[Shotimes] 60k/Valve adj.

[Shewitt5656@cs.com]

Kerry,

It sounds like you found a good dealship - I wouldn't hesitate to use them in 
a pinch.  Who are they / location?  It's good FYI for everyone.

To answer your questions:
1) I would continue to work that one valve with the tappet depressor, push it 
up and down and remeasure about 10 more times.  See if you arrive at a 
consistant number.  Maybe a little carbon got on the sealing surface of the 
valve.  Someone else who has seen a bad valve in a SHO may be able to chime 
in here...

2) With the valves out of spec, the opening duration of each valve may not be 
as long as specified, and the car will suffer a little on performance.  
Usually this is not perceptible, and you are mainly extending the life of the 
cam lobes, by giving them a new suface to ride on.

3) They are the same diameter, as I have swaped sides to get the proper 
clearances. 

BTW, I changed my shims the same way last year - I disassembled and measured, 
then I ordered what I needed from SHOnut and put it back together the next 
Saturday.  Two suggestions - Always give the cam a new surface to ride on, so 
flip the shim if it is in spec.  Also, clean the valve cover & plug seals 
good and use some RTV between the head and the gasket.  The back cover can be 
a bitch - take your time.

Scot H
95 Red MTX - 66k
Lewiston, NY 

In a message dated 12/21/02 11:33:46 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
kerry@kinionfurniture.com writes:


> 1.    After I checked the clearances of all shims (and some are way
> out of spec.) I removed, one by one each shim to check the number to
> arrive at needed shim.  After returning all original shims to the same
> position, I did a second check of clearances for peace of mind.  Most of
> my second check #'s were within about a thousandth or two, but on cyl #4
> (intake) my first clearance check showed .008.  When I did my second
> check I got .016.  Has anyone run into this before?  It makes me a
> little nervous about feeling confident about what shim size I need to
> replace it with.
> 2.    When the clearances are out of tolerance, what does this do in
> terms of performance of the engine?  (again, I am not much of a car guy
> but am trying to learn - and having a good time in the process).
> 3.    Are all the shims (primary/secondary, or left/right) the same
> diameter?  I didn't check this when they were out, so I thought I'd ask.