valve shims

[kstrutt11]

Started doing a few jobs today, firstly changed the water pump seal, which only took half an hour with my home made cartridge pump, then I decided I would check the valve clearances, the exhausts were all fine but the inlets were all very small at around 2 or 3 thou.

I removed the cam etc but have now found one of the shims is already 60 thou which is the thinest I can find. All of them were pretty similar in the low 60's and the head looks to have had a lot of work in the past (the ports are a work of art).

is it a matter of getting 4 thou ground off a shim or does anyone know where I can get a thinner shim?

kevin

[garyeanderson]

Someone else has been there before, this topic from 2 years ago seems to be similar to yours.

elan-f15/valve-clearance-shims-less-than-060-t21286.html

Maybe others here today can give you another view point.

Gary

[kstrutt11]

Thanks,

Good to see it is nothing unique, it has good compression etc so I don't think there is much wrong with the valves, i'll buy a thin follower, I doubt I would get the shim ground for much less than the 16 quid
cost anyway.

Kevin

[AussieJohn]

It's worth checking that the cam buckets are contacting the new shims and not resting on the spring retainer.

[elanman999]

Kevin,
Where are you in the world, I'll grind all four shims for 16 quid.
+1 for ausieJohn's suggestion.
Some people use the top hat shims when they are below .060"
Cheers
John

[ceejay]

I have never bought a valve shim since I bought the S2 elan.

Shims can be easily made from 4140 or 4340 steel stock, but you
need a lathe, a small micrometer, an Oxy torch, quenching oil, or even
brine (Concentrated salt water) will do the trick, and an understanding
of flame hardening/quenching, and then knowing how to draw just
enough temper from the steel (An old time technique used here) to
provide the near correct hardness without leaving the shim too brittle.

The only"high tech" instrument used to determine shim hardness
is a file, and that may leave a few people shaking their heads.

Dozens of shims have been produced (And used over long periods) at
many different thicknesses and I've never had any problems with broken
shims using the above production methods... DIY shims sure beats
having to worry about where to source certain thickness shim/s when you
need them most.

But having said all of that, you need to understand what you are doing
to make valve shims that will do the job intended.

Ceejay.

[Frank Howard]

Kevin,

Go down to your local Saab dealer. Many of the still have a selection of shims for the 99. They don't use them very much. Only when a 99 comes in for service and that's pretty much never. These shims will work in an Elan. My dealer gave me a nice selection to keep on hand. Of course, you'll have to convert metric to English. A micrometer comes in handy. Good luck.

[kstrutt11]

Thanks for the replies, I have ordered the shims and one thinner follower from QED, Hopefully I will have it back together next weekend. (it's of the road at the moment so time is not too much of an issue)

I do have a collection of ex TR7 shims but they are all much thicker, given this is the first time in 16 years of ownership I have had to do them the cost (around ?30) is not the end of the world, if I need them in a hurry I don't work far away from Burton's so supply is not to much of a problem anyway.

John,

If I had read your email first I would have taken you up on the offer, thanks anyway.