While checking both intakes & exhaust valve clearances @ 32m I have found that all are at or just below factory specs. EX are at .008 & IN are at .005 or .006. For those who have put more mileage on their 1300's do you find the valve clearances have a tendancy to get larger or smaller as the valve train progressively wears?. I don't want to replace all shims to find out that the normal wear will increase over time and bring them back closer into spec. Thanks for your input
32k Valve Adj Question
- Thread starter 1Bad4cam
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Re: 32M VALVE ADJUSTMENT QUESTION
Generally , they tighten up as the wear place is the valve seat rather than the cam or valve stems .
Generally , they tighten up as the wear place is the valve seat rather than the cam or valve stems .
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Re: 32M VALVE ADJUSTMENT QUESTION
If they are going to move at all they are going to get tighter. By 86,000 miles I had one exhaust measure loose .008" and require reshimming to bring back into spec. While I was at it I reshimmed 4 other exhaust valves that were trending tight (tight .009) from the last check at 65,000 miles so I would hopefully not have to go through the process of adjustment in the future.
Edit update about what happened....... I found the 1 valve under .009" and over .008" during a valve check. The valve and all the others were stable after some movement prior to 65K but had been at .009 for some twenty thousand miles. I did not want to tackle this job and rationalized that Honda probably built some margin into the clearances and since the metric clearance spec is a tiny bit more generous than the english measurement I could wait until the next check at 106,000 miles ( I check mine about 20-22K intervals). I doubled up two thinner gauges and estimated the clearance between .0085 and .009 on the tightest valve (metric spec converts to .0087" IIRC) so I buttoned up the engine and went about my business except I could not let it be. I had done all the other maintenance required to that point and could not not do it so about 600 miles later I adjusted the valves. It wasn't that big of a deal just time consuming as I just about triple checked all my work. I used Mellow's traveling Hot Cam kit and then replaced the shims I took out of Mellow's kit with ones ordered from Honda. I used a small flat blade screwdriver and a small pair of vise grips for the special tool Honda says is required to release cam chain tension. I packed those with the traveling kit so it could be used with the kit for future users.
If they are going to move at all they are going to get tighter. By 86,000 miles I had one exhaust measure loose .008" and require reshimming to bring back into spec. While I was at it I reshimmed 4 other exhaust valves that were trending tight (tight .009) from the last check at 65,000 miles so I would hopefully not have to go through the process of adjustment in the future.
Edit update about what happened....... I found the 1 valve under .009" and over .008" during a valve check. The valve and all the others were stable after some movement prior to 65K but had been at .009 for some twenty thousand miles. I did not want to tackle this job and rationalized that Honda probably built some margin into the clearances and since the metric clearance spec is a tiny bit more generous than the english measurement I could wait until the next check at 106,000 miles ( I check mine about 20-22K intervals). I doubled up two thinner gauges and estimated the clearance between .0085 and .009 on the tightest valve (metric spec converts to .0087" IIRC) so I buttoned up the engine and went about my business except I could not let it be. I had done all the other maintenance required to that point and could not not do it so about 600 miles later I adjusted the valves. It wasn't that big of a deal just time consuming as I just about triple checked all my work. I used Mellow's traveling Hot Cam kit and then replaced the shims I took out of Mellow's kit with ones ordered from Honda. I used a small flat blade screwdriver and a small pair of vise grips for the special tool Honda says is required to release cam chain tension. I packed those with the traveling kit so it could be used with the kit for future users.
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Re: 32M VALVE ADJUSTMENT QUESTION
Many folks recommend running so Sea Foam or similar before measuring and adjusting. Get the carbon out of the equation.
Many folks recommend running so Sea Foam or similar before measuring and adjusting. Get the carbon out of the equation.