involved any drastic measures.  But in general, NO.

Quote from: FrostWhat's the worst case scenario that can happen if i mess up?

The possible bad things that I can think of are:

* You strip or break something when taking things apart and putting them back together.  If you're a careful kinda guy this shouldn't be a big concern.

* You might tear the valve cover gasket (again, if you're careful....) or reinstall it slightly out-of-place and develop a (fixable) oil leak.

* You might drop a tool or a shim down the camchain well.  Stuff a rag or two in there after removing the valve cover and you'll be OK.

* Other than that, the only thing you can really do is put the wrong-sized shim in.  It would have to be several sizes off to hurt the engine, and then only after quite a few miles.  Again, if you're careful with the measuring and calculations (or

table lookup) you should be fine.[/list:u]

Quote from: FrostWhat special tools do I need?

You'll need:

* 10mm and 12mm sockets and pliers to remove the fuel tank

* 10mm or 12mm socket to remove a couple bolts on the breather cover

* 6mm Allen wrench to remove the valve cover bolts

* Feeler gauges to check the valve clearances.  (And a large 21mm? wrench or socket to rotate the engine if you decide to do it "by the book".  And a 7mm? socket to remove the right-side engine cover so you can get at the end of the crankshaft with that large wrench.  Alternately, leave the right-side cover on, put the bike in 6th gear - on the centerstand - and turn the rear wheel to rotate the engine.)

* If any clearances are off you'll need something like the Motion Pro valve tool, and a tiny screwdriver (or knife blade) to pry the shim up out of place, and tweezers or a magnet to pull the shim all the way OUT of the bucket.

* Micrometer or dial calipers to measure the thickness of the shim.

* The correctly-sized shim to put back IN the bucket.[/list:u]
Here is my version of the valve adjustment toolkit that is circulating around the country.  The sockets, pliers and Allen wrench are not included.  The gasket sealant is optional, to make it easier to get the valve cover on and off in the future.  Not shown are the "How To" video CD and the valve clearance chart:

Did I forget anything?

Valves being loose actually are going to have to be very very lose before they'd affect performance ... they make a racket ... one so bad you can hear anyhting else long before it starts to affect performance. Now being tight ... even a little will create misery very very quickly ... first symptom is a bike that sorta misfires when warming up. The valves are tightish, but when cold they are not at negative clearance, when hot they aren't negative clearance, just at some point as the pieces begin to heat up, and they all heat up at uneven rates ... they go negative before becoming positive again. Negative clearance is where you have a shim that's too thick to even let you spin the bucket. Valve is held open. It will soon turn into a negative clearance when cold as well ... and startups and warm up's will be pathetic. Misfiring, dying, slow warm up's you name it ... of course if you ignore it even at this point or made some carb adjustments to help you past that stage, it will be negative even when hot ... loss of power and gas mileage in addition to the other symptoms. Of course eventually you'd burn that valve and possibly the carbs with it if its intake.
Cool.
Srinath.

heres a pretty pic of the process....
SUCK...SQUEEZE...BANG...BLOW
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/otto.html

What - you don't like the HowStuffWorks animation (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine4.htm) that I linked to?     :?

Just kidding - thanks for that link and the "adiabatic" details.  :thumb:

i'm sorry..... :(  :(  :(
i didn't look :(  :(  :(

.... and when they are too tight with cut pipes you shoot flames  :mrgreen:

Wow, thanks for all the great information..... I'm beginning to wonder if valves aren't the source of my current problem (bike dying after being at high speed for extended times).  After about 30 mins on the freeway at 85mph the bike died.    It started again but once I got it back up to 55mph it backfired and died a second time.

Looks like I may need that valve adjustment ASAP.

if it does it again open and close the fuel tank, sometimes they get a vaccum lock in the tank and that will do it

Quote from: davipuif it does it again open and close the fuel tank, sometimes they get a vaccum lock in the tank and that will do it

been there done that....oh mine was due to completely covering the cap assy with rubber from tank bag and sucking the tank in....

our beloved webmaster figured out that problem !!!!!!

Quote from: JCHWow, thanks for all the great information..... I'm beginning to wonder if valves aren't the source of my current problem (bike dying after being at high speed for extended times).  After about 30 mins on the freeway at 85mph the bike died.    It started again but once I got it back up to 55mph it backfired and died a second time.

Looks like I may need that valve adjustment ASAP.

Nope not at all ... of course the vacuum thing that Davipu mentioned could be one and the second possibilty is that the fuel flow is somehoe getting killed. Crap in the tank choking off the flow or tank petcock set not fully open or somehting.
Oh wait CA bikes have a Tank vent setup. if that hose the right side hose on the under side of the tank is blocked or pinched it may cut your fuel flow just enough to do this.
Cool.
Srinath.

There is no hose there, its been removed.   I doubt its pressure as the first time this happened the first thing I did was check the fuel.  And it still had problems after I opened the cap.

Apparently the fuel flow has been checked...  if it is a fuel problem, why would this problem only appear after a certain amount of time, even if speed was relatively constant?   Is it because it needs a certain heat level to build up?  It didnt have a problem when I road at slower speeds the same amount of time, so I'm thinking it has to be somehow heat related right?

When the bike died the first time I waited 30 minutes then drove the bike a quarter mile to a parking lot. I checked the spark plugs and the appears to have a light to medium tan shading.   Would that be indicitive at all of the problem?  Or did the quarter mile change how they might appear?

Anyone want to buy a gs500? lol

Quote from: davipu.... and when they are too tight with cut pipes you shoot flames  :mrgreen:

ohhhh really..... would that happen to the same set o pipes i got from you?..... ;)  :P

this could be fun :mrgreen:
:thumb:


:cheers:

Quote from: JCHThere is no hose there, its been removed.   I doubt its pressure as the first time this happened the first thing I did was check the fuel.  And it still had problems after I opened the cap.

Apparently the fuel flow has been checked...  if it is a fuel problem, why would this problem only appear after a certain amount of time, even if speed was relatively constant?   Is it because it needs a certain heat level to build up?  It didnt have a problem when I road at slower speeds the same amount of time, so I'm thinking it has to be somehow heat related right?

When the bike died the first time I waited 30 minutes then drove the bike a quarter mile to a parking lot. I checked the spark plugs and the appears to have a light to medium tan shading.   Would that be indicitive at all of the problem?  Or did the quarter mile change how they might appear?

Anyone want to buy a gs500? lol

I dont know why heat would do anyhitng. If the bike was crap when hot due to the valves staying open, then cold and warming up will be hell ...
I cannot help but think its all carb related. BTW is the problem fixed now ... after you got it from the new shop.
Cool.
Srinath.

No.... I rode it Saturday and it ran better than it ever has.  Took it through the Malibu canyons on a 3 hour ride and it went great. What surprised me now was all the power I had between 8-11k that I never had before.

Sunday I had it on the freeway.  30 minutes in as I was traveling 85 mph it died.  I let it sit 30 minutes and got it off the highway. Let it sit an hour more and tried to get back on the freeway.   After one exit It backfired and died (within 2 secs of each other).   I picked it up in my truck and drove it home.

Oh yeah, and loading a bike on a bike ramp by yourself is a horrible idea that almost ended horribly.   :(

Its not anyhting other than the carbs ... dont know what exactly but clogged up some or other as well as somehting fooked up in the carbs is all I can say.
Cool.
Srinath.

Damn.... I was really holding out hope that it might be the valves,   :(

This has been such a horrible experience for a new rider... all I want to do is ride and be confident in my bike :(   I have no idea what to do now.   I'm defeated.

Srinath, thank you for all of the help you've given me.  I do sincerely appreciate it.

Why dont you send me your carbs ... Trouble shooting is free ... Its 89-00 style right ... I know those much better ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Srinath,  its a '00.

The shop said they'd do a valve inspection for free, as soon as I suck what I can from them without paying anymore I'll send you my carbs.   Thanks for the offer!

any update?  one way or another, you're getting back on the bike!

I don't have anyone to help me load it on the truck  :(

I'm going to drop it off on Sunday I think when my Dad comes to visit  =[

You're going through a lot of pain for nohting ...
Runs great for 2-3 hours and suddenly craps out at 85 mph and loses power and dies doesn't sound like valves at all ... valves will first misbehave as the bike is started when cold and 2-3 seconds after startup they'll misfire and want to stall, ignore that phase and starting itself will be a bear, after that it will also misbehave till the thing gets fully hot ... after whihc it will misbehave at low rpm even after hot ... and that will increase and increase ... so in short if its crapping out at 85 and its the valves ... you'll never make it to 85 ... cos  its going to have burned up long before that symptom comes up at 85 ...
Cool.
Srinath.

That's probably true, but if theyre willing to check them for free why not   :dunno:  :(  I know they haven;'t been adjusted in at least 4000 miles.

It just seems so weird that its the carbs.  She was running like a raped ape before she crapped out.  I did notice that there was some whitish lookinhg smoke (looked like steam maybe?) that was rising from the engine when it crapped.  But I don't know if thats normal.  It also backfired before dying the second time.

JCH, I sent you an email.  Get 'er done!

Quote from: seshadri_srinathValves being loose actually are going to have to be very very lose before they'd affect performance ... <...> Now being tight ... even a little will create misery very very quickly.

So the consensus is that it's better to run a little loose, than a little tight?  I just tried a valve adjustment today, and had one intake valve, and both exhaust valves, where the 0.0381 mm feeler gauge didn't fit (but I could still turn all the buckets).  But in all three cases, if I dropped one size, then the big 0.0762 mm feeler gauge did fit through.  

Without finding some odd-sized shims, I will have to risk being either a little too loose, or a little too tight.  I guess that if I use the thinner shims, then clearance is somewhere between 0.0762 mm and 0.0881 mm.  It would be easier to tell with a couple of these feeler gauges:


In Kerry's video, he suggested that although his intake valve was a little tight, he was going to leave it.  Are intake valves safer to run a little tight?

JCH   I don't know if it will help you, but I once had a similar problem, on a different bike.

I could ride just fine for an hour, maybe longer, then lost all power. Would crank, put not attempt to start, once cooled down, it would start up just fine.

It ended up being one of my coils. when it was cold, it worked fine, but it would internally short once it was warmed up.

I found this by testing for spark right after it died. (I took an extra spark plug with me, when the bike died, i removed the plug wire, attached the extra plug and then just rested it on the valve cover to ground it.

Lo and behold, two new coils later, no more problems. (I replaced both cause I didn't see the point of waiting for another breakdown to replace the one that hadn't failed yet)

Don't know for sure that you have the same problem, but at least the testing part of it is free....

That electrical gremlin - That happened on my 89 at 35K ... but instead of an hour it will die on 1 cyl in 15 mins ... turned out to be crank trigger.
On valves ... Loose will be noisy even if its just at the high end of the clearance. Tight valves will start affecting in this order ... the 3 seconds after start up to full temperature - Warm up - followed by startup and warm up  followed by all the time. You'd not be able to start it and keep it running long enough to do damage if they are too tight. So The chance of burning a valve will be very slim. You'd have to be stupid to not notice that the bike has gone from starting with 1st or 2nd hit of the starter to start - die, Start - Die, Start - Die ... like 10 times and after it does stay running ... you'll have to blip the throttle constantly till its fully hot ... and it takes much much longer to warm up ... once warm it will run great till it gets shut off ... Happened on mine ... not GS my Virago ... So I run it tight and never let it come to that point ...
Valve clearances increase when fully hot atleast on a GS ... so tight when cold = Less tight when hot. However they do not evenly increase because the motor does not evenly heat up. I believe valves will get most of the inital heat ... exhaust especially, slowly it dissipates heat into the head, once they are all at temp Aluminum in the head expands more than steel in the valve. So the distance from cam shaft to valve seat is going to increase with the valve stem length increasing a bit less being steel. Alumium has 3 times or so the thermal expansion of steel right ... or is that 3 times the density for steel ... OK help someone ... Anyway its going to increase by a few nano meters ...
Cool.
Srinath.

Quote from: Rema1000I guess that if I use the thinner shims, then clearance is somewhere between 0.074mm and 0.088 mm. It would be easier to tell with a couple of these feeler gauges:

Are you talking about measuring that particular clearance range, or about general valve clearance adjustment checks?  I ask because the thicknesses for those blades are in thousandths of an inch, which translates to "mostly too big" in metric:

.002 - .003 in =  .05 - .07 mm
.004 - .005 in =  .10 - .13 mm
.006 - .008 in =  .15 - .20 mm[/list:u]

Quote from: Rema1000In Kerry's video, he suggested that although his intake valve was a little tight, he was going to leave it.  Are intake valves safer to run a little tight?

That was just a "gut feel" statement on my part.  The way I figured it, exhaust valves ALWAYS have hot exhaust gases flowing past their edges, whereas intake valves usually have a cool air/fuel mixture flowing past them.

I'm sure that it's not good for either kind of valve to be tight, but given the number of way-too-tight exhaust valves I've seen ...  compared with maybe one or two slightly-too-tight intake valves, I "reasoned" that changes happen more slowly to the intakes.

Well. I'm eager to swap out some shims this weekend after reading this. I checked mine a couple thousand miles ago and I know they were proabably too tight (my .038mm feeler wouldn't fit, but I could spin the shim..). Anywho, I've since gotten a valve tool, calipers and smaller (.030mm) feelers so I should be set.

It's encouraging reading this, my startup routine has gotten to be more of a hassle and gas mileage keeps dropping slowly it seems. It'll misfire and generally be a pain if it's cold out... almost like the choke isn't on all the way. Once it's "warm" but not "hot" like when I pull out of the lot from work it's kinda sketchy sometimes. Like.. when I shift into the next gear up it'll hesitate a second before the power comes back. Once it's warm no probs, so hopefully this is the valves and the uneven heating.. we'll see.

trey

Quote from: Kerry

Quote from: Rema1000I guess that if I use the thinner shims, then clearance is somewhere between 0.074mm and 0.088 mm. It would be easier to tell with a couple of these feeler gauges.

Are you talking about measuring that particular clearance range, or about general valve clearance adjustment checks?  I ask because the thicknesses for those blades are in thousandths of an inch, which translates to "mostly too big" in metric

Oops, I was thinking those were 0.02mm, 0.03mm, etc.  That's what I get for trying the valves for 2 hours, in a cold garage, then GSTwinning before bed.  Must've been tired.

Trey, where'd you find a 0.03mm feeler?  That'd be handy.  I've seen ads for metric feelers down to 0.04mm, but not 0.03mm.

after watching eBay for months I finally found one... it's made by a german company. I'll find the seller name if you like, he may have more..  :dunno:

trey

Download this PDF file (http://www.kbctools.com/usa/Navigation/NavPDF.cfm?PDFPage=740) of a page from the KBC Tools catalog.  (Thanks to tmckay for his old Found a 0.025mm Feeler Gauge online! Woohoo! (http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9447) post.)

Check out the individual feeler blades listed in the lower left-hand corner of the page.  They offer a (pretty pricey) .001" blade, which is about .025mm.  What we really need is a .0012" (.03mm) blade, but I have never seen one yet.

Quote from: KerryDownload this PDF file of a page from the KBC Tools catalog.  (Thanks to tmckay for his old Found a 0.025mm Feeler Gauge online! Woohoo! post.)

Check out the individual feeler blades listed in the lower left-hand corner of the page.  They offer a (pretty pricey) .001" blade, which is about .025mm.  What we really need is a .0012" (.03mm) blade, but I have never seen one yet.

isn't .0015" equal to .038?


that's good enough for gov't work imo

Quote from: se7enty7isn't .0015" equal to .038?


that's good enough for gov't work imo

So, if your .0015" / .038mm blade won't fit, you'll replace the shim with the next thicker size?  That could change the clearance from an acceptable .037mm to an off-the-loose-end .087mm.

I wish we could buy "half sizes".  :x

Well in case anyone wants some of the .03mm feelers, here's the auction I won:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4524229680

You could msg him and see if he has more, or.. looks like they have a website too...

http://www.samstagsales.com/

just an fyi

trey

Quote from: treybradWell in case anyone wants some of the .03mm feelers, here's the auction I won:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4524229680

You could msg him and see if he has more, or.. looks like they have a website too...

http://www.samstagsales.com/

just an fyi

trey

I just called them and ordered one... $21 and change shipped

Quote from: se7enty7I just called them and ordered one... $21 and change shipped

Me too.  $20 is worth not doing premature shim swaps.

Actually, 0.03mm is not totally necessary; a set with 0.04mm through 0.08mm would be almost as good.  If the 0.04mm doesn't fit, put in the next smaller shim size, and then test with the 0.08mm.  If clearance is greater than 0.08mm, then you can put the old shim back in (assuming you were using catalog shim sizes).

BTW, some notes on my shim swap:

I think I have stock throttle and choke cables; but I didnt need to disconnect either one.  I did need to pull the choke cable out of its holster to release pressune on the spring:

...but I left the ferrule connected.

It was really annoying how the shims on the exhaust valves fell forward while I was trying to remove or reinsert them.  It seemed to be easier to keep the exhaust shims where I wanted them, if I propped the front end of the bike up higher (In my case, I put a car battery on the pillion seat frame.  The bike was sitting on the centerstand and rear wheel, but I could still rotate the rear wheel by hand if I "leaned" the bike forward a tad.)

It seemed to be easier to put the exhaust shims back in, if I used a magnet to lower them into place: the magnet could hold the shim in the right place, while I loosened the Motion Pro tool.

The Motion Pro tool worked really well.  My flourescent lights don't turn-on much in winter, so I was working with insufficient light, and was using the tool mostly by feel: move it slowly towards the shim bucket, working it up and down, until you feel the shim bucket.  Then push down; doing this, I got just the bucket, and not the shim, about 2 out of 3 tries.  

Also, when pushing down the handle of the Motion Pro tool, I had one hand pushing on the back of the curved "half-moon" of the tool, right up by the camshaft, keeping the tool steady,  while the other hand pushed down on the handle of the tool.  I only experienced the "popping shim bucket" on the 3rd valve; on the first two, I was able to press the tool down all the way, until its handle met the valve cover seat.

The main problem I had, was that once I had the shim tipped up in the bucket, grabbing it and pulling with the tweezers didn't work.  Sometimes the tweezers just slipped off.  My magnet wasn't powerful-enough to pull the shim out, either.  Maybe the $2 rare earth magnets from Radio Shack would have worked better.

I hadn't cleaned the rear wheel before starting the valve check.  Turning the dirty wheel caused lots of extra cleanup before I could work on the shims each time.  Next time, I'll wash the wheel first.

Quote from: Rema1000Actually, 0.03mm is not totally necessary; a set with 0.04mm through 0.08mm would be almost as good.  If the 0.04mm doesn't fit, put in the next smaller shim size, and then test with the 0.08mm.  If clearance is greater than 0.08mm, then you can put the old shim back in (assuming you were using catalog shim sizes).

Good call - creative thinking strikes again!  :thumb:

I guess the only problem is if you don't have the next-smallest shim, and don't want to make the trip to the dealer and/or shell out the money unless you know that you need to.   :dunno:

Then again, you might get lucky and find the right-sized shim sitting in one of the other buckets....

Quote from: Rema1000

Quote from: se7enty7I just called them and ordered one... $21 and change shipped

Me too.  $20 is worth not doing premature shim swaps.

I ordered mine via eBay Buy-it-Now: $17.50 + $2.50 shipping (first class USPS, uninsured).  Ordered and PayPal'd on Thursday afternoon; it was shipped on Friday afternoon, and arrived on Monday.

There is a small bit on tarnish on the 0.04mm blade, but it is in the top half of the gauge (away from the tip), so I do not expect it to interfere with measurements.  I'm going to send them a note anyways; feeler gauges need to be stored soaked in WD40 in a zip-lock, or that can happen.

Quote from: Kerry

Quote from: se7enty7isn't .0015" equal to .038?


that's good enough for gov't work imo

So, if your .0015" / .038mm blade won't fit, you'll replace the shim with the next thicker size?  That could change the clearance from an acceptable .037mm to an off-the-loose-end .087mm.

I wish we could buy "half sizes".  :x

Wouldn't you be replacing with the next thinner size? Also, if .038mm doesn't fit, the actual mearurement must be smaller, right? So it could be .030 or even less, thus a .05 decrease in shim size would still keep it in range, just a bit looser.

I'm currently trolling thru these valve adjustment posts cause i've got the bike apart right now, checking. I'm using the .0015" (.038mm) and finding I can still slide that one thru without forcing.  I can't slide the .002" (.051mm) in, so it's still within range, although probably closer to the tight end of the spectrum.

I think I will not change any shims right now, however, I decided to pull out and measure all four, and write the measurements down. That way I can order the next smallest shims ahead of time for the next check. May not work, but I haven't lost any time if it doesn't and saves a few days if it does.  (edit: plus, I get to use my new Davipu shim removal tool!  :thumb: )

I got those feelers....

they're wierd... not the same shape as any feeler gauge I've had... they're kind of pointy at the tip.  hard to explain... I'll take pics later

Good eye cummuterguy!  Yep, I meant the next thinner size.

I was mostly trying to point out that you may not want to treat a .038mm blade as though it were a .030mm blade.  If you can't fit a .038mm blade in, the clearance could still be between .030mm and .037mm - and therefore be "OK".

In fact, if your thinnest blade won't fit and the bucket still spins, the clearance could be anywhere between .001mm and the blade thickness.  The best thing to do is put in the next thinner shim (and check the clearance again).

If the bucket WON'T spin, you may get to do this multiple times before your thinnest blade will fit.  (The valve could be REAL tight.)  Rather than make successive shim purchases hoping to get the right size you might invest in a very-thin test shim that WILL allow you to get a blade measurement no matter what.  (Well, almost ... ask Flash about that.  But his was a special case.)

A perfect example of why the two valve kits circulating around are the way to go.  This way when it arrives you have a whole bunch to try.  Then just buy some replacements for the ones you used and add them back in the kit.  That way everyone wins.

I love this thread...... its really the thread that keeps on giving   :mrgreen:


Thanks for all the info guys!!!!

Quote from: KerrySo, if your .0015" / .038mm blade won't fit, you'll replace the shim with the next [sic] thinner size?  That could change the clearance from an acceptable .037mm to an off-the-loose-end .087mm.

Case in point: My right exhaust didn't fit the .038mm gauge.  I dropped a shim size there.  Now, I bought a metric gauge set: the .08 feeler fits, but not the .10 .  So my clearance is somewhere between .08 and .087.  Perhaps I'll just leave it be... being .007 too loose probably isn't going to hurt anything (it may sound a bit tappity-tappity, though).

For you guys who already have feeler gauges down to .04mm (like me),     Enco sells .03mm feeler stock. This material is 12 in. long and 1/2 in. wide and sells for $4.00 ea. ("Starrett" brand - the good stuff).  I have not adjusted my valves yet, so I don't know if the 1/2 in. width of the gauge is too wide to work?                            


http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INSRAR2&PMAKA=990-2365&PMPXNO=3011568

Quote from: rcepluchFor you guys who already have feeler gauges down to .04mm (like me), Enco sells .03mm feeler stock.

Nice find!  :thumb:

Quote from: rcepluchThis material is 12 in. long and 1/2 in. wide

Cool....  Someone (me?) could buy one, cut it into three 4" segments, keep one segment, and send the other two out to throw in the valve adjustment toolkits that are circulating around.

Quote from: rcepluchI don't know if the 1/2 in. width of the gauge is too wide to work?

Nope, it'll work fine.  I don't have a feeler blade set in front of me, but looking at a ruler I would say that 1/2" is the standard blade width.