Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

[bretb]

Started the winter maintenance a couple days ago. Bought the bike in March with 23,000 miles on the clock and have 31,955 miles right now. Last major service was done with previous owner in 2013 with about 20,000 miles on her.
. Will be doing the sync when all is back together. This is the first major service I've done since getting the bike. Have a couple questions which I figured the pro's here could advise me on.

1. Got the carburetors cleaned and installed a .020 shim under the needle before closing up. Do I need to adjust the air screw since putting in the shim? The factory "no-tamper" cap is still on my carbs. I still have the bits from an Ivan's kit on my last bike to remove the cap if needed.

2. Found a fair amount of gunk under the valve cover. Is this something that others have experienced and is it normal? I did note my oil level decreasing and fuel mileage dropping as I got closer to deciding it was maintenance time. Lost about 1/2 qt of oil and mileage dropped 2mpg over the course of ~3000 miles. Valve clearances were not what I expected (see picture below) so I'm assuming that was the real reason behind the loss of oil.

Cyl-1 gunk.jpgCyl-2 gunk.jpgCyl-3 gunk.jpgCyl-4 gunk.jpg

3. Measured all the clearances (a few times) and wrote down all the measurements. Can someone give me an idea if I'm on the right track with the shim thicknesses needed?

Valve clearance.jpg

As of right now, I do not have the shim kit and was likely going to just swing into the local stealership and see if they had the correct sizes I think I need. I also put the old ones back in after measuring the actual shim thickness vs. the marked thickness so I didn't loose them.

There was very little oil in the spark plug galleys so I wasn't to disappointed, and yes, I'll be replacing the figure 8 gaskets for the plugs. Plug gap was .32. I do not have the installed gap, but mileage was just shy of 12000 miles. Intent is to install iridium plugs as replacement, but not opposed to standard NGK's.

4. Input on what exactly needs to be removed for all the KLEEN crap under the tank would be of great insight if someone could share that. I understand the valve cover tubes get connected, or blocked off and the valve up at the nose fairing gets removed, but what about the rest of the stuff under the tail? All the crap doesn't bother me, but if will make the bike run better and be easier for maintenance, I'm in all the way. If it won't make a difference in the general running condition of the bike, then I'll likely leave it. Just seems like an octopus got trapped under the tank and wrapped itself around everything. Also thinking about doing the ZX-10 plug coils mod to clean things up as well. Depends if I can find a decent price on the coils and wire harness.

Figuring since my jacket zipper froze up on the last ride home from work, I should probably put her up for a little while.....till it warms up slightly anyway.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Bret

[reidmct]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Check out this old thread, which includes a spreadsheet I put together that tells you the best shim to install for each valve.

http://zzrbikes.com/threads/73909-Va...l=1#post584326

Some of the values you calculated for the needed shim are for sizes that don't exist.

As for removing the plumbing: Doing so will not improve engine performance in any way. There is a very long thread on this topic, and there are some people who believe there is a performance benefit to removing the plumbing. Those people are what I call wrong. But, hey, maybe I'm wrong; it happened once. According to my wife, it happens several times a day.

Oh, and I can't see how valves out of adjustment would cause oil consumption. But worn valve guides or leaky seals would. I would be thinking about replacing he seals anyway, though it's not cheap.

The gunk is not normal. I suspect the PO let it go a long time between oil changes, and you are seeing sludge.

[Moise]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

1. Take the anti tamper plugs out and mark the screw positions. Then screw each one out half a turn.
2. I don't think the valve clearances would cause issues like increased oil and fuel consumption. My suggestion would be to clean out as much of the gunk as you can, then run a high detergent oil (diesel) for a few hundred miles.
3. Just buy the shims you need. If your dealer won't help, then you can buy small packs of aftermarket shims. I'd just reuse the plugs at that gap, unless the electrodes look worn. The standard plugs will be fine.
4. There's recently been a good thread on this the AIS. The other stuff is for CA bikes, I expect you can just bin it.

[bretb]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Appreciate the links Reidmct. I'll have to see if I can access the link on a different computer as I'm getting an error message. I see you just updated the link as well, so it is likely I've got something in my settings not allowing access. Not really surprised some shim calculations don't exist. I'm assuming from what I've read elsewhere on shims, a person is supposed to get as close to the calculation as possible, re-calculate to ensure within spec, and continue moving forward. Otherwise, there may be something else wrong such as not measuring on correct stroke, not having at TDC, etc.

Moise appreciate your input for the carb air screws. I'll give those a little turn before installing the carburators back on. I'll certainly be cleaning out the gunky crap in the pictures before reassembly. Oddly enough, I've heard in the past to run diesel oil as a "cleaner" for motorcycle engines, a short stint anyway, but have never tried it. In fact, this is the first time I've come across this much gunk under the valve cover on a motorcycle. Guess this is one of those learning moments.

Completed the coolant change out yesterday. Continuing to move forward.....

[reidmct]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Appreciate the links Reidmct. I'll have to see if I can access the link on a different computer as I'm getting an error message. I see you just updated the link as well, so it is likely I've got something in my settings not allowing access. .

It could be something not right with OneDrive. I can't test it myself, since I'm the owner of the space. If it doesn't work, then PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the file directly. Pity this site lacks a file-sharing capability.

[Moise]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Appreciate the links Reidmct. I'll have to see if I can access the link on a different computer as I'm getting an error message. I see you just updated the link as well, so it is likely I've got something in my settings not allowing access. .

It could be something not right with OneDrive. I can't test it myself, since I'm the owner of the space. If it doesn't work, then PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the file directly. Pity this site lacks a file-sharing capability.

Works for me on my Android phone.

[mjrauma]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

I was able to download it. Once there, just click on the Download button at the top towards the right.

[dinkyguitar]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

I'll also be doing winter maintenance on my 03....

Stage 1 jet kit, carb sync, new fuel level sensor, maybe new fuel hoses and hopefully valve adjustments.

BTW, did you see any pitting on your camshafts?

I know it's a dead issue, but just wanted to know.

dinky,

[bretb]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

dinkyguitar - I have no pitting or other marks on the cam lobes. Mine is a 2005 also if that matters.

[Moise]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Mine is also an 05 and the cams look perfect at 42,000 miles.

[bretb]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Well I'm just about buttoned up on the top end. Still waiting on the spark plug gaskets (figure 8) to arrive. For anyone who is about to do a valve clearance check or anything which requires the valve cover to come off, get the seals in hand before moving forward. It has now been just over 2 weeks and they are supposed to arrive tomorrow. Anyway, moving on. Carbs are back in place and tightened down at the manifold. Since everything is still very accessible, I was going to connect the hoses for my carb sync tool. I have the Motion Pro style with the nifty blue liquid. As some are aware, to calibrate the tool, it is to be hooked to the "Master" carb first and set, then attached to each from there. I'm having a huge memory gap and don't recall which is the master carburetor. Anyone recall, or know off hand if the zed even has a master carb and which one it is?

[DWC]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

....... Master carb is which ever .. one .. carb you connect all four to ... That gives you a constant to gauge all four by .. same rpm, no blipping the throttle.
The fluid in the gauge is glycol ... antifreeze ... with a little extra dye ... from time to time you will have to add a little .. Should have said that in the instructions .
Follow the directions .. if you decell to fast it will suck the glycol into the intake port* .. I used one for years and finally replaced it with a Morgan Carbtune ... maybe someday I'll get around to getting an electronic one ......



* .... Whenever you pulled the heads off a car engine you always got antifreeze in the cylinders no matter how you drained the block ... the stuff is so slick that once you got it back together it wouldn't run right for all the blow by .. like it had no compression ... So to get things back right and get the rings reseated we would up the rpm's and pour transmission fluid down the carb and run it like that till all the glycol burned off the cylinder walls .... short version ... glycol in the combustion chamber BAD!.

[bretb]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

Thank you DWC, very much appreciate the response. I've used the motion pro sync tool a few times on my last bike, '06 YZF600, and #2 was the "master carb" per the book. After using the motion pro the first time, I thought wow, how easy is this. Then I used a Carbtuner on a friends bike, and knew that is what I should have bought. By far the Carbtuner is easier to read and doesn't bounce near as much as the motion pro. But alas, I have what I have and will one day move to a different tool.

[Moise]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

I really shouldn't be saying this but ... mercury is the best stuff to use in a manometer (pressure gauge) when balancing carbs because its mass and viscosity will damp out the pressure fluctuations better than anything else. Doubt that you can buy any new, but you might find something used if you're lucky. But PLEASE be very careful with it.

Another thing that will help is to increase the volume of the air between the vacuum port on the engine and the manometer. Simplest is long hoses, or you can use something like gutted fuel filters.

I have an expensive digital manometer that I use for work, but it's great for balancing carbs. Just need to make up some kind of 4 way valve.

[DWC]

Re: Valve clearance/adjustment and general questions

No doubt bout the mercury .. but good ones are rare as hens teeth .. we used to rob the mercury out of thermostat switchs for homemade units ... a good second would be highly calibrated oil filled gauges not the cheap ones they sell now, still have a set of those but I do like the ease of use with the Carbtunes ..........