How To "INSPECT" Your Valve Clearances

[JINKSTER]

Begin by removing the fairing side panels, seat cushion and fuel tank.

Note: Fuel Tank Removal isn't necessary but I recommend it for those who need lotsa elbow room....otherwise?..you can use rope or bungees attached to your passenger grab rail to elevate the tank high enough to get the job done without having to work around the prop rod..and again while not necessary?...I also recommend use of a quality rear stand.

Next?...remove the airbox by...

1. removing the front mounting bolt and..

2. the screw on the rear holding your vacuum sensor in place and..

3.disconnect the crankcase breather hose. Then loosen the two boot clamps screws (1 on each side) like so...

Then just wiggle and lift up to remove your airbox...Then?...

Loosen thes throttle body clamp screws about 15 turns then just gently wiggle the brace of all four T-bodies while pulling upwards and viola..the T-bodies are liberated..set them aside in a clean safe area.

to be continued...

 

[JINKSTER]

continued...

And you're now ready to begin inspecting your valve clearances.

To be continued...

 

[JINKSTER]

continued...

"POSITION B" w/ the intake cam notch straight up inspect:

INTAKE SIDE: Cylinder #2 & #4

EXHAUST SIDE: Cylinder #3 & #4

Now turn the engine over clockwise to align your mark too...

"POSITION C" w/ the intake cam notch facing straight down inspect:

INTAKE SIDE: Cylinders #1 & #3

EXHAUST SIDE: Cylinders #1 & #2

Acceptable Factory Exhaust Spec is .008 - .012"

Acceptable Factory Intake Spec is .004 -. 008"

If any valves are found to be out of spec and require adjustment:

Proceed to the following link at this time..



However..if all valves check within spec?...simply replace your valve cover as follows..

also?..before reconnecting and reassembling....

However..should any of your valves require adjusment?..proceed to review my "Valve Adjustment/Cam Removal" thread which shall be posted shortly.

L8R, Bill.

 

[bigoltool]

Thanks Bill! Never even thought about pulling the t-bodies?

 

[little]

Eh HEM......Another sticky by the JINKSTER>>>>>>>

 

[GIXERHP]

Very nice Bill!

 

[Charlesbusa]

Excellent pics

The only thing I did differently was that I didn't dissconnect the throttle/idle cables or remove the TBs. I loosened the 2 screws that clamp on the TBs and lifted them up and moved them back a couple inches. There is enough wiggle room now to remove the cyclinder head cover without messing with the cables and lines associated with the TBs.

Not a better way, just a different way

 

[hydrabusa]

This thread will come in handy when I needed...good job Jink...

 

[smallestpilot]

Thank you very much!!

 

[Burger King]

Great stuff! Looking forward to the rest of the adjustment info.
Definitely a sticky.

 

[GJoker]

(smallestpilot @ Apr. 03 2007,05:21) Thank you very much!!

+1... very helpful indeed! Can't thank you enough..

 

[SpeedAdict]

I love these write ups.

 

[JINKSTER]

I'm thrilled to be able to do this for you folks...and myself.

and i've got quite a bit more "Text Instructions/TIPS" to edit and add to the above postings...which i'll be working on over the next day or so..including adding a 2nd post which will cover the actual valve adjustment procedure (should any of your valves require adjustment and as i understand it about 90% of busa valves "CHECKED" don't need adjustmenting) BUT!!! we still need to be "CHECKING THEM" on a regular preventive maintainance schedule as if that 1 in 10 and/or older/high milage busa that does need a valve or two adjusted and we never check'em?...poor performance, burned exhaust valves and even possible catastrophic engine failure may ensue...and in that order...so this is a good thing...a real good thing...especially when there's a lot of 7-8 year old busa out there running the streets.

So...i'm happy ya'll are happy and i gotta get back to work now...hope ya'll are enjoying this and?...

L8R, Bill.

 

[JINKSTER]

(Charlesbusa @ Apr. 02 2007,19:02) Excellent pics  

The only thing I did differently was that I didn't dissconnect the throttle/idle cables or remove the TBs.  I loosened the 2 screws that clamp on the TBs and lifted them up and moved them back a couple inches.  There is enough wiggle room now to remove the cyclinder head cover without messing with the cables and lines associated with the TBs.

Not a better way, just a different way  

There's numerous reasons why i chose to remove the T-bodies altogether...they include but are not limited to...

Reason #1. "ROOM TO WORK"...it's an awful tight squeeze getting that valve cover wiggled out of there and to boot?..it's a cast magnesium valve cover..which means two things to me...

a. It can't and shouldn't be "Forced" by anything as cast magnesium (especially that thin and light) is easy to accidently crack or deform/nick and...

b. Because it is cast magnesium?..i understand it takes special sealers and painting processes to coat...and i didn't want to scratch, scrape or otherwise violate that special magnesium coating.

Reason #2. I wanted room for clear shot pictures of illustrating these pictorial instructions.

Reason #3. I already knew that I would be removing cams and the CCT (Cam Chain Tensioner) as required for the "Valve Adjustment" portion of this tutorial.

Reason #4. This is also a great time to wipe down your rubber intake boots with a quality silicone spray (inside and out) to keep them soft, supple and new looking..otherwise?..they will dry out from the repeated high heat cycles and eventually crack causing vacuum leakage and lean conditions to the associated cylinders.

but most importantly?...

Reason #5. It takes all of about 10 freaking minutes to completely remove and replace the T-Bodies...so why work around'em?...get'em the he11 out of the way!..your work environment will be far easier to manuver around and such...if not?...you'll spend more time trying to figure out how to work around the T-bodies than you would just removing them.

Oh i guess if you were in a real rush to hurry through and check your valves you could slop'em off to the side and work around them (while they bounce off of shid and shid bounces off of them) but your saving what?..the R&R of 3 cables and plugging in (1) wire harness?...don't make sense to me...I advise removing them but to each their own.

JMHO's and L8R, Bill.

 

[gtrpimp76]

(little @ Apr. 03 2007,13:21) Eh HEM......Another sticky by the JINKSTER>>>>>>>

+1!!!

Again!! Another great tech write up. Thanx Jinks!!

 

[justin726]

Thanks for the write up. I knew I could do this myself, but I just kept putting it off until today when I saw your post. Everything was really straight forward and the pictures helped out alot.

Now can someone help me with this question. All the clearences were good except for one intake valve that was right at the .004 limit. The .004 feeler gage went in without any trouble, but the .005 would not go in.

Should I do something about this now, or is it something that can wait til the end of summer? My '03 has just over 23,000 miles on it now, and with a trip to the Gap, a tour of SW Colorado, and a Sturgis trip planned for August, I should be well over 30,000 come the end of summer. Can it wait that long?

Here are what readings I got

#1 #2 #3 #4
Exhaust l 9, 9 l 9 , 10 l 10 , 9 l 10 , 9 l
Intake l 6 ,6 l 5, 6 l 5, 6 l 5 , 4 l

 

[justin726]

Also, if I want to adjust the intake valve that is at .004 and the other intakes that are at .005, can I get the shims directly from a local Suzuki dealer, and if so, what am I asking for? Am I going to be asking for a particular thickness of shims?

I'm just wondering if I sould be adjusting these now, so I can wait til the next scheduled check to tear into the bike again, or wait til end of summer when I'll only have half the miles for the check. It's all apart now, that's why I'd thining about doing an adjustment now.

 

[JINKSTER]

(justin726 @ Apr. 04 2007,03:39) Also, if I want to adjust the intake valve that is at .004 and the other intakes that are at .005, can I get the shims directly from a local Suzuki dealer, and if so, what am I asking for?  Am I going to be asking for a particular thickness of shims?

I'm just wondering if I sould be adjusting these now, so I can wait til the next scheduled check to tear into the bike again, or wait til end of summer when I'll only have half the miles for the check.  It's all apart now, that's why I'd thining about doing an adjustment now.

justin726...first off...I think your (1) right on tight spec intake valve of .004 shouldn't be to much of a stretch to log another 7K miles on...I don't believe you'll hurt anything in that amount of run time..after all..technically?...that one valve is still in spec...tight..but in spec.

2ndly...and to answer your question..if it's all apart now?..and you wanna do it now?..go right ahead...but before you can "KNOW" what size replacement shim you'll need?...you need to remove your intake cam and lift the tappet of that one tight valve and see what size shim is currently in there...then calculate the dif needed/required.

The shims are numbered in metric thickness...for example...a numeral "265" marked on a shim stands for "2.65 millimeters"...and each .05mm graduation is approx .002 american inches...so if you find a 265 shim in your .004 tight valve?...go to a 260 shim which is .05mm thinner and will open that gap too .006...right in the mean of spec.

L8R, Bill.

PS...it's a shame that both these posts are way back on page 3 now..oh well.

PSS...BurgerKing...I shipped the shim bank UPS Overnight Air from my work today...hopefully you should have it tomorrow..saturday at the latest..so start pulling that valve cover bud!

 

[JINKSTER]

(bigoltool @ Apr. 05 2007,11:52) Mods ought to make a sticky out of this one.

ditto...as they should also sticky the accompanying link on how to "ADJUST" your valves....here..

CLICK ME FOR VALVE ADJUSTMENT LINK

which is still also back on page 3..and i did this extra work just for the benefit of my fellow h.org members...but?..it seems they're being left to vaporize in cyberspace for some reason...oh well...did my part..thought it wopuld make folks happy..maybe i need to post them on my website..which i've owned for over 3 years now but haven't built yet!

L8R, Bill.

 

[justin726]

Jinkster, I did go ahead and make the adjustment yesterday. After reading your other thread on how to make the adjustment, I went ahead and did it. Everything went great and clearance after the adjustment was right in the middle of the range, which will make me feel better. Your threads and info have been very valuable. These should definatly be a sticky somewhere.

Thaks again.