So I checked my valve clearances today. The smallest feeler I had was .05mm, so that is what I used. Anyway, the only valve that the .05 feeler slid into was the the right exhaust valve. I'm going to be ordering some parts from mrcycles.com and figured I might as well get some shims while I was at it.
Are all of the shims from the factory the same size? What size?
I figured I would get .05 thinner than stock as well as .10 smaller than stock. You think with those shims I could get within spec?
EDIT: Mrcycles.com is saying $9.50 for a shim. Is that EACH?!
You need at least .03 mm clearance. I suggest you find more feeler guages with .03 and .04mm measurements, cause if the other exhaust clearances have .04 mm then it is spec. My bike had all 2.65's in when I first did the valves. I have shims of all sizes....5 bucks each if you're interested.
With how tight the .05 was, it doesn't seem like even .03 would go in. But, I really don't know and shouldn't assume. I plan on trying to find a feelers tomorrow that will go down to .03.
And you have a PM.
My 97 GS came with a 265 shim in one exhaust valve and a 262 in the other but I never checked the intake shims since they remained in spec for 80k miles without shim changes.
My 02 gs came with two 265 and two 258 shims. Replacement shims come in .05 mm increments but the factory uses some in between sizes.
I use a feeler gage that came with a .0015" min feeler but that's too thin and soon broken off and lost so I work with the .002 (.05mm), .003, .004, and .005" feelers to check valves. Spec is .001-.003" but I've been changing exhaust shims to give .004 or .005 clearance when I change them now because they keep getting tighter rather than looser.
If a .002" feeler won't go but the bucket will turn freely with the finger tip I mark it .001".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/valveclearances.jpg
Edit: Changed .015 to .0015 to correct typo.
Quote from: gsJack on May 18, 2008, 08:49:43 PM
My 97 GS came with a 265 shim in one exhaust valve and a 262 in the other but I never checked the intake shims since they remained in spec for 80k miles without shim changes.
My 02 gs came with two 265 and two 258 shims. Replacement shims come in .05 mm increments but the factory uses some in between sizes.
I use a feeler gage that came with a .015" min feeler but that's too thin and soon broken off and lost so I work with the .002 (.05mm), .003, .004, and .005" feelers to check valves. Spec is .001-.003" but I've been changing exhaust shims to give .004 or .005 clearance when I change them now because they keep getting tighter rather than looser.
If a .002" feeler won't go but the bucket will turn freely with the finger tip I mark it .001".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/valveclearances.jpg
Thanks. That cleared up several things I was wondering about. But what exactly do you mean by "If a .002" feeler won't go but the bucket will turn freely with the finger tip I mark it .001"." I kind of understand what you're saying, but still lost.
Try CRC2 for shims. $4.95 each.
http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/Index_Main_Frame.htm (http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/Index_Main_Frame.htm)
Corrected typo I noticed immediately today but did not yesterday. Min feeler was .0015 and not .015. :laugh:
Well on the 97 GS I couldn't get a .002" feeler in on the #2 ehaust valve from 17-39k miles and the bucket could be moved freely with my fingertip so I left it go until it was tight and wouldn't turn at 39k miles and I changed the shim. It might have been a bit tighter than the .001" I marked my record but that was good enough record for me.
My 02 GS has 59.2k miles on it now and is a bit overdue for a check. Exhaust shim clearance was set at .004 and .005" clearance at 39.8k miles and was at .003 and .004" at 48.7k and still haven't gone tight at 59.2k miles, I expect to chack them again before they get tight.
With a tight valve the engine will run rough and then quickly smooth out at start up as the valve clearances increase. Valve clearances are considerably greater on a warm engine than on a cold one. Keeping a record for almost 150k GS miles I see a trend and believe the exhaust valves recede into the seats less quickly if clearances are set looser. I'd set them tighter If I redlined it much to reduce possibility of throwing a shim. No need to go over about 9k rpm on a stock engine.