I did something stupid

I am rebuilding the engine on my 650 maxim and instead of seperating the valve shim buckets and labeling them I just stuck them all together in a container. How can I make sure that it goes back together correctly? Does it really matter if hey are mixed up going back in?

 

Yes it does matter a lot that everything is in the right place when it is all back together and ready to run. But you have made yourself a LOT of work. You are going to be great friends and very proficient with your feeler gauges and micrometers before everything is in the right place. When it is time to put it together you are going to have to put it together, measure the clearances and shift the shims from place to place and hope the clearances were within tolerance to start with. Trial and error, measure and correct, measure and correct time and again until everything is correct. Good luck and good patience. If you hit it on the first try don't bother with a lottery ticket as you will have used up a life time of luck.

 

The buckets should go back in the bores they came out of; but if that's not possible be sure to check each one's "fit" in the head. Be sure they're slathered in oil first, then slide them up and down, and rotate them in the head and ensure they move smoothly and freely. If you find that one seems a tad tight (or a tad loose) swap them around.

Do you have a factory book? Things like the valve spring coil orientation are important too.

 

well.. regarding the shims, when he checks his clearances he'll end up with a table of clearances vs shim sizes anyway.
so that is no big deal.

Bu the buckets themselves.. hey should be interchangeable yeh?
(ah Fitz you beat me to it while i was fiddling with excel)

btw - my table (which is much much more useful in excel.. which I cant figure out how to link or embed:
1 2 3 4 Intakes
2.65 2.7 2.75 2.7 current Shim
0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 Clear spec
0.08 0.04 0.04 0.10 Clear current

0.04 0.08 0.08 0.02 (=B3-B4)
2.61 2.62 2.67 2.68 (=B2-B6)
2.6 2.6 2.65 2.65 Need (manual rounding)


1 2 3 4 Exhaust
2.75 2.75 2.65 2.7 current Shim
0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 Clear spec
0.06 0.08 0.12 0.12 Clear current


0.12 0.10 0.06 0.06 (=B13-B14)
2.63 2.65 2.59 2.64 (=B12-B17)
2.65 2.65 2.6 2.65 Need (manual rounding)


OR (comparison chart)

1 2 3 4 Intakes
0.08 0.04 0.04 0.10 Clear current
2.64 2.69 2.73 2.7 Current Shim
2.6 2.6 2.65 2.65 Req Pad #

1 2 3 4 Exhaust
0.06 0.08 0.12 0.12 Clear current
2.75 2.73 2.65 2.7 Current Shim
2.65 2.65 260 2.65 Req Pad #



Shim swaps:
Current Shim
1 2 3 4
2.64 2.69 2.73 2.7 I
2.75 2.73 2.65 2.7 E
Need:
2.6 2.6 2.65 2.65 I
2.65 2.65 2.6 2.65 E



Need to buy:
3x 2.65
3x 2.6


I guess what I'm saying is, you had to do all this anyway.

 

The buckets themselves were interchangeable once; when they and the head were brand new. Now, not so much but not a show-stopper either as long as the precautions I outlined are followed.

And as for calculating shim requirements, after a little practice you can do it in your head, no chart required.

 

Thanks for the help everyone! By the time I got to removing the valve springs I was smart enough to seperating them into labeled containers.

 

I wasn't kidding about the valve spring coil orientation. There's a right way and a wrong way to install them.