Word of advise on valve adjustment

[rickardracing]

Ok, I have one piece of advise when tackling this job. I wish I would have done this because it probably would have kept me from having to tear the bike down AGAIN to fix and oil leak. Take it for what it is worth. Do it or not, your choice BUT.......hind sight being what it is.........when installing the valve cover gaskets, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND taking some high temp gasket maker and putting a bead in the entire groove of the valve cover and also in the half round shape on each side of the head itself then install the gasket onto the valve cover making sure it is in the groove. Then put a coat on the bottom of the gasket. The silicone will hold it in place on the cover and add sealing once cover is in place and tightened down. I did do the half round first time around and installed the gasket on the head then tried to seat the valve cover. What a pain in the keester. I ended up pinching the gasket on the front cover at the back. I did not see it.....in a really bad spot. Plus I am half blind.......and dumb. Ended up with Niagra Falls coming out of the back of the cover. If I had to do this over, I would do as I mentioned. I had to tear this whole thing down and cleaned everything up and this is what I did. SEAMS to have worked. Looks like it is seated well all the way around. But then again.....I thought it was the first time I did this. But I am confident that I have it seated correctly this time. Also, if everything is seated and lined up correctly the flanged valve cover bolt SHOULD go in almost all the way freely by hand. Any binding in the screws, check the gasket, something may have popped out. If I would have followed my own advise the first time, installing the gaskets and covers would have taken ALOT less time. Just my .02

[slowrollwv]

+1 on the silicone on that type gasket. I use it on all the "0" ring gaskets for a better seal.

[pbjman]

Thanks for posting this advice! No sense of everyone having to learn stuff like this by trial and error.

[rbig1]

some silicone eats aluminum. be concretive little goes a long way

[tankerman]

I'm a little confused. Per other posts I had gotten the impression that our valves are self adjusting. Just want to know what is what. Thanks

[Freebird]

You would have to show me those posts. I've never seen anybody claim that. Either way, it is absolutely not true.

[Motiv]

The manual states to use gasket adhesive all the way around the cover side and high temp silicone on the 1/2 moons. Just did mine and you are correct what a PITA, but can you imagine what the dealer would charge for this work.

I too had to tear partially back down to re adjust the upper hose clamp on the hose between cyls. 2 and 4.

Hope we both got it this time.

[Flyinfool]

While cleaning the old RTV out of the groove on my valve covers i found that there were some imperfections in the casting, I ground down the bumps and filled the holes in the gasket surface with JB WELD before putting it back together. Hopefully my leaks are now a thing of the past.

[saddlebum]

Also there are rubber plugs on top of the cam supports that plug the oil gallery's. Make sure they are in place and be careful not to knock them out while moving the cover in and out. they just sit there and are held in place by knobs inside the cover. I discovered this by accident a couple years after resealing my valve cover when changing my clutch and found one laying in the clutch cavity.

[gaj1917]

Very, very good advice. Those serpentine gaskets, and the very tight quarters when installing valve covers, make for a major challenge. Virtually impossible without something holding gaskets in place on valve covers. I used Permatex 80062 High Tack Gasket Sealant.

[djh3]

Since the advent of the silicone sealants I pretty much use them to hold all gaskets. I have yet to find one that has caused corrosion on alum. Maybe Im just lucky. (doubt that) As long as you dont go nuts with the stuff I figure it cant hurt. Now the old brown permatex stuff, Id break some fingers if I found someone using that on anything I own.

[JohnT]

OK, at what point should I be having this done? I am now at 36,000 miles on my bike. I have no power or running problems , just wondering for maintenance.

I have no where near the skill or confidence needed so it will be a dealer service. About how many somewhat expensive hours of labor should be involved?

[Patmac6075]

Depending on the PO, I'd say you are due. At some point Yamaha changed their maintenance from every 7.5k (my 84 manual calls for a check every 18 mo. or 7500 miles) to a more liberal schedule. A dealer or service shop will charge you an arm and a leg, not because they're bad guys, but because this is a very labor intensive chore. Actually checking and the changing valves shims is quite simple, but in order to get to the valve shim you must get a lot of stuff out of the way...which is why most don't do it.

IMHO John, having your valve in spec is the single most important service item you can do....it has been my experience (albeit with other Yamaha bikes) that your bike can run fine with numerous tight valves....right up until that point that it doesn't....and then your engine is toast.

Expect the cost for parts to run you $100 - $150....at the very least you'll need basic hand tools (sockets, wrenches, screw drivers...ect.), a valve shim tool, two valve cover gaskets, Hi-Tack gasket sealer, some RTV, and valve cover pressure washers...16 I think). I was able to go to a local independent shop where they did an even exchange for shims (local Yamaha dealer wouldn't and was going to charge $25 per shim).

This is where the fun begins, but don't worry there are so many great people to walk you through the process...take lots of pictures and write down and categorize everything as you remove it. Some say you must take the carbs off, but I found I had ample room with them still attached (I did find that taking the radiator completely off was a huge advantage...especially during reassembly). Once disassembled, it's a pretty straight forward process of measure clearances, then pull each shim and note it's size/thickness (I get the thickness of every shim on the bike, so that I can skip this step on my next check), and replace the shims that are out of spec. Now it's important to say "USE A METRIC ONLY FEELER GAUGE", don't use a standard with metric equivalents...just too much cross calculations. Also, remember, you must replace each shim before you move on to the next shim, otherwise bad thing happen (ask me how I know this). And finally, there is only In spec, and Out of spec...don't set them too loose in order to lengthen the next interval or fudge a too tight valve...once you're doing this much work, do it right.

It's a long and laborious task, and the first time it'll take you maybe 3 or 4 weekends worth of solid work. But once you're done...the sense of accomplishment is tremendous (I usually walk around my garage like Tom Hanks from Cast Away when he made fire...."I Clearanced My Valves!!!").

Good Luck and feel free to pm me....I'd be happy to help you through..

Pat

[YamahaLarry]

Since the advent of the silicone sealants I pretty much use them to hold all gaskets. I have yet to find one that has caused corrosion on alum. Maybe Im just lucky. (doubt that) As long as you dont go nuts with the stuff I figure it cant hurt. Now the old brown permatex stuff, Id break some fingers if I found someone using that on anything I own.

 

10-4 on the permatex. However, I have found a good use for it, and use it often just for this purpose. I use it is as a pipe sealer on all of my pipe fittings in my air systems, such as air hose connections. I could use pipe dope, but I am not a plumber and don't always have pipe dope, but I do always have permatex. Teflon tape is not very good for air.

[djh3]

I am guessing on black pipe, not PVC type.

[YamahaLarry]

Correct, black pipe. I have a 60 gallon, 130 psi compressor under a roof behind my garaged and lined black pipe on the inside walls with quick connectors spaced out at various points. When running the pipe, teflon would not stop the air leaks and permatex did the trick. Been using ever since on all my air connections.

[gaj1917]

The Permatex I used was a nice purple shade. No oil leakage around valve covers after 2,000 km. So far so good.

[StarFan]

Expect the cost for parts to run you $100 - $150....at the very least you'll need basic hand tools (sockets, wrenches, screw drivers...ect.), a valve shim tool, two valve cover gaskets, Hi-Tack gasket sealer, some RTV, and valve cover pressure washers...16 I think).

I'd be happy to help you through..

Pat

 

I have a 2000 Millennium in Reading, PA that I plan to ship to Iceland and rebuild. It has a leaking gasket on cyl no.2 so I will have to change it (actually will change both of them gaskets). Never done this before so adjusting the valves would be something clever to do since having everything apart. Have been wondering what parts from Yamaha I need apart from the gaskets - I do know about the shims.

You state that one will need "valve cover pressure washers" What are those ?

All I can see in the parts diagram are the bolts and some rubber grommets. Are there any other parts fro Yamaha needed when installing new gaskets ?

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a501/jonaslill/Technical/Valve%20cover_zps44mwv0zm.jpg

 

Regards, Jonas/StarFan

Valve cover bolts.pdf

[Karaboo]

They must have meant the grommets. My pressure washer runs on gas and uses a lot of water.

[BigBear]

The manual states to use gasket adhesive all the way around the cover side and high temp silicone on the 1/2 moons.

 

Do you have a page reference?

 

I've been searching through the service manual...to no avail...

 

Thanks!

[Motiv]

Page

Do you have a page reference?

 

I've been searching through the service manual...to no avail...

 

Thanks!

Page 110 and 111 in the Clymer manual.