DIY Valve Adjustment Video

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by etiainen

It's the bolt of the camshaft cover, I don't have a pic right now, cause it's hard to move around in there.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...se_Caution.jpg

It's the red circle on the top left where the thread is stuck inside.

The red circles are the little stand-off thingys, but I assume you mean the bolt hole near it.... If it were mine, I would buy an extraction kit, and go from there. Otherwise you are looking at ebay for a new engine. You COULD look at just the top-end, but IMO you might as well get the whole thing together, as this is a bit simpler and gives you less to mess up. But FIRST try an extraction kit. Take your time to do right (remove engine).

[etiainen]

Yeah, it's the bolt sorry, what do you mean look at the top end only?

[hoodadooda]

Just finished my first valve job, anything in particular I should look out for in the next couple of days? Btw, the bike started fine, but one of the coolant hoses wasn't tightened up enough and some coolant spilled onto the engine. Tightened her up enough to stop the leak +1/8 turn of the wrench, should be fine, right?

One thing is for sure though, I definitely wish I had a garage to work in...

Originally Posted by etiainen

Yeah, it's the bolt sorry, what do you mean look at the top end only?

I think he means the cylinder head where the cams sit and where your bolt broke off.
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...7969#sch580492

Correct me if I'm wrong headshrink

[etiainen]

I have a garage but no working bike

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by hoodadooda

Just finished my first valve job, anything in particular I should look out for in the next couple of days? Btw, the bike started fine, but one of the coolant hoses wasn't tightened up enough and some coolant spilled onto the engine. Tightened her up enough to stop the leak +1/8 turn of the wrench, should be fine, right?

One thing is for sure though, I definitely wish I had a garage to work in...



I think he means the cylinder head where the cams sit and where your bolt broke off.
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...7969#sch580492

Correct me if I'm wrong headshrink

You explained it better than I could.

[etiainen]

Are floor jacks the only way to go to remove the engine? They seem pretty pricey:/

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by etiainen

Are floor jacks the only way to go to remove the engine? They seem pretty pricey:/

Probably... you can get cheapo ones from Walmart or auto parts stores.

[etiainen]

Search time I guess.....

[etiainen]

Think this cheapo jack could work?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by etiainen

Think this cheapo jack could work?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

Yes. Just put a scrap of wood between the jack and motor.
Also, have something worked out to set the engine down on. I've heard some use spare tires. I used a furniture dolly.

[cuong-nutz]

Bumping this up. I'm past due for a valve job....

[Honko]

Originally Posted by hoodadooda

Just finished my first valve job, anything in particular I should look out for in the next couple of days? Btw, the bike started fine, but one of the coolant hoses wasn't tightened up enough and some coolant spilled onto the engine. Tightened her up enough to stop the leak +1/8 turn of the wrench, should be fine, right?

One thing is for sure though, I definitely wish I had a garage to work in...



I think he means the cylinder head where the cams sit and where your bolt broke off.
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmot...7969#sch580492

Correct me if I'm wrong headshrink

Want to help me with mine???

[hoodadooda]

Originally Posted by Honko

Want to help me with mine???

I felt uneasy going into my own engine for this service lol, so not too sure if I would be much help. Just follow these videos to the letter, take your time, and don't put too much force into taking anything out or putting it back in. Also, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a decent torque wrench in inlbs on hand when putting things back together.

Besides that, there has to be someone closer to ya who could assist
We have quite a few members in NoVa AND a handful of them seem to be the mechanic type. cerberusrex25 comes to mind.

[cuong-nutz]

doing my valve lash check right now. The 1T and 2T marks are are pretty hard to see.

[cuong-nutz]

My current valve lash readings:

Exhaust:
.254
.229
.203
.178

Intake:
.178
.203
.152
.152

Question:
so do you only replace the shims if it's out of spec? Wouldn't you want to replace the shim that are on the tight/loose end of spec as well?

[etiainen]

Back to this today, my friend's dropping off a floor jack. Advice/suggestions for engine removal/re-installation, and a time frame of how long this usually takes. I ge the joy of trying to remove that bolt thread too.

[headshrink]

Use the SM, be slow and methodical, don't even think about taking it off the bike without help (you can do everything to that point yourself), have a place prepared to set the removed engine, beer should be drunk cold. The actual removal doesn't take much time.... it is the removal of everything else that is most of the time it will take.

Note: when you remove your engine from the frame, it will flex a little. So when you put it back in, you'll have to sweet talk it a bit to get the mounting bolts to line up. It really isn't that bad though.

[etiainen]

Do I have to remove the engine sprocket bolt? I don't have a 27mm socket. Can I just remove the chain, will that suffice for removing the engine?

[cuong-nutz]

Yes you can remove the chain so you don't have to remove the sprocket.

[alex.s]

why bother taking the enigne out?

[etiainen]

I can't reach the cam cover bolt thread with the frame in the way.

[alex.s]

i see you broke a bolt off in there... sucks

[etiainen]

Finally, some good news, engine dropped today, bolt removed and engine back inside.
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[headshrink]

Great job!

You were able to grab it with something, with no drilling?

[etiainen]

Yeah, luckily, got some small flathead screwdrivers and turned it out
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[headshrink]

Originally Posted by etiainen

Yeah, luckily, got some small flathead screwdrivers and turned it out
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I'm glad it all worked out. It must be nice finishing the valve adjustments out of the frame Now to get the engine back in.....

[paulforaname]

hey all,
well my bike has 20k and got the bike 2nd hand and from memory believe the valve adjustment should be done on the 15k service?? and got it with 16k on it,well its starting to make a rattle at cold idle and think its time, was going to do myself but also half thinking of paying someone else to do it.. I'm in Melbourne Aust and if anyone in Aust knows what I should pay can you let me know so can weight up if to do myself ..even ballpark figure .. Im prety mech minded and so is my bro and dad so between us shouldnt be too many headaches but just dont have the time at the moment and i do my work in my dads garage but he's got a car in pieces at the moment so would have to wait 2 months to do myself and if not too expensive then would prefer to get done asap..

[headshrink]

Send me airfare and I'll do it for free

[etiainen]

I actually only had the jack for the day so I actually put it back in as soon as I got the bolt out..lol
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[etiainen]

So, its possible that in all this engine confusion(the uncovered cam came loose and I had to put it on, that the timing may have gotten messed up. Should I get it back to 2T and have the intake and exhaust marks line up just in case it's off? Will that ensure the timing is correct?

[paulforaname]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Send me airfare and I'll do it for free

i could probably get a life time of valve adjustments for the cost of a return flight from LA to Melbourne .. maybe if you dont mind hopping inside a cardboard box and being posted to Melbourne via UPS then might take you up on your offer ..lol

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by paulforaname

i could probably get a life time of valve adjustments for the cost of a return flight from LA to Melbourne .. maybe if you dont mind hopping inside a cardboard box and being posted to Melbourne via UPS then might take you up on your offer ..lol

Well, I do have a place in NSW, but I don't get there very often. I'd settle for a jet from a local airport, but you'd likely have to wait a few years.


BTW: I've always wondered.... is the 626 based on a real place in Melbourne?

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by etiainen

So, its possible that in all this engine confusion(the uncovered cam came loose and I had to put it on, that the timing may have gotten messed up. Should I get it back to 2T and have the intake and exhaust marks line up just in case it's off? Will that ensure the timing is correct?

Yeah, just got back to 2T and have the cam marks lined up. Just make sure that your chain is tensioned properly so it doesn't slip. So make sure the cam caps are back on and the chain is tensioned and turn it over by hand a few times to make sure it's still in alignment.

[etiainen]

Ok thanks, what do I do if its not in alignment??
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[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by etiainen

Ok thanks, what do I do if its not in alignment??
Posted via Mobile Device

If you positive that the cams are out of alignment (you rotated the crank over twice lining up the marks on 2T) you have to undo the chain tension, remove caps, reposition the cams again so that they align and put the chain back on, tension it, and turn the engine over by hand again and check alignment over.

[headshrink]

It is a pain, but you are going to want to be slow, and methodical. I found that once you tighten down the cam caps, you will want to double-check the chain, because as the caps press the cams into position, the chain can sometime unseat itself..... I really liked the idea of marking your chain for reference. Wish I would have thought of that.

Be as exact as you can. For some reason most of the DIYs point the white dots together, but unless you REALLY understand what it is doing, and the relation to other aspects of timing, I suggest sticking with the manual. I have done both without a problem, but now stick to the book because I loose some of it between valve jobs, forget, and have to relearn.
It may be a good idea to mark the end pins on the chain before you remove it. That way you won't even have to count them when you put it back on.

[etiainen]

Um, one question though, since there are two 2T's, how do I know I've aligned with the correct 2T?

[cuong-nutz]

When you align it, your cam gears will look like this:



Put the exhaust cam in first so that you remove all the slack and then the intake cam.

Per Vex's DIY: "With any 4-stroke engine you'll hit "2|T" TWICE per complete engine cycle. I made sure that I had the engine on "2|T" (which is cylinder #2 at TDC) at the end of i's compression stroke. The camshafts should line up as you can see in the picture above. Notice the two white dots face eachother? Timed!"

[etiainen]

"With any 4-stroke engine you'll hit "2|T" TWICE per complete engine cycle. I made sure that I had the engine on "2|T" (which is cylinder #2 at TDC) at the end of i's compression stroke.

How do I know when I'm at the end of it's compression stroke?

[cuong-nutz]

At the end of the compression stroke is when the piston is at or almost at top dead center. The intake valves and exhaust valves are closed. If you look at the first picture of my previous post, you will noticed that the cam profile (rounded pyramid) is about to compress the exhaust valve open(far end near the cam gear). If you look across from the exhaust cam, you will see that the intake valve has to travel 180* before it opens up again which would be the intake stroke.