Hendo Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Right, I have just got my set of feeler gauges of the snap-on man who lives next door . I have some (possibly stupid) questions; My manual says the valves clearences should be 0.12-0.15mm. Does that mean it can be 0.12,0.13,0.14,0.15mm (any of those) and that would be satisfactory? What would you people be aiming for? I would have thought between 0.13 & 0.14 as these are 'halfway'. Or have I missed something here? And also, I take it the top number on these feeler gauges is the one I need; Any help/wisdom/piss taking greatly recieved. Cheers, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefatman Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Yes, yes As long as its in tolerance its fine. If resetting any of them I tend to go looser as valve clearances normally tighten up with wear. The top number is mm, bottom inches. Last thing is are the inlet and exhaust clearances both 0.12-0.15, exhausts clearances are usually bigger because the exhaust valves run hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDMitch Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Shit! I thought you meant bikes had a numpty valve, presumably to stop them going to fast! I might as well buy a bicycle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Yes, yes As long as its in tolerance its fine. If resetting any of them I tend to go looser as valve clearances normally tighten up with wear. The top number is mm, bottom inches. Last thing is are the inlet and exhaust clearances both 0.12-0.15, exhausts clearances are usually bigger because the exhaust valves run hotter. Cheers thefatman. Yeah, the manual spec'ed inlet and outlet at 0.12-0.15mm. So basically if its less than 0.12mm it needs opened up a bit. If its more than 0.15mm it need closed up a bit. But anywhere inbetween is totally fine? Would you aim to get all valves the same? Or would it matter; say for example- inlet valve 1 was 0.13mm inlet valve 2 was 0.12mm Would you leave it at that or adjust them so they are all the same? First time Ive done valve clearences y'see, not sure of the 'in's and out's' of it. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porter_jamie Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Yes, yes As long as its in tolerance its fine. If resetting any of them I tend to go looser as valve clearances normally tighten up with wear. The top number is mm, bottom inches. Last thing is are the inlet and exhaust clearances both 0.12-0.15, exhausts clearances are usually bigger because the exhaust valves run hotter. other way around isnt it? top is imperial, bottom is metric eg 0.013 is 13 thou, or 0.330mm 1 inch = 25.4mm 0.013 x 25.4 = 0.330 edit spell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 other way around isnt it? top is imperial, bottom is metric eg 0.013 is 13 thou, or 0.330mm 1 inch = 25.4mm 0.013 x 25.4 = 0.330 edit spell Oh bugger, now Im really confused! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Pigdog Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 top is imperial-bottom is metric!!!!dont get them mixed up or your bike will sound like michael flatley! Just to add i normally get it just within the stated tolerances i.e. dont worry if one is 0.13 and the other is 0.14.Miles better to be doing your own as i've met a few bike mechanics that just can't be bothered if its just one valve out -which pretty much defeats the point of even having them done!! If you are removing the cam to set the valve gaps then if there are any on the low end of tolerance then ill often change it to the next shim. A handy aid i find is to paint a small reference mark with tippex or something on the camchain and cam sprocket to ensure theyre re installed the same as they were removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 top is imperial-bottom is metric!!!!dont get them mixed up or your bike will sound like michael flatley! Just to add i normally get it just within the stated tolerances i.e. dont worry if one is 0.13 and the other is 0.14.Miles better to be doing your own as i've met a few bike mechanics that just can't be bothered if its just one valve out -which pretty much defeats the point of even having them done!! If you are removing the cam to set the valve gaps then if there are any on the low end of tolerance then ill often change it to the next shim. A handy aid i find is to paint a small reference mark with tippex or something on the camchain and cam sprocket to ensure theyre re installed the same as they were removed. Cheers Mr Pigdog. I wont be taking the cam out, as it has adjusters and locknuts, no shims as far as Im aware. And its only a 4valve head so it shouldnt take me too long to do. Thats why I was wondering if I should try and get them all the same, its not as if I have 16 of them to do lol. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomfoolery Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Ah, adjusters and locknuts are a breeze. I did the valves on my old Bandit one afternoon, the first ever big job on a bike. Will be doing the GS next week, same deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurninman Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 As said before, use the bottom figure... Screw and locknuts - easiest thing in the world to set Used to take me an hour or so to do the clearances on my gixxer 750 - to do the same on my ZX-9, it takes between 6 and 8 hours cos it has shims and the cams have to come out and it takes hours to get everything off before you can even get to the valves and............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Muff Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Fuck that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgvneil Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 If you're doing a KTM be patient; they are little buggers to get to properly but once you've done a few they're quite straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Well, they are done, managed to snap my feeler gauge in the process aswell so will need a new on for next time. Back ones (inlets) were fine, but the front ones (exhaust) were ever so slightly tighter. I have just left them as to be honest, it is a fucking nightmare getting in to them and they were all within tolerances. Thanks for all the info people, Im not looking forward to checking them again. Thank fook I didnt have 16 of them to do! Andy Oh, and dont ever forget to put the oil cap back on your engine before starting it. Ive just succeded to cover everything including my garage roof/tools/face with oil! do'h! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark/Foggy Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Word of caution on those exhaust clearances, the intuitive point of view is that clearances grow larger over time. Exhausts have a habit of closing up as the majority of the wear on some motors is in the valve seat as the valve slams shut, called regression. Eventually you can run out of compression completely. Not an issue at the moment though, just clock the clearance next time you check it for an idea of the rate that it's moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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