tips on valves

[skip]

I have an 09 with 42000 MILES and I don't know where to start or how to adjust valves would appreciate a how to possibly step by step simple guide on how to adjust them I've checked this sites other section still confused. Please and thank you

[Lazarus]

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9924

This is the one I used. Took me a weekend to do the adjustment. Saturday to get it all apart, Sunday to measure and put it all back together. Don't remove the CCT first though. That doesn't need to be removed till the cams have to come out.

If you are still confused after viewing all the how to's maybe it's best to have a shop service them?

[Ralgha]

Lazarus posted the link for adjusting the valves, here is the link for checking them: https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9787

Follow that one first, then, if they need adjusting, follow the adjusting post.

It looks intimidating, but if you take your time it's not bad. Be careful not to drop anything into the engine, and be careful to put the cams back in with the correct timing. Other than those two things, there's not too much to catastrophically screw up. Give yourself plenty of time so you don't get rushed and make a mistake.

[Momaru]

Originally Posted by Ralgha

It looks intimidating, but if you take your time it's not bad. Be careful not to drop anything into the engine, and be careful to put the cams back in with the correct timing. Other than those two things, there's not too much to catastrophically screw up. Give yourself plenty of time so you don't get rushed and make a mistake.

+1 Done it a bunch of times now. Just take your time, take notes and photos as you go. Maybe find a youtube or two on reading feeler gauges - that takes some practice to do right.

One more thing to avoid major headaches:
Clean off your engine top-end cover (the part the spark plug boots go into).

Do it before removing the spark plug boots and definitely before opening the top end. The one and only I've let a shop work on my ninjette, they didn't clean it, and I didn't know to before giving it to them. They dumped and left about shotglass full of sand & gravel into the top end, which I spent the next week cleaning out of the engine & gearbox.

[Bluberryrain]

I just did this on an 09 not too long ago.

Feel free to PM me with questions/issues.

It's really not THAT bad. I guarantee with that many miles you're going to have to adjust.

Just go slow, and follow the guides on here to a T. Do NOT remove the cct first, and remember that once you do remove it, do not turn the engine without manually keeping tension on the chain with your hand.

I made that mistake and it was a real hassle to sort it out.

Also, do not remove the cam caps unless the engine is at TDC. This will cause the cam lobes to push down on the valve buckets, and when you start to remove the cam cap bolts, you'll get pressure on the caps, which will bind the dowel pins. Once those are bound, it becomes very stressful to remove the cam caps without cracking them. There's a thread on here where a guy did exactly what I just said not to do, and cracked the caps. If you crack them, you'll have to get a whole new head since they are machined together.

So, again, the most important thing while doing the job is to follow the guides. Move slowly and precisely.

[skip]

Great tip guys thanks sure wish there was a video on how to . What if I bought new shims would it make valve adjustment easier if so what size are the new shims

[Bluberryrain]

Originally Posted by skip

Great tip guys thanks sure wish there was a video on how to . What if I bought new shims would it make valve adjustment easier if so what size are the new shims

You won't know the size of shims needed until you use the feeler gauge to assess the current valve lash.

You need to know:

What is it supposed to be?
What is it currently?
What size shims are installed?

Using this info, you can ascertain which shims you need to buy and replace.

I have a spreadsheet that you punch these values into, and it spits out what shims you need to buy.

Let me know if you want it.

[Bluberryrain]

Also, I VERY HIGHLY suggest that you read and understand the process completely before you start.

No offense but I can tell by the questions you're asking that you don't understand how the valves/cams/shims/ etc work. Please do some research to learn how everything works, and the process will make much more sense. There's plenty of videos on YouTube on this topic.

[Lazarus]

^^^^ this. Measure twice, cut once sort of deal.

[Ronald115]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I finished a five part YouTube video series showing every step of a valve adjustment on a fourth generation Ninja 250. It has good camera angles and lighting. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP0k...2qZD9AtAFRAgGU

[Z1R rider]

Originally Posted by Ronald115

Hey guys,

About a month ago I finished a five part YouTube video series showing every step of a valve adjustment on a fourth generation Ninja 250. It has good camera angles and lighting. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP0k...2qZD9AtAFRAgGU

I haven't watched all of the videos, but what I did watch appears to be very well done. A lot of time went into making them and I'm sure many will find answers to their questions on your many vids. Thanks for sharing and.... welcome to the board Ronald!

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by Z1R rider

I haven't watched all of the videos, but what I did watch appears to be very well done. A lot of time went into making them and I'm sure many will find answers to their questions on your many vids. Thanks for sharing and.... welcome to the board Ronald!

No one here has mentioned using a dial vernier caliper or micrometer in this process. You don't feel you need them? Just curious. Suzuki made a special tool to remove the shims on my GS750. No removing the camshafts. It's too bad Kawasaki didn't design their valve mechanism like Suzuki. The process is even easier than the pre-gen.

Bill

[DannoXYZ]

Using a mic is very convenient. Because knowing the individual thicknesses, you can mix-and-match the shims between cylinders to optimize clearance. Then end up having to buy only one or two shims max.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by JacRyann

Using a mic is very convenient. Because knowing the individual thicknesses, you can mix-and-match the shims between cylinders to optimize clearance. Then end up having to buy only one or two shims max.

Thanks Jac.

Bill

[Z1R rider]

Originally Posted by Ram Jet

No one here has mentioned using a dial vernier caliper or micrometer in this process. You don't feel you need them? Just curious. Suzuki made a special tool to remove the shims on my GS750. No removing the camshafts. It's too bad Kawasaki didn't design their valve mechanism like Suzuki. The process is even easier than the pre-gen.

Kaw and others made a valve depressor tool for my old KZ so you could get the shims out without removing the cams also, and the shims have the size inked on the backside so you know what the thickness is and can figure the size you need to get in spec. just wondering if the 250s shims are marked also. I've only had to adjust the valves on the Z1R twice in 70K miles.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by Z1R rider

Kaw and others made a valve depressor tool for my old KZ so you could get the shims out without removing the cams also, and the shims have the size inked on the backside so you know what the thickness is and can figure the size you need to get in spec. just wondering if the 250s shims are marked also. I've only had to adjust the valves on the Z1R twice in 70K miles.

Yeah, when you get rocker arms out of the valve train you reduce the wear points and extend maintenance intervals.

Bill

[Momaru]

Originally Posted by Z1R rider

Kaw and others made a valve depressor tool for my old KZ so you could get the shims out without removing the cams also, and the shims have the size inked on the backside so you know what the thickness is and can figure the size you need to get in spec. just wondering if the 250s shims are marked also. I've only had to adjust the valves on the Z1R twice in 70K miles.

Mine were, as were all of the hot cams replacements I've picked up over the years. Wound up wet-sanding some of the replacement shims to get them to just the right thickness, as there is some variance in the manufacturing.

+1 for having a micrometer on hand. Makes matchng shims exactly much more precise.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by Momaru

Mine were, as were all of the hot cams replacements I've picked up over the years. Wound up wet-sanding some of the replacement shims to get them to just the right thickness, as there is some variance in the manufacturing.

+1 for having a micrometer on hand. Makes matchng shims exactly much more precise.

I would NOT sand the shims. I tried that on a Fiat 124 Spyder sports car and destroyed two camshfts. You don't need to get that close anyway that's why there is a tolerance specification. It's your money and time.

Bill

[DannoXYZ]

I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of hard wear-resistant coating. No need to pre-wear your shims before you even install them.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by JacRyann

I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of hard wear-resistant coating. No need to pre-wear your shims before you even install them.

Yes, I think the term is case hardening. Where the surface of the metal is hardened and the center remains soft. Also, the cam is probably case hardened. Unless you use something to the tune of 2,000 + grit to remove the metal it's likely that the sanded shim will be abrasive, wear off the case hardening of the cam and bye bye cam. At least that's what I think happened to my Fiat.

Bill

[Momaru]

Originally Posted by Ram Jet

I would NOT sand the shims. I tried that on a Fiat 124 Spyder sports car and destroyed two camshfts. You don't need to get that close anyway that's why there is a tolerance specification. It's your money and time.

Bill

Not sure about the coating, but makes sense. I did finish with 4000-grit to make sure they were as smooth as possible to minimize any abrasion. Not seeing any weird wear or unusual changes in gap after 34,000mi, but that's not really all that many miles for these engines, so only time will tell. Given my engine had a bunch of gravel dumped in the top end by a shop early in its life, it's not as perfect as it should be anyway.

But, point well made about the case hardening & appreciated - hadn't thought about it that way. I may be a scientist and have been doing self-wrenching for half my life, but there's always more to learn.

One counterpoint is the caps/covers for the shims that sit between the shim & the cams should prevent direct abrasion on the cam lobes. The valve stem heads however are another story. Still, less friction in the engine is good.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by Momaru

Not sure about the coating, but makes sense. I did finish with 4000-grit to make sure they were as smooth as possible to minimize any abrasion. Not seeing any weird wear or unusual changes in gap after 34,000mi, but that's not really all that many miles for these engines, so only time will tell. Given my engine had a bunch of gravel dumped in the top end by a shop early in its life, it's not as perfect as it should be anyway.

But, point well made about the case hardening & appreciated - hadn't thought about it that way. I may be a scientist and have been doing self-wrenching for half my life, but there's always more to learn.

One counterpoint is the caps/covers for the shims that sit between the shim & the cams should prevent direct abrasion on the cam lobes. The valve stem heads however are another story. Still, less friction in the engine is good.

Oh, that's a horse of a different color. I viewed the cam lobes running directly on the shims. Your shims are UNDER the the caps that the lobe runs against. I think you're OK in that situation. I did the same thing on a 1959 Alfa Romeo with the same style valve train you're referring to, I adjusted my valve lash in my freshman year using your method to and I never adjusted my valves again through four years of college.

You know what they say about the word assume.

Bill