valve clearance time ?

670 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by RedAndBlack, Mar 30, 2015

Tonysoup

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2015

Hey guys, how do i know when its time to do my valve clearances?

the bike is at 37000 ks. i can hear a bit of a tic at idle but maybe im being pedantic.

are there any pitfalls to doing the job? it looks pretty straight forward, just a little time consuming.

cheers..!

Tony

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Tonysoup

Discussion Starter · #2 · Mar 29, 2015

2009 zx6r

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woz

· #3 · Mar 29, 2015

Typical rule of thumb is, if you reckon its about time to do valve clearances, its probably well overdue

Its not a job for everyone. Any mistake on reassembly can blow away any savings (and often considerably more), so just be extremely careful..

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oldninjadude

· #4 · Mar 29, 2015

Well what does the book say? You should look there first. Im sure even the little owners manual will have that info.

Something to keep in mind, All cold engines are going to tick louder. They make noise.

Doing the valves is not for everybody. There really is not a whole lot to it, But there is no room for error.
None. One little mistake & you could do thousands in damages.

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Tonysoup

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 30, 2015

ill be sweet. have done quite a few hrs on the tools

book says every 25k i think. but i can hear some tap tap tappy so maybe its time.

cheers

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riverszzr

· #6 · Mar 30, 2015

You're at 37k, book says 25k

So what is the question again?

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Reactions: 1

40acres

· #7 · Mar 30, 2015

riverszzr said:
You're at 37k, book says 25k

So what is the question again?

:headbang:

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RedAndBlack

· #8 · Mar 30, 2015

Kind of depends how much you're getting charged for it. My mechanic only charges me $200 to check and I think tacks on another $50 if they need adjustment. For that price, in my opinion, its better just to let somebody else do it.

But for some of the prices I've heard on hear like just the other day when the stealership was going to charge this guy $600, I could assure you if I was getting charged that much, I would do my own damn valves. Lol.

I've always been told its fairly easy, just time consuming and a little tedious.

And yes, at 37k, youre well overdue. Keep up on that maintenance. You're valves have probably been out of wack for years now and your basically slowly driving the engine into the ground by neglecting it. A tight exhaust valve can burn out and a possible worse case scenario is a seized cam. Stay on it!

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trackdayhero

· #9 · Mar 30, 2015

Tonysoup said:
ill be sweet. have done quite a few hrs on the tools

book says every 25k i think. but i can hear some tap tap tappy so maybe its time.

cheers

The tappy tap you hear is not likely because you are due a valve clearance check, that would just be cam chain noise you are hearing. You'll find when you do your clearance that the gaps will have tighted up, not loosened like you would think.

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riverszzr

· #10 · Mar 30, 2015

RedAndBlack said:
Kind of depends how much you're getting charged for it. My mechanic only charges me $200 to check and I think tacks on another $50 if they need adjustment. For that price, in my opinion, its better just to let somebody else do it.

But for some of the prices I've heard on hear like just the other day when the stealership was going to charge this guy $600, I could assure you if I was getting charged that much, I would do my own damn valves. Lol.

I've always been told its fairly easy, just time consuming and a little tedious.

And yes, at 37k, youre well overdue. Keep up on that maintenance. You're valves have probably been out of wack for years now and your basically slowly driving the engine into the ground by neglecting it. A tight exhaust valve can burn out and a possible worse case scenario is a seized cam. Stay on it!

That $200, is that simply check the clearances and nothing more?

the extra, is that just to adjust them and nothing more- what about the cost of shims?

And to compare the above with a fully comprehensive tune up service that does about 40 more things and say $600 (including parts) is a rip off is assanine.......... there is no comparison between the two.

Yes $600 is high, most the time I am at about $450 with parts, but there are bikes $600 is the norm, hell I do Ducati's rarely/sometimes and those are never under $1200, never !

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RedAndBlack

· #11 · Mar 30, 2015

riverszzr said:
That $200, is that simply check the clearances and nothing more?

the extra, is that just to adjust them and nothing more- what about the cost of shims?

And to compare the above with a fully comprehensive tune up service that does about 40 more things and say $600 (including parts) is a rip off is assanine.......... there is no comparison between the two.

Yes $600 is high, most the time I am at about $450 with parts, but there are bikes $600 is the norm, hell I do Ducati's rarely/sometimes and those are never under $1200, never !

Yup, $200 just to check and like $50 if they need adjustment which has been everytime so far. I never heard him mentioning extra for the shims.

He does hook me up though. I throw him a ton of referrals in a very competitive SoCal market.

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