I was just wondering if anyone knew the average cost for a valve adjustment. I called my local shop to see how much it would cost since I am totally not mechanically gifted enough to do it myself, and they said they dont do valve adjustments so I guess I will have to take it to the stealer. Any ideas on how much this costs???
Until somebody replies with a real number, I am going to guess.
It takes me 1hr at the most to do that, assuming I have all the shims.
So, if you assume $75/labour + plus $20 (roughly) for shims, that should be about $100. Of course, this is stealership, so I'd guess, you need to time that by three.
$300?
Would be curious to hear what it really is. If you end up calling and asking them, let us know.
Jenya
550, plus parts this was my local dealer
you have got to be f%$king kidding?
550 ! wow .... they reallly do want your arm and your leg ......... i think the local dealer here told me 180 + parts .. give or take a little .. i'd round up to about 200 or so
wow those are some high prices at my 4000 miles service they did the adjustment and oil and change on all the good stuf, and i think it came to like $150.
spend $5 on a feeler gauge at Autozone / O'Reilly and check the clearance yourself. It takes like half an hour to remove the tank, remove the valve cover, rotate the crank and take measurements on all 4 valves. Kerry's video walks you through the whole process. If it turns out that 1 or more valves are out of spec then consider having a professional swap the shims for you.
The whole process is extremely simple, you just need ~$30 worth of tools and replacements for whatever shims are out of spec.
-M
It depends on what the local hourly rate is at the dealership. Around here it's $85/hour. Call them and find that out. When I was mechanicin', it was a one hour job, so you were going to get charged one hour labor + parts.
Hope this helps.
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 04:18:22 PM
spend $5 on a feeler gauge at Autozone / O'Reilly and check the clearance yourself.
Does Autozone carry 0.03mm blades? I couldn't find feeler gauges with such small blades anywhere, and I mean, anywhere locally. Ended up ordering one from ebay for $15.
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 04:18:22 PM
It takes like half an hour to remove the tank, remove the valve cover, rotate the crank and take measurements on all 4 valves. Kerry's video walks you through the whole process. If it turns out that 1 or more valves are out of spec then consider having a professional swap the shims for you.
Kerry's video is great. Really gives an idea to a beginner what is awaiting him/her ahead. There was only one step that I prefer doing it differently than in the video and that is rotating the crank with a wrench instead of by turning rear wheel. Clymer describes two distinct positions of the timing marks on the crank that provide with proper position of cam lobes. I found that following those steps provides me with more consistent readings of the gap.
As far as replacement of shims, I'd say that if a person went as far as taking everything apart, turning crank and checking shims, it isn't that much more to replace them. It isn't hard at all. Just requires a $17 tool and shims.
Jenya
No really this isnt something I can do myself. And if it costs more than $300, Im just gonna fly Pastrana out here and make her do it.
Yeah, really, have somebody do it for beer and pizza. I know I would.
Jenya
Lets see, I can do it in like 20-30 mins max ... less if its a check, more if any of the damn bolts are stripped ... and at 550, OK I should be charging 1000 bucks per hour ... :bowdown: ...
Cool.
Srinath.
Quote from: Jenya on July 01, 2006, 08:02:29 PM
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 04:18:22 PM
spend $5 on a feeler gauge at Autozone / O'Reilly and check the clearance yourself.
Does Autozone carry 0.03mm blades? I couldn't find feeler gauges with such small blades anywhere, and I mean, anywhere locally. Ended up ordering one from ebay for $15.
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 04:18:22 PM
It takes like half an hour to remove the tank, remove the valve cover, rotate the crank and take measurements on all 4 valves. Kerry's video walks you through the whole process. If it turns out that 1 or more valves are out of spec then consider having a professional swap the shims for you.
Kerry's video is great. Really gives an idea to a beginner what is awaiting him/her ahead. There was only one step that I prefer doing it differently than in the video and that is rotating the crank with a wrench instead of by turning rear wheel. Clymer describes two distinct positions of the timing marks on the crank that provide with proper position of cam lobes. I found that following those steps provides me with more consistent readings of the gap.
As far as replacement of shims, I'd say that if a person went as far as taking everything apart, turning crank and checking shims, it isn't that much more to replace them. It isn't hard at all. Just requires a $17 tool and shims.
Jenya
The smallest blade in my $5 set is .04 mm. If that doesn't fit you should go down a shim size anyway so I never bothered finding a .03 gauge. I agree about rotating the engine with the socket rather than the wheel.
-M
The Dealership in Mobile, AL quoted me around $300 I was very intimidated by the job but after watching Kerrys video I decided I'd tackle it and to be honest. It really isnt that hard, watch the video b 4 you drop 300 bucks. I'm no mechanic by any means but I did it in one afternoon minus the parts cost (.20 cents) and tools (less then 20 bux) i ended up saving over two hundred seventy something dollars. Trust me, you can do it. :thumb:
-ash
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 11:47:07 PMI agree about rotating the engine with the socket rather than the wheel.
Just for the record, I agree too. :) Maybe when I reshoot that video ... uh, never mind.
Quote from: ashman on July 01, 2006, 11:51:14 PMTrust me, you can do it. :thumb:
Atta boy! You've gone from
"I think I'll have the dealer install my new chain." (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11925.msg100061#msg100061) to "I tackled my own valve adjustment and it really isn't that hard."
Kudos. :thumb:
I've been wanting to perform this maintainance as well, but scared silly.
4d
It's around $225 probably by now in Bergen County NJ.
I was quoted 180 by the major dealer here in San Antonio. And 165 by a small motorcycle shop. Plus tax.
Quote from: Kerry on July 02, 2006, 12:23:29 AM
Quote from: Mandres on July 01, 2006, 11:47:07 PMI agree about rotating the engine with the socket rather than the wheel.
Just for the record, I agree too. :) Maybe when I reshoot that video ... uh, never mind.
Quote from: ashman on July 01, 2006, 11:51:14 PMTrust me, you can do it. :thumb:
Atta boy! You've gone from "I think I'll have the dealer install my new chain." (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11925.msg100061#msg100061) to "I tackled my own valve adjustment and it really isn't that hard."
Kudos. :thumb:
Yup, their arnt too many jobs on the GS I'm afraid of now a days. Most of them have been with lots of help from Kerry. Thanks again for all great advice and step by step info. Once again, your a life saver! :thumb:
-ash
Ok i watched Kerry's video and I think...... that maybe this is something I may be able to do. I will have to watch the video about 50 more times and ask a million questions but that is what you guys are here for, Right????!!!!!
Quote from: ajgs500 on July 04, 2006, 12:35:49 AMthat is what you guys are here for, Right????!!!!!
You got it! 8)
A few tools and an hour or two of time should be plenty for
checking the clearances your first time around. I would expect your main questions to be about
* removing the valve cover gasket (if part of it doesn't want to come off) and about
* how you can tell
by feel when a given feeler blade correctly indicates the clearance[/list]
Once you figure out how to pop shims out of the bucket, actually
swapping each shim only adds about a minute to the whole procedure.
The vast majority of time is taken in procuring the appropriate shims ... in other words, waiting for them to arrive. When you know the sizes you need, look into doing a no-cost, straight-across shim swap with your local dealer ... or offer to buy used shims from their "coffee can collection" for cheap.
If that doesn't work, and you have to
order the shim(s) (http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/valve_shims.htm), go ahead and put the bike back together in the meantime. That way you can still ride while you wait, and you get to reinforce your technique by doing everything over again when you have the part(s) in hand.
I had only done the "valve clearance thing" 3 or 4 times before making the video, and you saw/heard at the end how much time it really takes to do the reassembly (and teardown and
reassembly in that particular case :oops:).
did the ring around today for my bike's 6000km's service.... i got prices from $450 - $600 for the service....
think i'll do everything myself.. and just get them to check the valves - that way it's only a coupla hundred bucks and they can sign off on the warranty book... :icon_mrgreen:
I actually had this noob question about valve adjustment that I've been wanting to ask. I was looking at the picture of the camshaft/valve assembly (see below) and I've read on here that the clearance between the shim (#22) and the cam (#1 or #7) which is what we're adjusting/measuring can get too tight? How is that possible? If anything I would think that as the shim wears down the clearance would get larger? Maybe I just don't understand what exactly is causing the clearance to change at all - is it some component of the assembly wearing down, or is it something else? Can someone please explain? :dunno_white:
(http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/assets/schematics/Suzuki/SU0085_012.gif)
It can tighten if the face of the valve begins to dish, that is, the valve gets hammered into the valve seat depression/intake/exhaust port.