Valve clearance adjustment

[Neophyte]

From what I can recall, the valve clearance adjustment on the Firestorm is done by using shims. Is that correct? If so, does Honda sell it in a kit or do you have to ask for specific size/thckness? What must the correct clearance be?

I've got a noize on the rear cyl head which I think must be the valves. It's a light knonking/tapping sound. Does that sound like just the valve clearance?

[bunnybouy]

i only went to the dealer on sunday and asked the same question,
they said they dont do a kit you need to order what ever size is required.

which is is a pain cuz you have to strip it to get the sizes and hope they have them im stock. which means you have to do the job twice or your bike is of the road while you wait for parts

hope this helps or does anyone if there is a kit availible

jay

ps oh yes it is shims

[EggShellBlond]

will the tolerances/sizes be listed in Haynes Manual ?

I'll have a look for you ?

[EggShellBlond]

OK.....................I Quote from specification in Haynes

Valve Clearances ( COLD engine )
Intake valves 0.13 to 0.19mm
Exhaust valves 0.28 to 0.34 mm

From 16,000 mile service

" A size mark should be stamped on one face of the shim- a shim marked 175 is 1.75 mm thick. If the mark is not visible the shim thickness will have to be measured. It isrecommended that the shim is measured any way to check that it has not worn........

Calculate the required replacement shim by using the formula ;

a= b - c + d

where "a" is the required shim size
"b" is the measured valve clearance
"c" is the specified valve clearance
and "d" is the existing shim thickness

Does this help

There is an example given of the calculation , but my fingers knackered

( I bet someones already answered , & I've one fingered this for nowt !!!

PLEASE PLEASE note this is NOT from personal experience , just read and typed out

[Neophyte]

Thank you EggShellBlond! I appreciate it very much. Yes, I fully understand and it does help a great deal. Does the Haynes manual perhaps specify if I need special tools that one would normally not have in your toolbox?

Yeah it is a bit of a bummer if they don't sell the shims in kit form because I use my 'Storm to get to work every day. Traffic is too much a pain in the back with the car as my trip is 48km one way.

[jstring]

I recently reset my valve clearances. The only specialist tool required is something to retract the camchain tensioners. If you have ever replaced your CCTs you will have the small key shaped tool required. Otherwise you could make one from some sheet steel (Haynes manual has instructions) or use a suitable screwdriver (you may need an understanding frind to hold this whilst you withdraw the cams). Other than that, all you need is a decent torque wrench and possibly a micrometer (and an egg box (dozen eggs)).

I will explain. This was necessary for me because the size stampings had worn off every shim . I don't own a micrometer but my friendly Honda dealer measured all the existing shims and even double checked my maths after I had done all the calculations that EggShellBlonde has kindly typed out. The egg box was to store all of the buckets and shims so that didn't get mixed up whilst transporting the things. (I just lablled the individual wells 'front cylinder,LH, EXT and front cylinder RH inlet etc). This could be a useful tip whether you have to transport the whole lot or not, as there is no point taking all these accurate measurements and then mixing up all the buckets! And besides, I like eggs. I did buy myself a decent set of feeler guages and this was a good investment.

It is true that Honda dealers do not tend to stock large quantities of shims (at least not in the UK). My dealer told me that they did a stock take once and discovered that they had about £4000 worth of shims in stock. Hence I had to wait a day for delivery. Which leads me to my final point. The shims are fearsomely expensive for a tiny disk of metal - about £5 each!

[Pete.L]

Just a thought Guys.
I was always under the impression that as the valve wears it normally seats itself further into the head which would inturn reduces the gap between the bucket and cam lobe making the tapping less. Normal tappets get louder as they wear and the gap gets bigger.
Try putting a little tension on the adjuster screw inside the cam tensioner and see if the noise disappears. It could be on its way out.
Pete.l

[Neophyte]

Would any of you guys that's got a manual perhaps go through the trouble of scanning and e-mailing me the pages which explain the whole procedure of checking and adjusting the valve clearances. I don't want to start stripping stuff if I don't know in what to strip and in what order to do it.

I'd really appreciate it!

[iggy1966]

Hi neophyte

I have the mabual on CD so I'll try and email you it later today may be tommorrow morning, might have to do a bit of messing around with it to get it to a size where it can be emailed.

Ian

[Neophyte]

Thanks Ian, I'd really appreciate it.

Jacques

[Mallebollia]

OK.....................I Quote from specification in Haynes

Valve Clearances ( COLD engine )
Intake valves 0.13 to 0.19mm
Exhaust valves 0.28 to 0.34 mm


...

I know the post is old, but can you guys confirm the numbers?

[tony.mon]

Correct.

[jchesshyre]

Although when I do my valves I work within the ±0.03 mm tolerance, in my copy of the manual (which is from this site) no tolerance range is given: . The later model addenda are the same, no tolerance range given.

The Honda manual for my other bike, 1997 CB500, gives a tolerance (although it's ±0.02 mm).

Anyone know where the 0.03 mm leeway comes from?

[tony.mon]

Haynes gives the plus/minus .03