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Hi all,just wondering if anyone has a good link to lick on to in order to purchase some valve follower shims for my cavalier 1.7td L reg(isuzu engine). Also could anyone give a clue as to how much they are please. Thanks in advance........
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Try www.a2bvauxhallspares.com
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thanx will try later the net is playing up!
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When I got round to doing the valves on my bike the potential cost was quite steep. 20 valves at around 8 quid each for the shims. I ended up buying a head from a scrappie for £10 and there were enough different sizes to shuffle them around without having to buy any.
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thats a good idea. i also work at a place where there are engineers and alot of steel might be worth asking there?......
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just a thought but what sort of metal are they made of? Is it termpered steel or the like?
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cavi
If you're a bit lucky, you can shuffle them around a bit and you'll probably only need to buy 3 or 4 new ones. Try asking at an engine re-conditioners; they'll probably keep a box-full of old ones.
Have you got the special shim-removing tool? It's an absolute pig of a job without it.
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If the engineers have access to a surface grinder and the valve clearances are only too small by a couple of thousands of an inch, you could get the old ones re-ground to the required size.
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This all seems familiar...
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=33527&...f
However, some extra points and questions have come up.
If you choose to use a surface grinder, put the ground face in contact with the tappet, rather than running on the cam. The grinding will destroy the surface hardening, and the shim will wear away in no time if you don't.
I think that the time required to turn the blanks, grind the surfaces, and harden the shims would preclude having some made from steel stock - the steel required is a bit exotic too.
These shims aren't difficult to get out - no special tools required. In fact, they are easy enough to slip out, that you can take them out, measure them up, and calculate what you need, then slip them back in place, and obtain the required shims at your leisure.
If you have a ring round some local engine reconditioners, you will probably find they keep some in stock - far cheaper than from a Vauxhall dealer.
If the shims haven't been checked for a while, you will probably need to change all of them - but the inlets are the main concern, as they close up almost completely.
Number_Cruncher
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so basically im better off going and getting some shims from an engine reconditioners. the reason i was suggesting my work place was because the engineers there work to very high tollerences, plus most of the time they have nothing to do (in fact i had my front brake disks skimmed there and they work a treat!)the shims themselves arenot difficult to remove as you say N.C. as you only need a screwdriver to depress the valve and a magnetic pickup tool to extract the shim. i just thought to check the clearances as i didnt know when they were last checked and i have had the car for around 2 years now. thanx for all of your replies......
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If you can get the existing shims ground down cheaply, then that is a good way to do the job. The tolerance you need to achieve (plus or minus 0.0005" on thickness) is barn door wide in comparison with the capabilities of a modern surface grinding machine. As, hopefully, you won't be running the cam on this newly generated surface, its surface finish and hardness aren't critical.
Number_Cruncher
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And further to N_C's post, if it is only a thou or so, take half off each face, very unlikely to go through the case hardening.
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so i can actually get my existing shims ground to the required thickness at my workplace, and just get a couple more for the valves that dont have any. i have to get it clear in my head as i dont want to make a pigs ear of it! i can get them done free (doing the disks were free) and i have also borrowed a micrometer from work so im properly tooled now. and yes it is familiar N.C. I forgot that we have already covered this lol. thankx for all the feed back......
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Whatever you do, make clear notes of
1 the valve number
2 the actual clearance measured
3 the thickness of the shim removed from that valve (clean the shim and "number" it with a felt tip pen or similar.)
It is all too easy to get things mixed up, drop a few shims etc and a few notes of what went where will be a great help, speaking from experience.
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thanx for the tip mjm , will do that
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I'm a little concerned. I don't know your shims but those in mine were stamped with their thickness - so, feeler gauge gap, read thickness of shim, look in table or do maths to see what thickness needed, pickup new shim - next.
If you're going to be grinding them down, then the next time you're going to have to measure them all instead of just reading the thickness as you won't be able to trust it for any of the shims.
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hi martint123, wont make a difference as im going to have to measure the original shim thiknesses anyway as i dont know how badly worn they are to begin with
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