too tight valves clearance

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

lele

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
201
Reaction score
23
Location
Italy (Modena)
ok

after read your comments on my post of yesterday ( thank you!!) about fuel consumption, this morning I start to remove the tank of my GEN I fjr...after removing the head cover I check the clearance of each piston set of valves.

the big surprise is that almost every valve clearance is tight (intake < 0,15mm) (exhaust <0,18) F****ING HELL!!!

is it possible that a bike with 98000km had never been serviced on this?

is the high fuel consumption the result of this?

anyway I think I found an error on the service manual:

in the chapter 3.17 it say to check each piston set of valves and rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise for the next set...but I think you must turn it clockwise (sure)

now I got a lot of work!!

ciao

 
ok

after read your comments on my post of yesterday ( thank you!!) about fuel consumption, this morning I start to remove the tank of my GEN I fjr...after removing the head cover I check the clearance of each piston set of valves.

the big surprise is that almost every valve clearance is tight (intake < 0,15mm) (exhaust <0,18) F****ING HELL!!!

is it possible that a bike with 98000km had never been serviced on this?

is the high fuel consumption the result of this?

anyway I think I found an error on the service manual:

in the chapter 3.17 it say to check each piston set of valves and rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise for the next set...but I think you must turn it clockwise (sure)

now I got a lot of work!!

ciao
You are correct in thinking that the crankshaft should be rotated clockwise. Both the text and photo in my Gen II manual shows clockwise as the correct rotation. The next question is going to be if the valves are tight then what is the likelihood of burnt exhaust valves. I'm not too surprised that the valves are tight if the valves had never been previously checked in 98,000 km. The valves are probably still OK since most FJR valves are within spec on the first check at 40,000 km.

I would correct the clearances and if you have the time check compression and perform a leakdown test. If everything checks out OK you are probably OK to go. There are a number of threads on here on performing the valve checks and I have a spreadsheet that you can download that will help with figuring out which shims will be required to bring the valve clearances back into spec.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Valve Clearance Spreadsheet

You can read about using the spreadsheet on the following thread - An Excel Valve Clearance Spreadsheet

Good luck with your project.

 
ok

after read your comments on my post of yesterday ( thank you!!) about fuel consumption, this morning I start to remove the tank of my GEN I fjr...after removing the head cover I check the clearance of each piston set of valves.

the big surprise is that almost every valve clearance is tight (intake < 0,15mm) (exhaust <0,18) F****ING HELL!!!

is it possible that a bike with 98000km had never been serviced on this?

is the high fuel consumption the result of this?

anyway I think I found an error on the service manual:

in the chapter 3.17 it say to check each piston set of valves and rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise for the next set...but I think you must turn it clockwise (sure)

now I got a lot of work!!

ciao
You are correct in thinking that the crankshaft should be rotated clockwise. Both the text and photo in my Gen II manual shows clockwise as the correct rotation. The next question is going to be if the valves are tight then what is the likelihood of burnt exhaust valves. I'm not too surprised that the valves are tight if the valves had never been previously checked in 98,000 km. The valves are probably still OK since most FJR valves are within spec on the first check at 40,000 km.

I would correct the clearances and if you have the time check compression and perform a leakdown test. If everything checks out OK you are probably OK to go. There are a number of threads on here on performing the valve checks and I have a spreadsheet that you can download that will help with figuring out which shims will be required to bring the valve clearances back into spec.

You can download the spreadsheet here:

Valve Clearance Spreadsheet

You can read about using the spreadsheet on the following thread - An Excel Valve Clearance Spreadsheet

Good luck with your project.
thank you for the reply..

my project is to sand any out of spec shims, no way I go to pay 10 € for each!!

 
thank you for the reply..

my project is to sand any out of spec shims, no way I go to pay 10 € for each!!
That seems to be VERY expensive for shims. Lots of places you can order shims for a lot less money. This is one I found but there are others.

https://www.cyclebuy.com/shopping/hotcams/shimkits_948.htm

141 shims for $80.00 or individual shims for $5.00 each.

You can probably reduce the number of new shims you need by swapping some of them from one position to another.

Ross

 
thank you for the reply..

my project is to sand any out of spec shims, no way I go to pay 10 € for each!!
Be aware that the shims are case hardened and if you remove too much it may weaken the face of the shim. If you only need a thou or so it is not a problem. If you need to remove more than 5 thousandths I wouldn't go there personally. The other issue would be keeping the face of the shim square. I would not attempt this unless I had something like a lapping block.

There are aftermarket shims available as Ross mentioned, but the bike will be down for a time while you wait on parts unfortunately. Also as Ross mentioned measure all your shims first since you may be able to swap some of the shims around thereby saving yourself some time & money.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just in case you didn't see the excelent tutorials of valve clearance checks and adjustments, be sure to read the "FJR1300 Valve Adjustment", and the helpful follow-up by Fred "Notes on Valve Clearance Check".

Several members have chimed in they didn't need adjustments on their valve trains. That is hardly useful if you are the one that NEEDS to do an adjustment. About 12% of members responding to a Survey have had to make valve adjustements in the first AND second valve check (24% total?). You are not alone, and this service should not be overlooked.

Finally, if you have noticed noise from your timing chain slapping, you should consider installing the new Cam Chain Tensioner. This is a much improved part from the early CCT and can prevent a catastrophic loss that would occur if your timing should slip.RadioHowie can tell you all about it. Regardless if you change the CCT be VERY careful to ensure your timing is correct when you reassemble the cams.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Agreed, I would not attempt grinding or sanding shims. There are shim kits available, and if all your clearances are too small you'll have to change them all, with no swapping likely. You can buy individual shims also from non-OEM sources much cheaper.... one such is mentioned here

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=139270&st=0&p=877850&hl=shims&fromsearch=1entry877850

If you have time, remove/measure your shims to see what sizes you need before ordering.
ok probably I'll buy from there if they ship in Italy

thank you

 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you choose to grind the shims, install the ground side up under the bucket. This is the same size as bucket. Valve side is smaller, less contact area.

I've done this before, never kept the bike long enough for a second valve adjustment????? Don't know the long term effects on shims after grinding.

My 05 had at least 5 tight ones at 28k.

Shim kits will have many you won't ever use. FJR 180-190 sizes mostly. Buy what you need cheaper.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The shims are not hardened. They sand down quite easily.

They sit on top of the valve stem and under the bucket. The bucket is much larger than the shim. The shim is about twice the diameter of the valve stem. There is no wear on the shim to speak of from either side.

You would want to be sure that you finish your sanding using a very fine grit paper so you don't leave a rough surface that would later get knocked down by repeated pressure. Even if that did happen it would result in a slight;y larger than intended clearance gap, which is the safer way to err anyway.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I did all my valves in late 2015. Swapped some around and sanded six to put all valves a couple of hundredths of a mm from too loose. I checked them again in December of 2016 because I had pinched the valve cover gasket and checked since I was in there anyway. One valve had loosened up by one hundredth mm. Fred W helped me with some sage advice on the sanding process and it was pretty easy. Use multiple grades of paper, finish with very fine grit, sand on a glass surface and measure often.

 
Loads of respect to anyone who can do this stuff. Sand, check, resand?

My gawd man, you have a lot of patience.

 
It's not all that bad. I did all 8 of my intake valves in a little over an hour, taking my time.

The big advantage was that I could park them all near the 70th percentile of the spec range (target of 0.20mm with spec range of 0.15 - .022mm ) and hit it within .01mm. That way I know that (in all likelihood) I'll never have to re-shim those ever again.

Even though Yamaha installs shims at .01mm increments from the factory, they only sell replacement shims in .05mm increments, so they end up being spread around randomly throughout the .07mm spec range.

The factory shims that I took out measured between 1.79 and 1.81mm thicknesses, and the ones I installed after sanding were from 1.72 to 1.74mm. If I used the standard replacement shims I'd have had to put in eight 1.75mm shims, and the clearances would have been scattered from 0.17 to 0.20mm. In a couple of more years the 0.17 would probably have worn past the lower limit again. Instead they were all 0.20 or 0.21mm and will probably never hit the lower limit again.

 
In my last check, I ended out adjusting most of the intake shims by sanding. Only 2 were below spec but I put them all to about 2/3 of maximum. Sanding and frequent rechecks took maybe 1.5 hours. Used a digital caliper rather than micrometer. Good enough and much faster. As Fred mentioned, these shims aren't hardened.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

Top