I'm in the middle of a valve adjustment and found that the shim bucket of my right exhaust valve doesn't rotate (bad sign, I know).  The notch to get the shim out is not accessible so I'm wondering if there is any way for me to get the shim out.  I'm not the most mechanically inclined person so am I in over my head?

You can loosen up the caps that hold the exhaust camshaft down. You'll want to loosen up each bolt a little at a time (all 4 of them) , so that that camshaft "lifts" away from the bucket.

You do have a good torque wrench, right? Over tightening the camshaft cap bolts can cause a real issue....

A buddy was saying I could just use a stronger magnet to pull it right out. Would that work?

Quote from: Big Rich on July 03, 2015, 11:45:47 AM
You can loosen up the caps that hold the exhaust camshaft down. You'll want to loosen up each bolt a little at a time (all 4 of them) , so that that camshaft "lifts" away from the bucket.

You do have a good torque wrench, right? Over tightening the camshaft cap bolts can cause a real issue....

Over tightening them can cause issues, you say?



Yeah, I think he may be right. 

I should also add that when I tried to use the shim tool, I couldn't get the bucket to depress at all. Is this another problem in itself?

Ha! Yep Al, that's the issue right there... it's too easy to think "I'll get them nice and tight since I don't want them too loose."

Kord, if you can't physically get the shim out with a pick or small screwdriver, then a big magnet won't work either. Matter of fact, I think the Suzuki manual recommends never using a magnet anyway, since it can magnetize the shim itself, and small metal shavings can stick to it.

It's tough to say about the bucket not moving... it should depress down though. You might have to take the exhaust camshaft all the way out if the bucket is stuck. Definitely refer to the manual for the proper procedure when it comes to removing camshafts.

Are these the bolts you're referring to? I don't think they are already too tight as this is the first time these valves have been adjusted.  All I need to do is loosen them a little on both the left and right side a little to remove the shim then be sure and torque them down to what the manual says, correct?

[attachment deleted by admin]

You can't access the notch and rotate with a screwdriver? I have used a screwdriver to push the notch and turn the bucket from the opposite side before.

The safer option option for me would be to close it back up, run the engine, and open the valve cover after the engine has cooled but not completely. You might get lucky and the notch will be accessible or the warmish engine will free the parts allowing you to turn it anyways. Then wait until cool to check the valves.

Quote from: kord_f on July 06, 2015, 10:44:28 AM
Are these the bolts you're referring to? I don't think they are already too tight as this is the first time these valves have been adjusted.  All I need to do is loosen them a little on both the left and right side a little to remove the shim then be sure and torque them down to what the manual says, correct?

yep, those are the ones. Just use a torque wrench when you tighten them back down. Oh yeah, remember how I said loosen one bolt a little, then another bolt, etc, etc? You'll want to tighten them in the same manner - o
so the camshaft and caps press down evenly.

Note if you loosen the bolts too much the camshaft will turn in situ (slipping on the chain) requiring you to reset the cam timing.
Have you tried a heat gun to heat the cam directly and then try to move it?
I am finding my heat gun to be rather usefull!

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

I can't seem to find the specified torque in the manual. All it says is tighten until the specified torque is reached and doesn't give the specified torque. Anyone happen to know the torque for those bolts?

Quote from: kord_f on July 07, 2015, 08:55:54 AM
I can't seem to find the specified torque in the manual. All it says is tighten until the specified torque is reached and doesn't give the specified torque. Anyone happen to know the torque for those bolts?

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Main.TorqueSettings

                                                 Nm             ft lbs
Camshaft journal holder bolt   8 - 12   6.0 - 8.5

WARNING: Seriously, go easy tightening these. I JUST sheared these torquing them "to spec" last week with a torque wrench. Sometimes "snug" is better than too much. Err on the lower side of the torque setting.