Valve check... Should I leave well enough alone or dig in

[Fred W]

Ill cut you some slack since you do the rest of your own maintenance, AJ. Frankly, Im surprised that anything would scare you off, but a man has to know his own limits. But still, I bet if you went through either the fork rebuild or a valve check and adjust once with someone else youd be all over that too. Problem with doing that is the bike has to be stone cold to do the valves, which makes it an unpopular thing for Tech Days.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I thought there was little reason to do the initial valve check on my 2014. But it's a big deal, so I had it done. No adjustment necessary. So I figured there was even less chance I needed to do the second one. But it's a big deal, so I had that one done too, albeit a bit late. You can put off some things, and perhaps not have a problem. You can put off other things, and know that you'll suffer a little extra trouble down the road, but you know what you're getting into. I wouldn't look down my nose at someone who never got their valves checked. But it's a big enough gamble that I wouldn't skip it personally, from a peace of mind perspective, and because I plan to run the bike over 100K miles, and need it to be sound.

 

[Bounce]

+100

I wanted to ride a bike that might grenade at any minute, I'd have bought a Harley.

 

[hppants]

I agree with Bill 100%.

My personal demon years ago was that I couldn't find anyone locally (including the dealer) that I would trust to do it right. I was petrified of doing it myself, but I bucked up and with great help from these people, overcame. I even got myself in a jam doing the valve check on a friends FJR, when I mis-timed the motor going back together. Luckily, I had the sense to turn it by hand and identify the mis-timing before grenading the motor. Again, the people on this forum coached me through my mistake in precise detail, and with their relentless help, I was able to fix my mistake and the bike ran beautifully thereafter.

To the OP, if this is your concern, know that it can't eat you. Give it a try and we are all here to help you.

 

[flars]

Checking the valves is easy, and safe to do. Nothing complicated that has to be 'carefully' removed/replaced.

If you have to replace a shim, it becomes a bit scarier, but not too bad, since you have to unbolt stuff and tie-wrap stuff.

 

[Spud]

Didn't do my first check until 45K, went through all good, 2nd to last one I checked was on the edge tight, last one was out of spec. Went from a relatively simple but time consuming job to something I wouldn't have done without my brother-in-law who is a whiz at all things mechanical. Got it in spec and now I think I probably need to check it again soon but bike sure runs good right now at 93K. One bit of advice I saw here was that replacing the valve cover gasket isn't necessary, my brother-in-law decided it should be done as I had a spare, at the end of it all we both agreed we should have kept the stock one as they glue that baby in there pretty good and getting the new one to seat turned out to be one of the harder parts of the job.

 

[Fred W]

The valves wear pretty slowly on these bikes. The seats are hard and the valve faces seem to stand up to the hammering pretty well.

1st check data indicates that either the factory tends to set the intakes on the low end of their clearance range, or that those valves settle in considerably in the first 26 k mile interval. Since nobody in their right mind would check the clearances of a new engine (which has some folks pondering why I didnt do that) we may never know which it is. But, considering that the exhaust valves do not seem to be tight at first check, that would suggest that the former theory, that the intakes are set tight from the factory, may be more likely.

Those of us who, when an adjustment was necessary, have sanded the shims to the 70th percentile of spec have found that you will likely never have to adjust the valves again for the life of the engine. Why they only offer shims in .05mm increments is a mystery. If they were available in .01 mm increments people could swap shims to achieve the optimal clearance once and be done with it. Since the wear is so predictable in nature and direction, it also makes one wonder why the factory didnt set them all at the loose end of spec to begin with. Whatever performance difference there is in having the valve open more / longer is insignificant. Another mystery.

Cynics might suggest they are drumming up service business for their dealer network, but that doesnt make much sense for several reasons. Dealers dont seem to cherish valve work, and any avoided warranty or extended warrant claims would be money in Yamahas corporate pockets at zero increase in manufacturing cost. Plus, just think of the marketing value of saying no valve checks for 50k miles.

 

[RossKean]

Those of us who, when an adjustment was necessary, have sanded the shims to the 70th percentile of spec have found that you will likely never have to adjust the valves again for the life of the engine.

I adjusted 6 of 8 intake valves at ~100,000 miles or so. I sanded the shims with a 70th percentile target. On my last check (~175,000 miles, I think), two intake valves needed a bit of adjustment (perhaps I was off a bit with the original setting?). In truth, they were right AT the limit but I don't plan to be back in there much before 225,000 miles so I made the adjustment. Haven't had to touch the exhaust valves yet.

Note: For the skeptics who say that valves MUST NOT BE SANDED OR GROUND because of surface hardening - BULLSHIT!! When I removed a couple of previously sanded valves, there was absolutely NO indication that there was any wear on the shims or mushrooming that you would expect if the steel was too soft. These are shim-under-bucket and the cams never even come in contact to abrade the surface. The valve stem makes a barely perceptible mark on he other side (not a dent or depression). Not to mention the fact that you would have to sand for a week or so to make a significant impression on a case-hardened piece of steel! Sanding takes a little patience but it only took me an hour or so with 220 grit carbide wet paper (finished off with 400 grit) to do 6 shims.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, that was my “experiment” too. I figured if the shims were really case hardened, as was rumored, sanding by hand would do essentially nothing. But they sanded pretty quickly to spec, meaning they were not hardened at all. Just goes to show what conventional wisdom is worth.

 

[redzgrider]

As one of those who has had a dealership lose the cam timing for no reason -- they were adjusting valves that were at the loose end of tolerance for crying out loud! -- I say leave them alone.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I was nearly caught off guard by how easily the shims were sanded to spec.

 

[rbentnail]

Fred W said:
Why they only offer shims in .05mm increments is a mystery. If they were available in .01 mm increments people could swap shims to achieve the optimal clearance once and be done with it.

You still aren't looking in the right place

. I've always used the Pro-X shims from Jake Wilson, available in .025 mm increments. Much easier to hit the clearance you're looking for without sanding.

 

[Uenjoymyself]

Well, thanks to all of the encouragement I'm well on my way to my valve check. I was very intimidated by it all at first but have found the work to be very enjoyable and therapeutic. I have removed the plastics, the tank, removed and plugged the pair system, and am working on cleaning things up, working the spark wires loose and waiting for block off plates to arrive. All other parts and CCT in hand, it looks so close but yet so far the way its tucked in there so tight. I really am enjoying the experience and look forward to completion and the satisfaction of many more worry free miles. Since its purchase in March I've flushed the coolant, two oil and filter changes, air filter twice, bled the brakes and clutch, lubed the drive splines and u joint as well as new Road smart III's which I really love! Next up swing arm and pivot point service and new brakes. I cant wait till spring and am so thankful for this forum!

Thanks to all, Chris

 

[Fred W]

Thats great to hear, Chris.

Hopefully youve read up on the CCT replacement. You definitely want to restrain the cam chain before slacking off tension or theres a very good chance the chain will jump a tooth on one of the sprockets when you do. The easiest way is to pull off the timing chain cover on the right side and stuff a small socket (10mm 1/4 drive socket fits nicely) between the left side chain guide that the tensioner thrusts against and the engine case. That way when you remove CCT the guide will keep tension on the chain.

Have fun and good luck with the maintenance.

 

[RossKean]

Do you have O-rings for coolant pipe?

Gasket for timing chain cover if doing CCT? (probably won't need it unless you don't have one)

Tip on removal of the valve cover. You need to move the throttle cables out of the way - which is easier if you disconnect them from the grip at the handlebar.

Be careful when removing coolant pipe. Wiggle it while pulling gently straight out - easy to bend or otherwise damage. Get the "wells" cleaned out as much as you can before pulling the pipe - otherwise grit and other dirt will make its way into the cooling system - not good for the water pump.

You probably won't need a replacement gasket for the valve cover.

Good luck with it!

 

[Panman]

Do you have O-rings for coolant pipe?Gasket for timing chain cover if doing CCT? (probably won't need it unless you don't have one)

Tip on removal of the valve cover. You need to move the throttle cables out of the way - which is easier if you disconnect them from the grip at the handlebar.

Be careful when removing coolant pipe. Wiggle it while pulling gently straight out - easy to bend or otherwise damage. Get the "wells" cleaned out as much as you can before pulling the pipe - otherwise grit and other dirt will make its way into the cooling system - not good for the water pump.

You probably won't need a replacement gasket for the valve cover.

Good luck with it!

Even the plug holes get a lot of stuff in them, I always dump water in all six of the holes and blow them out to get as much of that loose sand crap out.

 

[wetwolf]

When doing the CCT, you will notice a large opening on the inside of the frame, next to the CCT. Cover this with masking tape so that when you drop the CCT bolt, it doesn't fall into the frame.

 

[rbentnail]

Have a telescopic pivoting inspection mirror? All the tie wraps and sockets in the world will not prevent the timing chain from skipping a tooth. A detailed search here will reveal this fact- the ONLY way to insure you don't skip a tooth is to follow the timing procedure and check the 3 timing marks. You'll need the previously mentioned mirror to do that. Replace the CCT while the valve cover is off otherwise you'll simply be added to the list of people who followed Fred's advice and screwed it up.

 

[Fred W]

Sorry, but you are wrong, Russ. With a socket tightly stuffed behind the chain guide before you take the CCT out, there is no way in hell the chain will become slack when you do removethe CCTt to replace it. Done it myself several times, and know several others that did the same. No need to pull the valve cover unless you are simultaneously checking the valves. People that had timing problems from changing a CCT took no precautions to restrain the chain.

Of course if you find that you need to adjust shims, youll have to pull the cams, then you absolutely have to re-set the timing.

 

[TomInPA]

When doing the CCT, you will notice a large opening on the inside of the frame, next to the CCT. Cover this with masking tape so that when you drop the CCT bolt, it doesn't fall into the frame.

Best accessory ever! I have had a CCT bolt in my frame for years. Think of it like a Gremlin Bell for the FJR.