Bump lol.

Y-SC, I'm just looking at a tutorial for replacing valve cover gaskets and it does not look like you have to take off the intake manifold. You can find it here: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/valvecover.html

Would anyone happen to know if I can simply flip the shim over rather than replacing it?

 

Shims don't wear. They're made of -01 tool steel. I've never seen measurable wear on a shim - ever. You realize the clearance gets larger because carbon builds up on the valve seat and valve face, especially on the exhausts? Valves actually get tighter as they wear, not looser. One good WOT run will do wonders for removing carbon, or better still, a quick shot of water injection will do an even better job of getting the carbon out of the cylinder.

I've been working on bucket and shim engines since 1980. I've been that totally **** guy who adjusted his valves every month (Honda and Yamaha motorcycles ridden about 2k miles a month) and ended up burning the exhaust valves because they went tight when the carbon burned off. A wise engine builder once told me, "A loose valve is a happy valve."

I've also done literally hundreds of bike and car cylinder heads over the years. That means facing the valves, grinding the seats, and initially shimming the clearances. You would have been much farther ahead to just clean up with water injection. FWIW, I always to a top end run before I check valve clearances to burn off as much carbon as possible and ensure the measurement I take is minmally influenced by carbon build up.

Removing the cams is completely unnecessary. You can remove the shims with two screwdrivers very easily. One goes between the base circle of the cam and the shim, the other goes between the edge of the bucket and the cam once the valve is lifted with the other screwdriver. Then you pull out the first screwdriver and pry the shim up. Grab it with a magnet and you're halfway done. Insert the new shim, pry it down a little with the screwdriver to seat it in the bucket and pull out the other screwdriver while it you are prying, then slide out the screwdriver between the shim and the cam. Don't let it slam shut, just slide the screwdriver out and allow the valve to close gently. See Honda tools from 1979 below for this task:

 

So you mean the ticking phenomena on the 1UZ is more likely caused by carbon buildup?

I'm sure a run with WOT is no problem for me, so I'll give it a try, but I've done WOT at least once before and haven't noticed the sound diminishing. Also, I don't really have a water injection system set up, is there some other method I might be able to attempt cleaning of valves?

 

There are chemical treatments like SeaFoam, but I've never needed them. I like water better anyway, it does a superb job.

 

Has anyone ever noticed a knocking or rattling sound upon shut-down or start-up of the car that was attributed to valves? Good thread and info, thanks.

 

in the same process figured its best to post here rather than start a new thread. in your opinions would just ONE of the valve clearances on the intake side of cylinder 3 being 0.27mm (0.15-0.25mm is fsm specs) cause an audible tapping?

or is my feeler gauge bogus?

i have one of the gauge sets that have the tip at one size and the rest of the gauge another side. im confused because when i use the 0.23-0.27 mm gauge the whole thing fits....

but when i use the 0.25-0.29 mm gauge NONE of it fits? does this make sense to anyone? ill probably get another set of feeler gauges tomorrow anyways.