Notes on Valve Clearance Check

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Fred W

1 Wheel Drive
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As I mentioned in a prior thread, I just finished doing the 26k mile maintenance on my '05 FJR. The big ticket item on that schedule is checking the valve clearances (and adjusting if necessary). The best step-by-step description of the valve check job is this one, written by Dwayne Verhey back in 2004. Between that procedure and the scant section on valve check in the Factory Service Manual, any average Joe with half way decent set of tools and mechanical skills should be able to get the job done themselves and save a bundle. The best part is knowing it was done right and all the parts were put back together correctly. The following are just a few notes and tips on ways to improve the above linked procedure.

In preparation for this service, consider having replacement coolant and new spark plugs on hand, since you will have to remove both items to affect the valve check, and in all likelihood they will be due at this time anyway. You will also definitely want to replace the 3 o-rings on the coolant pipe. I found them at Home Depot and the best size matches were #14's for the two head connections and #17 for the thermostat.

I also took the opportunity to remove the PAIR system from my bike and install a set of WynPro PAIR block off plates. This is entirely optional and not related to the valve check except that you need to remove the PAIR valve assembly and plumbing anyway to check the valves, it was much easier to install the plates with the valve cover on a workbench rather than on the bike.

When preparing your bike for the service, you only need to remove the following:

Remove driver seat
Remove the left and right black trim panels at the rear of the tank, so you can tilt the tank.
Remove the lower right and left side faring panels including the lower front triangle panel. Leave the triangle panel attached to the right side panel.
Remove the screws in just the "A" panel (left side black panel behind the glove box with hazard flasher button in it). You do not need to remove panels B thru D. Also, you can leave the A panel hanging on the wires running to the fusebox and hazard switch. It won't get in the way. This is just so you can get access to the radiator cap.
Remove the two front bolts and tilt the tank back (doesn't need to be removed). You can tilt the tank back further if you remove the two electrical connectors on the bottom of the fuel pump assembly.

Hot tip: You'll want the tank to be half full or less. Any more and tilting the tank this high will cause a puddle of flammable liquid under the bike as gas runs back through the cap vent.

Use a tie-down strap from the metal bracket at the front of the tank (has some handy holes in it) run back to the luggage rack at the rear of the bike to hold the tank up. Do not pull back too hard as the limiting factor with the wires detached will be the length of your fuel line. This provides plenty of access room.


FJR stripped down for valve check:

100_0582.jpg



Closeup of tank support:

100_0582detail.jpg



Access room under tank, and top of engine "before" picture:

100_0583.jpg


The only other body work that I removed (later on) was the left side saddlebag. This to allow me to turn the rear wheel by hand, with the bike in 5th gear while peering under the tank, in order to index the engine for the checks on each cylinder. This is a highly recommended way to turn the engine so you do not have to remove the right side timing chain cover (aka oil pump cover) unless adjustments are required. It was quite easy and gave good control of the position.

N.B. If you do decide to remove the right side timing chain cover, see this note about the chain guide slipper dowel pin that gets stuck in the cover. It may mess up your valve timing!!

Remove the Tee-Bar and all the PAIR stuff (Pair valve all hoses, disconnect wire).


Bye bye PAIR junk:

100_0585.jpg



Detach the spark plug wires and push them over to the side. Remove the rubber flap that covers the front of the head over the top of the thermostat. (Not sure what it's for, maybe protect the wiring from the heat of the thermostat).


Ready to remove Coolant pipe:
100_0584.jpg


Before removing the coolant pipe take some time to clean up the area, especially the recesses where the rusty coolant pipe attaches down to the head. There was a bunch of junk down in there that I was able to get out by shoving a length of vinyl hose onto the crevice tool of my shop vac and duct taping it up.

When removing the coolant pipe, after removing the 4 screws (2 torx heads, 2 allen heads), first pry the thermostat housing away forward, then after free of that you can pull up (and wiggle) to get the two connections out of the head. They will be difficult to remove as you pull the o-rings past crusty buildup. This is why you will be needing to replace these o-rings. I couldn't believe how rusty and cruddy these connections were on such a relatively young bike.

With the pipe removed, time to clean-up again. Get as much of the cruddy build-up removed as possible before exposing the inside of the engine. Try to vacuum out any debris that falls into the waterjacket area of the engine



Looking into the cruddy coolant pipe holes:

100_0587.jpg



Now that everything is cleaned up, time to remove the head cover. The first "trick" learned here (thanks Constant Mesh) is that the front right side of the valve cover is inhibited from removal by the black plastic shroud above the radiator. Here you can see the edge of the black plastic shroud where it interferes with the front right edge of the valve cover:

100_0589.jpg


You'll want to pop that shroud forward to allow the cover to come out. Here you can see the head peeking through past the offending shroud being levered out.

100_0586.jpg


The second "trick" learned was to disassemble the throttle twist grip assembly and pull the cables backward through the frame so there is enough slack over the top of the head. You don't need to pull them all the way through, just far enough so they loop backwards away from the engine.

Once the valve cover was removed, everything went pretty much "by the book". I used inch base feeler gauges. It may be advisable to buy a set of metric feelers. In either case you'll want to use them in a go/no-go fashion, starting with the minimum clearance spec. If you can slide the gauge in, the gap is at least that big. The actual clearance is somewhere between the last go gauge and the 1st no-go. On that last "go" measurement, make note of how easy the gauge slides into each position as an indicator of where in that .001" range the actual measured value is for future reference.

All 8 of my intake valves were between .006" and .007". But 3 of the 8 were on the tight side, while the others were looser. Knowing the positions of the tight ones will be important in 26k more miles. My exhaust valves were all in the middle of the spec range, so no worries.



And finally, here's the "beauty shot" of my engine, the "after" picture with the spiffy new PAIR removal block off plates installed. Not as sparkling clean as Useless Pickles' engine, but certainly better than at the start.:

100_0590.jpg


 
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Wouldn't it just be easier to take the tank off? You only have to remove the fuel line (clamped on), wire connector to the fuel pump, 2 vent hoses and the long bolt at the rear. That way you don't have to work around it whilst doing the valve check.

 
Very nice.

When tilting back the fuel tank I never remove the black plastic panels. I just remove the plastic push pin at the rear of each panel. This pin affixes each black panel to its corresponding painted plastic side panel. Anytime you remove the black panels from those friction fit rubber grommets you risk a breakage.

The 27K clearances on my '04 were:

#1 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.008, RE = 0.008

#2 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.009, RE = 0.009

#3 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.009. RE = 0.009

#4 LI = 0.007, RI = 0.007, LE = 0.008. RE = 0.008

The #3 RI was borderline 0.006. I had to rotate the cam a few more degrees clockwise to find the 0.006.

If I recall correctly the O-ring water seal on each coolant pipe is a not a perfectly round cross-section O-ring. There is a bit of a square edge on the rings. Not a lot of difference but not quite a generic O-ring.

 
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Wouldn't it just be easier to take the tank off? You only have to remove the fuel line (clamped on), wire connector to the fuel pump, 2 vent hoses and the long bolt at the rear. That way you don't have to work around it whilst doing the valve check.

+1

Lately, (like the last 4 times PCIII related) I've been under there I have just taken the tank off. It is alot easier to work at everything.

 
If I recall correctly the O-ring water seal on each coolant pipe is a not a perfectly round cross-section O-ring. There is a bit of a square edge on the rings. Not a lot of difference but not quite a generic O-ring.
I haven't seen a replacement O-ring from Yamaha to either dispute or agree with you, BUT, I'd guess a new O-ring IS round in cross section and the square edge you observed is flattening of the ring after it's been installed. Same thing happens to the O-rings on the fuel injectors. THey go in round, but come out with a squared off edge after being compressed and heated.

 
Wouldn't it just be easier to take the tank off? You only have to remove the fuel line (clamped on), wire connector to the fuel pump, 2 vent hoses and the long bolt at the rear. That way you don't have to work around it whilst doing the valve check.
Not to me. It is so quick to tip it back and hook a strap on it. And if you look at my 1st picture you can see the tank is tipped way back to vertical. Plenty of room. Tank was never in the way. Then later, when it was time to do my UA-TBS I lower the tie down strap down to an angle that the fuel pump can pickup some gas, but I can still access the vacuum ports and adjustments.

Very nice.
When tilting back the fuel tank I never remove the black plastic panels. I just remove the plastic push pin at the rear of each panel. This pin affixes each black panel to its corresponding painted plastic side panel. Anytime you remove the black panels from those friction fit rubber grommets you risk a breakage.
Alrighty, then... maybe I can return the favor of your earlier great tips. Just smear the posts and grommets with a light coat of silicone grease, the same stuff you should have used on those coolant pipe o-rings, and you'll never have any trouble getting those black tank trims loose again with zero chance of breakage!! I always pull them off because I have a Bagster tank cover and it uses those same screws to hold the straps down.

The 27K clearances on my '04 were:#1 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.008, RE = 0.008

#2 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.009, RE = 0.009

#3 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.009. RE = 0.009

#4 LI = 0.007, RI = 0.007, LE = 0.008. RE = 0.008

The #3 RI was borderline 0.006. I had to rotate the cam a few more degrees clockwise to find the 0.006.
Yours is more like the distribution I expected. Imagine my surprise when every exhaust, and every intake measured the same. I (briefly) began to question my ability to make the measurements. :blink: I decided instead that the bike must have been assembled by a superior technician at the factory, which is why it has always runs so sweet for me!! :yahoo:

If I recall correctly the O-ring water seal on each coolant pipe is a not a perfectly round cross-section O-ring. There is a bit of a square edge on the rings. Not a lot of difference but not quite a generic O-ring.
Haven't seen the OEM factory o-rings new, so can't say with certainty, but those rings did come out of mine with a square profile. But so does any o-ring after being in place for a long time. It's one reason you want to toss them and reassemble with fresh 'uns. ;)

Oh yeah... what Howie said.

 
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Haven't seen the OEM factory o-rings new, so can't say with certainty, but those rings did come out of mine with a square profile. But so does any o-ring after being in place for a long time. It's one reason you want to toss them and reassemble with fresh 'uns. ;)
Oh yeah... what Howie said.
Yeah, after going through my fuel pump nightmare, I re-used the old O-rings on the coolant pipe and brand new antifreeze went EVERYWHERE! Put in new O-rings, sealed up like a champ, only cost about $1.34, and the bike ran leak free and like brand new.....for about 45 seconds. :angry:

 
Haven't seen the OEM factory o-rings new, so can't say with certainty, but those rings did come out of mine with a square profile. But so does any o-ring after being in place for a long time. It's one reason you want to toss them and reassemble with fresh 'uns. ;)
Oh yeah... what Howie said.
Yeah, after going through my fuel pump nightmare, I re-used the old O-rings on the coolant pipe and brand new antifreeze went EVERYWHERE! Put in new O-rings, sealed up like a champ, only cost about $1.34, and the bike ran leak free and like brand new.....for about 45 seconds. :angry:
Did you use sum o' them leftover space shuttle o-rings, Howard? I hear they are in all the big box stores down there near Cape Canaveral (aka Kennedy, in some circles).

But seriously, I got my rings for <$2 for a box of 10 at Home Despot. That's pretty cost effective.

 
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Did you use sum o' them leftover space shuttle o-rings, Howard? I hear they are in all the big box stores down there near Cape Canaveral (aka Kennedy, in some circles).
No "aka Kennedy". The town of "Cape Kennedy" officially changed its name back to Cape Canaveral in 1973.

However it IS the home of the Kennedy Space Center, named so, along with the town, in 1963, after the "Oswald incident."

 
Nice write up Fred as ussual. " thanks "

Bookmarked also for my turn about this time next year. I changed my plugs out today and will do it again when i get around to the valve check.

Dave,

 
Excellent post and information.

The Gen II's are a little different under the tank in that a thermostat o-ring is not needed. I replaced both rings on the coolant pipe as they were squared off and deformed quite a bit. Instead of going the Home Depot route, I sprung for o-rings from my local dealer. Without knowing what elastomer was originally used, I wasn't willing to go the generic route. Original valve cover gasket was in great shape so that went back in w/o leaks...

Mine had one intake at .006 and one exhaust at .010, the rest were right in the middle.

--G

 
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Nice write up Fred as ussual. " thanks "
Bookmarked also for my turn about this time next year. I changed my plugs out today and will do it again when i get around to the valve check.

Dave,
Thanks Dave. I didn't really mention my plugs as they were a non-event. I changed the original set at 16k miles, ~8k miles ago, but knew that they were coming out for the valves, so screwed in another new set of non-iridiums. They were a nice tan, normal color, and looked like they could have easily gone another 8k miles, like the first set did, but the conventional plugs are just too cheap to bother. I prefer the idea of using the non-iridiums, swapping the plugs out earlier at half the price. Gives me more looks at how the engine is running.

Also, thanks again for making those PAIR block off plates. Those things are the cat's ass!! :yahoo:

Excellent post and information.
The Gen II's are a little different under the tank in that a thermostat o-ring is not needed. I replaced both rings on the coolant pipe as they were squared off and deformed quite a bit. Instead of going the Home Depot route, I sprung for o-rings from my local dealer. Without knowing what elastomer was originally used, I wasn't willing to go the generic route. Original valve cover gasket was in great shape so that went back in w/o leaks...

Mine had one intake at .006 and one exhaust at .010, the rest were right in the middle.

--G
I agree, you'd have to be a brute to mess up that valve cover gasket. It's pretty substantial, and I had no issues with it staying in place in the cover during the replacement phase. I simply left it stuck to the cover, rather than removing it and having to goop it back in place with RTV. Wouldn't want to risk messing up that fancy O2 sensor, now would we? :blink:

You raise a valid concern about the o-rings. One that I considered before I went ahead with the generic o-rings from "The Despot". In my line of work we do use a lot of Teflon and Viton o-rings, both in high vacuum areas and also in junctions subject to extreme cold temperatures. But we really never have any applications where the maximum temperature is the issue, like on the head of our engines. So, naturally, I Googled up a reference that indicates the conventional rubber o-rings (Buna-N actually) are good for apps up to 300F. The engine should never be above ~250F, so that seems a comfortable margin.

I'm betting that if one was able to find the source of Yamaha's p/n 93210-18417-00 o-rings, you'd find that they are Buna-N. At least the ones I took out sure looked like it to me.

And, hey, Mom... all the other kids are doing it! Lots of other folks have used the generics with nary a problem.

 
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I just finished my Valve check tonight...

The 32K clearance check on my '06 were:

#1 LI = 0.008, RI = 0.007, LE = 0.009, RE = 0.008

#2 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.006, LE = 0.009, RE = 0.008

#3 LI = 0.006, RI = 0.007, LE = 0.009. RE = 0.009

#4 LI = 0.007, RI = 0.007, LE = 0.009. RE = 0.009

Since I was doing a whole Slew of things:

- Removing my PAIR Junk

- New tapered head bearings

- Forks

- Swapping out some wiring/Blueseas for FuzeBlock.

I opted to take the tank off. IMHO it made things mucho easier to work on in general. It's only one more bolt. Slap a pair of vice grips on the fuel line, pop it off the rail, get sprayed with gas, lift, set aside leaning on wall.

I got her all back together tonight except for the filling with coolant.

I bought O-rings for the pipe but re-used what was on there cause they looked real good. We'll see if it starts leaking when I fill it up. If so should be fairly simple to swap out. (famous last words) But I wasn't convinced the new ones looked any different. I did not put any RTV on the pipe.

I got my stripped bolt out after removing the head and replaced all 6 with nice stainless blingy bolts.

Other than noticing I had pinched the head gasket when putting the 3rd spark plug in and having to take it all apart again, it went pretty damn well.

For future reference a 21 fault code means you forgot to connect the thermostat/sensor connector on the end of the tube.

 
Other than noticing I had pinched the head gasket when putting the 3rd spark plug in and having to take it all apart again, it went pretty damn well.
Which brings up another "tip". When the head cover is on, the rubber gasket bulges slightly into the spark plug bores. Those bores are a tight fit for almost any spark plug socket known to man. I found that it was much easier to remove and replace the plugs while the valve cover and gasket was off the head.

I bought O-rings for the pipe but re-used what was on there cause they looked real good. We'll see if it starts leaking when I fill it up. If so should be fairly simple to swap out. (famous last words) But I wasn't convinced the new ones looked any different. I did not put any RTV on the pipe.
I wouldn't use RTV either. Too messy to clean up later. But silicone grease is a good idea for seating those o-rings (and in the original procedure)

For future reference a 21 fault code means you forgot to connect the thermostat/sensor connector on the end of the tube.
Gee, you mean you have to plug everything back in when you're done? :unsure:

I'm famous for forgetting the two connectors under the tank (fuel pump and gas gauge). :p

 
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