Different shim measurements?

I just measured all of my valve clearances. (wired, i didn't torque down the cam shaft bolts yet, but i'm certainly going to re-measure when I do that.

Simple question: is it normal for the shims to be worn to different amounts? I've got one with 0.03 (below service level), two right at the bottom of the range (~0.052) and one that's up at ~0.067.

Does this make sense??? :blink:


(Also, I suppose I have to take all of the shims out to see what size they are before I go buying the new ones. D'OH!)

Not unusual at all, I just did the valves on a 79 750 twin and only needed to change one shim (#2 exhaust).

And yes you have to take the shims out to see what size they are, the size is on the bottom, and be sure to put the new shims in the same way (numbers on the bottom) or the cam lobes will wipe the numbers off.

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/08/28 18:34

steell wrote:

Not unusual at all, I just did the valves on a 79 750 twin and only needed to change one shim....

Me too...
I'm going to re-check them all in the winter when it's below freezing out...

Measuring the valve clearance without retorquing the cam cap bolts isn't very helpful. You will, in any event, get different clearances. This is normal.

Ok, so on the topic of torquing down those cam shaft cap bolts...

The image shows the service manual's tightening order. I don't want to fudge this up so I'm asking.

Do the numbers listed just apply to the front-side cam? Should I use the same order for the backside cam? The diagram es muy confusing!!!

Post edited by: mind2find, at: 2006/09/01 13:46

I believe it applies to both cams.

mind2find wrote:

...Do the numbers listed just apply to the front-side cam? Should I use the same order for the backside cam?...

I'm not 100% certain, and I'm no mechanic, but since the thing is basically the same no matter which way you flip it around, I'd say you're fine as long as you do this:
1.) front and back of one inside cam cap.
2.) front and back of the other inside cam cap.
3.) front and back of one outside cam cap, the same side of the engine as the one in step 1.
4.) front and back of the other outside cam cap, the same side of the engine as the one in step 2.
.... I could be wrong... any experts out there agree/disagree?