valve adjusting

Hi, I own a 1984 kawasaki kz 700 which has 9000 original miles and is near mint, the bike runs great and i am greatly satisfied with it, however there is a small valve "tap" in the top end (only noticeable when idleing) and from what i understand these valve use "shimes," so to adjust the vlaves i would have to get new shimes? i took it to the local kawasaki dealer and they want 450 bucks to fix this problem, i am mechanically incline but i am afraid to tear into this engine because for one i dont know if it is worth fixing considering it still runs good and for two i am not familiar with DOHC setups.

Normal wear makes the shim-gap smaller. Typically, the ticking is not from the shim-gap out of tolerance, but can be chain adjuster or the chain is stretched.

I suppose if something non-normal is happening, the gap may have increased and caused ticking, but I've never seen that happen.

And just to pile on to what Lou wrote, the old adage (for many people, not all) is that ticking is usually good, silence is usually bad. That's because ticking means plenty of clearance, where silence can mean reasonable to no clearance. No clearance, or very little clearance, is bad.
But consider that the ticking could be caused by myriad other things, including exhaust leak (believe it or not)...

what does it mean when there is no clearance. I am currently doing a valve checking for some ticking, and one of the clearances is less than .04.I don't have a gauge lower than that.

Joe wrote:

what does it mean when there is no clearance. I am currently doing a valve checking for some ticking, and one of the clearances is less than .04.I don't have a gauge lower than that.

No clearance is bad for a few reasons, most importantly that heat can no longer be dissipated properly (because they are always in contact) and parts can warp.
Because of expansion while hot, the valve will no longer close/seat properly, causing more poor running.
As Mr. Garrisson would say, "It's bad, m'kay..."
:laugh:

so how do i correct that. thinner shims?
Joe

Post edited by: Joe, at: 2007/03/18 13:48

Joe wrote:

so how do i correct that. thinner shims?
Joe<br><br>Post edited by: Joe, at: 2007/03/18 13:48

In a nutshell, yes.

Best thing I can suggest to keep your re-shimming costs down is this:
Measure the clearances, then remove and measure the shims themselves (don't rely on the size printed on the shim). Using an old egg carton is good for keeping the shims/buckets organized so as not to mix them up.
Figure out which valve needs what size shim, then just mix-n-match till you are down to only needing to actually replace as few shims as possible.

Whatever you do, do NOT sand/grind/file the shims down to achieve a desired size. They are hardened, and doing any type of thinning to them compromises the structural integrity of the metal and can possibly cause them to shatter.
They're cheap enough at about $5~$6 each to not be skimping here. In fact, some shops are even willing to swap shims for a small fee.

3rd down on this page is a handy Excel sheet to figure out what size shims you need compared to what you have, in order to obtain proper clearance.