Valve Shims - Good Source?

Looking for a good reasonable place to order valve shims from.

Also do they come in sizes less than .05 mm? I have some that check just .010 before needing replacement.

 

look under the forum index for "XJ4ever-Supporting Vendor" or PM chacal he is our resident parts source.

Nope, shims only come in .05mm sizes. If you're .01mm away from spec you're still good. Use a metric feeler gauge so you don't get hung by the "rounding up or down" thing. For instance, .004" is actually 0.1016mm, NOT 0.11mm.

 

Chacal is an excellent source for pretty much anything you need for these bikes.

That being said, also check with your local Yamaha dealers. That's what I did and was able to get my replacement shims immediately. I just took them in, told them the sizes I needed and they swapped them out for $3.50 each.

 

The only thing that worries me about that is the exchange means using used shims possibly. There has been a lot of discussion in the wisdom or lack thereof of using used shims.

 

Yeah the thought that DEALERS are in the habit of re-using shims is kinda scary, unless they're trying to generate business.

 

What, exactly, is the problem with re-using shims? If you can't re-use shims, then you'd have to replace them all each time, no? Either they're in spec, or they're not. You do re-check with the 'new' shim in place to make sure you got the right one in there, right?

 

Yes, but if a SHIM is worn down, even not to the naked eye, there is a very thin layer of heat tempering. The tempering only goes so far deep into the surface of the shim.

They are $7.50 for aftermarket shims from Len. Get them. Used shims is only a good thing for testing the waters, don't run used shims permanently. $7.50 is short change for something like that, especially with the cost of all the other parts for these bikes.

 

So, again, by that logic you would change out each shim each time?

 

If the installed shim produces the proper clearance, then no, you would not change them..........but, 7,500 miles later, when the next check needs to be done, you might find that it has worn to the point where it does need replacing!

Shims are like brake pads, they are designed to wear out, as opposed to wearing out the brake disc rotor.........or the camshaft lobes.