Oddball Valve Shim Sizes

[audiowize]

If I wanted to buy 4-5 shims that were 1.88mm and 1.82mm, where would you guys recommend getting them?

 

[MCRIDER007]

If I wanted to buy 4-5 shims that were 1.88mm and 1.82mm, where would you guys recommend getting them?

JakeWilson.com, $1.99 each

 

[RossKean]

Buy 1.90 and 1.85 and use some elbow grease on some wet carbide paper. Should take you between 5 and 10 minutes each, depending on the grit and how far you have to go.

 

[audiowize]

Buy 1.90 and 1.85 and use some elbow grease on some wet carbide paper. Should take you between 5 and 10 minutes each, depending on the grit and how far you have to go.

Then I have to remember to remeasure them when I pull them out next, which means I'll have to measure all of them :/

If I wanted to buy 4-5 shims that were 1.88mm and 1.82mm, where would you guys recommend getting them?

JakeWilson.com, $1.99 each

Thank you, that is exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Fred W]

Buy 1.90 and 1.85 and use some elbow grease on some wet carbide paper. Should take you between 5 and 10 minutes each, depending on the grit and how far you have to go.

Then I have to remember to remeasure them when I pull them out next, which means I'll have to measure all of them :/

That is highly recommended anyway. Would you really trust that the shim is actually the dimension that was printed on it? (That is if the printing hasn't worn off the shim already... )

 

[Brodie]

Go to your Yamaha service department and ask to look in their used shim collection. I bet you will find the exact sizes you need. The factory uses inbetween sizes from what you can get from the parts counter.

Bring your micrometer, and be prepared to pay for the shims you find.

Brodie

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^^Out of likes, but Dayum Brodie. That's some of the best advice evah!!!

 

[escapefjrtist]

^^^Out of likes, but Dayum Brodie. That's some of the best advice evah!!!

Took care of it for ya 'zilla. Agreed...great idea!

--G

 

[RossKean]

Does the 1.88 and 1.82 put you in the middle of the range or a bit in the direction of larger clearance? Just a note that clearances get tighter over time (unless due to something like carbon buildup). If there is a choice, go to the next smaller shim and it will be longer before it needs to be adjusted again. If the smaller shim is in spec, you are good to go.

Due to the fact that my local dealer did not have the needed shims in stock, I ended out using the carbide paper to get exactly what I wanted. I was initially concerned that the shims were surface-hardened and that they would self-destruct during operation. The fact is that this is shim-under-bucket and there really isn't much wear force on the shims. Once I started sanding it was quite apparent that they were not hardened - metal came off way to easy for hardened steel. It could be a very different situation for shims in an engine where there is direct contact with the cams.

As far as I know, the Yamaha factory is the only place to get shims in 0.01mm increments. Any aftermarket ones I have seen are in increments of 0.05mm. (Not saying they aren't available, just that I haven't encountered them). The suggestion of seeing what the dealer shop has in used shims is good if they keep the take-offs.

 

[Fred W]

I have seen some after-market ones in .025mm increments, but forget where.

Like Ross said, you already own some shims that are the exact desired thickness. You just need to spend a little quality sanding time with them.

 

[rbentnail]

The "standard" replacement shims come in .05mm increments, e.g., 1.80, 1.85, 1.90, etc.

Do a little searching at jakewilson.com for "pro-x valve shim" and you'll find them in .025mm increments. So you can get 1.80, 1.825. 1.85, 1.875, 1.90, etc.

 

[rbentnail]

Go to your Yamaha service department and ask to look in their used shim collection. I bet you will find the exact sizes you need. The factory uses inbetween sizes from what you can get from the parts counter.
Bring your micrometer, and be prepared to pay for the shims you find.

Brodie

My Yamaha service department is one place I have religiously avoided since 2009. I'd rather sand down rocks for my engine than set foot in there. JSNS.

 

[audiowize]

I just dropped about $50 at jakewilson.com. I ended up nabbing the odd sizes from 1.725mm-1.875, and an extra 1.85 to round out the kit. I should've done this from the start, as 3/4 of what's in the Hot Cams kit isn't really useful for the FJR.

@Rosskean, I ended up in the situation where maybe I had a 1.92mm shim installed, a 1.90mm shim wouldn't quite get me in spec, and a 1.95mm shim would get me almost out of spec.

I tried going on the loose end of things, looking to set the intake valves I was adjusting to between 0.007" and 0.008", but with those clearances,there was some additional valve train noise that I wasn't super happy with. Going back to just over 0.006" quieted things down. If I'm going to bother measuring them every 25,000 miles or so, it's less than an extra hour to swap out some shims if necessary.

 

[MCRIDER007]

I just dropped about $50 at jakewilson.com. I ended up nabbing the odd sizes from 1.725mm-1.875, and an extra 1.85 to round out the kit. I should've done this from the start, as 3/4 of what's in the Hot Cams kit isn't really useful for the FJR.

I did the same thing when I adjusted the valves on my C14. Fourteen valves were on the tight edge the first time I checked the clearances so I wanted to have the shims on hand when I did the second ckeck. I had a friend's shim kit but it had already been used on 2 other C14s and had many missing shims. I bought 28 shims, mostly in half sizes, and hoped for the best. Nothing had moved, I still had 14 valves on the edge of spec, but I decided to pull the cams and put every clearance on the loose edge. I changed all 16 shims but only used 6 of the 28 shims I bought (they used to cost $1.49 a shim). It only took about 2 hours to pull the cams and change all 16 shims and I think it is a lifetime valve adjustment, especially since none of the shims had moved between the first and second check.

 

[escapefjrtist]

<snip> I just dropped about $50 at jakewilson.com. I ended up nabbing the odd sizes from 1.725mm-1.875, and an extra 1.85 to round out the kit.

Guess who my newest best buddy is...?

Nice work audiowize, you'll have shims for the life of the bike now.

--G

 

[Old Guy]

I have seen some after-market ones in .025mm increments, but forget where.
Like Ross said, you already own some shims that are the exact desired thickness. You just need to spend a little quality sanding time with them.

I have been told, but have not verified, that Honda shops carry them in .025mm increments

 

[RossKean]

@Rosskean, I ended up in the situation where maybe I had a 1.92mm shim installed, a 1.90mm shim wouldn't quite get me in spec, and a 1.95mm shim would get me almost out of spec.

The acceptable interval is 0.07 mm. If it is out of spec, an increment of 0.05 will put it in spec. If the 1.90 is "just" out of spec (loose) and the 1.95 is "almost" out of spec (tight) then the 1.92 is on the wide side of "in spec". In my opinion, that would be ideal (1.92 or 1.93). (Or are you saying that your target was 1.92; not the shim that was in there?)

If I had the cam off anyway, I would change anything that was close on the tight side (0.15mm to 0.18mm clearance) but leave anything on the looser side of acceptable (0.19mm to 0.22mm). Unless there is a deposit buildup on the valves or seats, they will only get tighter, not looser. If I am doing a check and valves are right at the spec (0.15 or 0.22) but nothing exceeding the min or max, I would button it up and revisit when it was time to do the next check. They shouldn't change much in 26,000 miles and there is some + and - tolerance. The specification interval is such that, in Yamaha's estimation, there will not be sufficient change before the next check to cause major problems; even if you are on the edge of acceptable when you check it.

On my first two valve checks (at greater than the recommended mileage intervals), I had intake valves that were very close to, or right on the minimum. When I did my third check (~110,000 miles), some were at less than the minimum so I changed or swapped around a half dozen of the shims to put everything in the upper (looser) side of the acceptance interval. Exhaust valves have always been OK. There is no doubt that finer increments on available shims allows you to put valves closer to the sweet spot. I elected to make custom thicknesses by lapping shims on carbide paper but would have bought them if they had been available locally for a reasonable cost. I wasn't going to leave it apart for a week or more to mail order the needed parts.

Note: My comments with ranges (above) apply to intake valves. The interval (0.07mm) remains the same but the range is different for exhaust valves.

 

[Fred W]

I just dropped about $50 at jakewilson.com. I ended up nabbing the odd sizes from 1.725mm-1.875, and an extra 1.85 to round out the kit. I should've done this from the start, as 3/4 of what's in the Hot Cams kit isn't really useful for the FJR.

We might want to start a poll of what size shims we find in bikes from the factory as a means of better estimating what you are likely to encounter and therefore need to buy.

When I re-shimmed my '05 I found every intake clearance was just under spec (between 0.12 to 0.14mm) and each shim was either a 1.79, 1.80 or 1.81 mm. So, to hit my target of 0.20 mm clearance I ended up needing 8 new shims that were 1.72, 1.73 or 1.74mm. I sanded my shims down to hit my target exactly (within .01mm) but if I had been buying shims guess I could have just used eight 1.75mm shims and that would have put them all back into mid spec range at from 0.17 to 0.19 mm.

I have no idea what the exhaust valve shims are nominally, but suspect that the factory intake shims will usually be near 1.8 mm which means the new shims required will be near 1.75. What have other folks been finding in there?

 

[rbentnail]

I understand the "valve seat wears, clearance gets tighter over time" aspect of the valves but what I've never understood is why folks deliberately set the clearance at the large end of the scale, knowing that the larger the clearance between the cam lobe and the valve the less the valve comes off the seat. I mean, if you even just once per year check (and reshim if needed) the valves, then seat wear from check to check is negligible. So why would you want your valves to open the minimum amount allowed? Me, I set my clearances to the small end of the acceptable range so the valve travels near the maximum allowable. More travel = more intake/exhaust flow = better performance. Yes?

Just my us$.02, it's what I've always done on every engine I've ever owned. Flame on, I don't care!