Valve Check Help

[TahoeBound]

I do all the maintenance & accessories, but found valve check/adj daunting. After my '04 fiasco w/the dealership, I decided to DIY on my '08. I've got her stripped, but looking at the service manual & Torch's instructions from the other forum, I'm unclear at the actual check. A couple questions:

1) SM says adjust #1 when #1 is TDC & the lobes are turned away & the pickup rotor (a) align with crankcase mating surface . Torch says simply measure when lobe is 180 from valve surface. Those are definitely different & unsure which direction to follow.

 

2) You should be able to measure 1 set of intake and 1 set of exhaust per crank rotation. How do I tell which exhaust to measure - the one with lobes closest to 180 to their valves when the corresponding intake cylinder is in correct place?

 

3) It looks like for #2 I spin the crankshaft 180 degrees from the marks (from #1 TDC starting position), another 180 for #4, then another 180 to do #3 per manual. What exhaust valves correspond to the intake valves of the cylinder I'm checking (similar to question #2)?

 

Hopefully adjustment will not be necessary as that looks pretty tricky. That head gasket looks nasty to put back on & virtually no room to see if is actually on right. My next bike I will be considering ease-of-maintenance, not maintenance intervals as a significant criteria!

 

Thanks for assistance.

 

[MCRIDER007]

1) SM says adjust #1 when #1 is TDC & the lobes are turned away & the pickup rotor (a) align with crankcase mating surface . Torch says simply measure when lobe is 180 from valve surface.

 

 

I vote for Torch's method, I have been adjusting valves that way for almost 40 years...I sure would feel foolish if it turned out I was doing it the wrong way all this time. I think if you look carefully at the cam profile, you will see that there is about a 30 degree area opposite the cam lobe that will give you the same clearance measurement so the cam lobe position isn't quite as critical as the Service Manual would lead you to believe.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

...looking at the service manual & Torch's instructions from the other forum, I'm unclear at the actual check.

It may help to just follow one instruction format (unless your really trying to get your head around what's going on...?)?

A couple questions:1) SM says adjust #1 when #1 is TDC & the lobes are turned away & the pickup rotor (a) align with crankcase mating surface . Torch says simply measure when lobe is 180 from valve surface. Those are definitely different & unsure which direction to follow.

 

2) You should be able to measure 1 set of intake and 1 set of exhaust per crank rotation. How do I tell which exhaust to measure - the one with lobes closest to 180 to their valves when the corresponding intake cylinder is in correct place?

 

3) It looks like for #2 I spin the crankshaft 180 degrees from the marks (from #1 TDC starting position), another 180 for #4, then another 180 to do #3 per manual. What exhaust valves correspond to the intake valves of the cylinder I'm checking (similar to question #2)?

#1 -- What you really want to do is measure the clearance between the cam-lobe base-circle (not the ramp nor the lobe, itself) and the cam follower ("cap").

If you're using the FSM's clearances -- then, using the FSM's directions would seem appropriate. (although, Torch's method probably works just fine...)

When a given cylinder is at TDC of its firing stroke -- all 4 valves are closed and the clearances can be checked.

 

#2 -- see the last sentence of answer #1.

All valve clearances can be checked when the lobe is 180* from its corresponding valve (cam follower) -- but, that's a lot of crankshaft rotating.

 

#3 -- Yes, all clearances can be checked with 4 separate crankshaft rotations to TDC (firing stroke) for each cylinder. See the last sentence of answer #1.

 

What many advise (often) relates to checking the clearances with the least amount of crankshaft rotation -- it can be done with just one rotation: TDC #1, check #1 I. & E., #2 E., and #3 I.; rotate 360* to TDC #4, check #4 I. & E., #3 E., and #2 I.

 

But, if unsure, following the FSM 'explicitly' can do no harm.

 

Hopefully adjustment will not be necessary as that looks pretty tricky. That head gasket looks nasty to put back on & virtually no room to see if is actually on right. My next bike I will be considering ease-of-maintenance, not maintenance intervals as a significant criteria!

 

Thanks for assistance.

valve cover gasket -- and, you've sized it up correctly.

You're not the first to have those thoughts about maintenance...

You're welcome.

 

[escapefjrtist]

'007 summed it up.

With the lobes directly opposite the valve(s) you can measure clearances. IIRC the last time I checked one, you can position the intake lobes rearward 30 degrees and the exhaust lobes approximately 30 degrees forward and check both intake and exhaust on the same cylinder. Think of rabbit ears... Rotate the crank to the next cylinder and orient the lobes the same, and so on.

If you're like most, clearances will be in spec and all is well for another 26K.

Have fun.

--G

 

[HaulinAshe]

Not much to add here except... Check them all at 1800. The order makes no difference, keep it simple! Grab some paper, make a quick chart to record your findings, remove the right side cam chain cover and use a socket&handle to turn the crank. Measure and record as the lobes come up to 180, recording in the chart as you move along.

If you get a reading that is out of spec (with the cam lobe 1800), rotate the crank until the cam rotates another 300 and "relaxes". Check your clearance in both positions and then decide if you are changing shims or not.

I've seen more than one cam with a slight (.0005") variation between the 1800 and 150/2100 areas, where the 180 position was barely in spec and the 150/210 position was well within spec. And I don't re-shim those valves.

 

[BkrK12]

You can also turn the crank by putting the bike in a higher gear and turning the rear wheel with your foot (forward only). One less part to remove and replace.

 

[TahoeBound]

Thanks for the responses, good info. I'm starting to get my head around this. I'll report back & hopefully be able to encourage others who are contemplating this

BTW - these responses get hard-copied & put in my "FJR Notebook"

 

[mattster31]

Thanks for the responses, good info. I'm starting to get my head around this. I'll report back & hopefully be able to encourage others who are contemplating this

BTW - these responses get hard-copied & put in my "FJR Notebook"

I just did mine, and every shim was tight and all were changed (had to buy 9)............then again, I had my motor sitting on my workbench....not in the frame. I don't see what the big deal is when replacing the CCT....it was easy

 

[Greb]

Just did my first valve check at 25K per Torch's instructions. Had two valves out of spec. #1 and #4 RH intake valves were barely out of spec. #1 cylinder the .15 mm feeler was just too tight for comfort and #4 was at .13 mm with a slight drag. I was lucky and only needed to buy one valve pad @ $8.00 since #4's valve pad was perfect size to correct #1!! If I'd heard the advice from Haulinashe sooner I may not have needed to re-shim either.

Very happy I did this myself, learned alot about my bike and paid myself at the same time. Peace of mind to know it was done right and with care.

Hope it goes smooth for you.

 

[TahoeBound]

...Very happy I did this myself, learned alot about my bike and paid myself at the same time. Peace of mind to know it was done right and with care.

Hope it goes smooth for you.

I absolutely concur. I have it all buttoned up & everything looks/sounds good. I'll give it 500-1000 miles though before I declare complete victory :lol: I was lucky, no shims needed. #1 thru #3 intakes all at limit though (.006), #4 @ .007. Exhausts were better & closer to middle values. I measured these things about 100 times, both @ TDC (which allows check for all valves per cylinder at once) and Torch's 180* instructions. All were consistent. I'm still a bit leery of doing an actual adjustment, but would attempt for sure.