Problems after valve adjustment...thoughts?

All,
I adjusted my valves today and had to change shims in three of the four exhaust valves. I used the zip-tie method to hold the valve down while changing the shims. I've done this before with no issues.
Strangely enough now I have no compression on the same three cylinders I changed shims on AND the clearance is way larger than tolerance... I even put one of the original shims back in and of course that makes no difference.
I thought that I might have knocked a piece of carbon loose and it found it's way between the valve and the seat...but on all three of them?
I've spun the engine over (using the starter) for about a minute and everything is moving fine. I blew compressed air in the cylinder and as much as I could get above the valve through the spark plug hole in an attempt to blow away anything that might have been lodged up in there....on all three valves. No luck.
The only thing I could think of is could I have possibly bent the valves (all three) by blocking them open with the zip tie? I never had to force any thing and it seems like the zip-tie thing is a pretty common practice...
Something is causing three of the valves not to seat all the way...but what would it be?
Is there a chemical I might be able to squirt in there that might dissolve any carbon buildup that might be causing problems?
I hate the idea of having the pull the head off to resolve this...but I'm running out of ideas...
Any thoughts??
'82 XJ1100J

 

And I guess my next question might be can the head be removed on an '82 XJ1100 without pulling the engine. It looks close if I remove the cams and timing chain sprockets there might be just enough room...
I'm not sure how I would pull the whole engine...how do you lift it out?

 

I wouldn't pull the head just yet.

What is the condition of your zip tie? Any chance you've got bits of zip tie stuck to the valve seats?

 

I don't see that I lost any of it. And I doubt I would have lost a chuck on three different valves and not caught it.

 

My WAG of the night is that the valve guides have worn enough that the ziptie pushed the stem to the side and caused it to bind.

 

what size shim did you take out/ put in ?......just so you didn't go the wrong way
before you pull the head, take out the cam and buckets, have a look at the retainers and keepers.

 

Or the shims didn't seat themselves all they way down in the bore, but even that wouldn't really make sense either.....

 

then he would have less clearance. put your thumb over the plug hole and crank it to see if the valve closes and makes pressure

 

Zero pressure in the three I changed shims on...using both thumb and gauge.
I now have as much as .018" between the cam and shim... I even put an origunal shim back in and the valves still are not closing all the way and sealing.
Good idea pulling the cams and looking in at the springs and keepers from the top. I may pull the exhaust and look in through the port too.
It all has to come off if I end up having to remover the head any way.
Does anyone know if I can pull the head on this machine without removing the engine???

 

Yeah I know ...... That's why I said it wouldn't make sense though. I'm taking stab at thoughts. IF the shim is sitting cock-eyed, the cam could conceivably hold the valve open on one edge of the shim and still allow the feeler to slide by on the other edge ..... Again,just stabbing in the dark

 

According to the manual it is possible to remove the head and the cylinders without removing the engine from the frame.
I'll try and upload the pages to here but if not would you like me to send you a copy of the PDF file?

Ah, it said the file was too big to upload here, so PM me if you want ta copy.

 

I have the manual, I just haven't read that parr yet, but thank you.
I am surprised that it says you can do that in the manual. Most often they don't say one way or rhe other. Big relief though!

 

So I pulled the exhaust today and looked up into the exhaust ports. When shining a bright flashlight into the spark plug holes I could see just a little sliver of light on one spot on each of the valves where I have put the zip-tie. I got out some bore cleaning brushes and both brake cleaner and WD-40 and tried to brush out the area between the valve and the seat a bit using both the brake cleaner and the WD-40 and neither had much effect enough that I couldn't still see the little bit of light.
All I can think of is that either I have somehow scratch the sealing surface or more likely have scratched the carbon around it loose and created a bit of a gap on each valve....so I pulled the head.
After pulling the head I pulled one of the valves. I don't see any scaring or obvious issues on either the valve or the seat as least not on the one valve I pulled so far...but there is about a 1/16" of carbon on just about every surface. I can see how it could have very easily held the valves open slightly.
Next question is what to do next? Full valve job? Clean it up and put it back together? Take it to a machine shop and see what they think?
The damned head gaskets are over $100 on Ebay...and apparently not available from the dealers any longer so I suppose I don't want to put it back together until I'm 100% sure it's functional... Then I start thinking about one of the hose 1200 big bore kits or at least new rings if I can find them while I have it apart... What a mess!
Ultimately the bike is old and I not happy with the idea of spending a ton of money essentially doing a top end on it...and still having an old bike.
Anyone have a used head around that is still in good shape?? There's one on Ebay...but who knows what condition it might be in.
Hummm....

 

Clean and lap the valves. Unless the valve seats are worn, or the valves themselves damaged, you don't need a machine shop. May as well replace the guides and valve seals while you have the valves out.

Check with Chacal to see if he has a source for new or NOS head gaskets. If not you can use aluminum paint (containing aluminum solids), or Permatex 80697 to coat the old head gasket for reuse unless it's got holes burnt in it.

 

What is the best way to remove the carbon?
Is there a chemical or solvent that does a good job of loosening it up?
My old gasket it probably trashed.

 

Soak em' overnight in Seafoam carbon and rust remover (local auto parts store) then use a brass wire brush chucked in a drill. After brushing wet sand with a bit of the Seafoam. It'll come right off.

Gary H.

 

sounds like you may have bent the valves. if the zip tie was very thick the pistons could have hit the valves when held open. look on the pistons for fresh marks from the valves. you will probably have to replace the valves to remedy the issue.

FU

 

That's what I thought too but the one valve I took out I can sit it back in the whole and rotate it and it doesn't appear to move at all.
I already looked at the pistons and I don't see so much as a knick.
I'll check to others the same way.

 

Roll the valve you removed on a known flat surface like a thick piece of plate glass. If it's bent you'll know.

Gary H.

 

All valves out, clean and double check for bent, then lap & back together with new stem seals if your fussy (they're cheap) and button it back up - i'd even use the old head gasket at that price. If you get decent compression you can run it or maybe it will give some confidence to tackle the big bore update later - new rings (if you can find them) will make your eyes water. For teh 550 they're about 50 US per pot.

 

A100man,
Yah that's the direction I'm leaning.
The bike is old (although I have put a lot of work into it in other places) and to be honest I just don't like it enough to justify spending a grand or more to make a fire-breather out of it.
Much rather put the money into a different bike.
I just want to get it running again and ride it until something better comes around.