Quote from: commuterdude on May 20, 2009, 05:22:12 PM
hey I didn't mean to open a can of worms with the shim grinding.   I'm guessing that is how they are finished to size from Suzuki....ground in a group and after a pass or two one is removed, miked, marked, then a pass or two and the next one pulled and checked.   They may sample the  hardness of a few from that batch and toss them....can't have hardness test marks on your shim after all.   I'm not a metallurgist but my guess is they are hardened through and ground to size.   Some steels may be hard enough as is?   Interesting topic, maybe I'll take one to work and check it....during breaktime of course.

If you surface grind one you will know in a minute if it has curled or whathaveyou.    I'm sure there is a reason that thicknesses stop at 2.15mm but I'd sure try a few thou off to get me another 4000 miles or so, if I am looking at pulling the head anyway.

I'm willing to bet Suzuki grinds them before hardening them. It would be way easier that way...

Quote from: fred on May 20, 2009, 06:54:57 PM
I'm willing to bet Suzuki grinds them before hardening them. It would be way easier that way...

No, it wouldn't - because the hardening process would muck them up. Grinding has no problem with hardened steel, and things hardened, then ground, stay as ground. Things ground, then hardened, do not.

Quote from: DoD#i on May 20, 2009, 07:17:12 PM

Quote from: fred on May 20, 2009, 06:54:57 PM
I'm willing to bet Suzuki grinds them before hardening them. It would be way easier that way...

No, it wouldn't - because the hardening process would muck them up. Grinding has no problem with hardened steel, and things hardened, then ground, stay as ground. Things ground, then hardened, do not.

If you take micrometers to them, they aren't really that flat, enough so to make me think they worked them soft then hardened...

so how many miles do yall think are really on my gs? its in pretty good shape, but with me needing the smallest available shim already at 12000miles? doesnt seem right to me. what am i going to have to do once i need to adjust them again other than grind the shim?

would it be cheaper to just buy a used engine once my valve clearence needs adjusted again?

Quote from: tiptonmustang24 on May 22, 2009, 03:15:49 PM
would it be cheaper to just buy a used engine once my valve clearence needs adjusted again?

No, not even close. You can grind the end of the valve for very little money, and when that stops working, you can replace the valve and guide. Once you've gone through that valve and guide, you'll probably have to replace the head. After that, rinse and repeat. You should never replace the engine just because you've got a valve that's tight... You might destroy things by leaving it tight, but as long as you're on top of maintenance, you'll be fine...

Also, your valve might just be tight because the factory made that valve a bit on the long side and put it in a head that had a seat a bit on the deep side. They can't make them all the same all the time, so you might just have been unlucky and got a really bad combination... You could also have had some problem, like that cylinder was running super lean and hot for a while and fried the valve... What does the plug on that side look like?

hey fred, how much would a bike shop charge to grind the valve?

You could do it for very much ... free.
Just get in there with a dremel tool ... and make sure you get it nearly straight and flat.
If you pulled them out ... might as well do the whole head and I know one place that would do for 100 ... they did the head I sold to ry_guy and to lopee.
That will actually be so precise, you can put these parts all in they will check the clearances are doing the 3 angle etc etc and then grind it that exact amount.

I think though they harden after grinding. You can grind anything of any hardness ... yea, but they dont through harden them. Surface only.

Cool.
Buddha.

Dremeling off the end of the valve in the head is a bad joke.

Even if you could get the end of the valve square, where does all the grinding grit go.

Don't do this.

Quote from: The Buddha on May 22, 2009, 06:19:24 PM
You could do it for very much ... free.
Just get in there with a dremel tool ... and make sure you get it nearly straight and flat.
If you pulled them out ... might as well do the whole head and I know one place that would do for 100 ... they did the head I sold to ry_guy and to lopee.
That will actually be so precise, you can put these parts all in they will check the clearances are doing the 3 angle etc etc and then grind it that exact amount.

I think though they harden after grinding. You can grind anything of any hardness ... yea, but they dont through harden them. Surface only.

Cool.
Buddha.