80k km service

[Dingo55]

Hi all 

Gingerly working my way through my first service on this bike (80K km)

So a couple of questions if I may

Difference between copper and aluminium crush washers ( beside the obvious)

I see it calls for a copper washer on the FD filler which is what was on there 

The bmw supplied service kit has an aluminium one 

Any issue?

Hopefully got the oils sorted although didn't have much luck catching the oil from the oil filter (might drill it next time)

So I've dived in to doing the valve clearance check

How critical is getting TDC accurate?

On the oilhead I would use the timing marks

I see some using the old chopstick method and others have a tool that locks TDC

Haven't had a lot of experience using feeler gauges and understand that it's all about feel

But given that we seem to be dealing with rather small increments how critical do I need to be in terms of accuracy when measuring?

It seems easier (more accurate) to measure the gaps on the side that is exposed as opposed to the cams hidden behind the carrier block      

Dumb question - Is the measuring done between the cam and the follower or the follower and the shim?

I've only checked one side for now 

Settled on 0.10mm and 0.35mm. That as I understand it is on the tight side

What is happening in a motor for these gaps to be changing?

I understand too loose would be a bit noisier but what's happening if too tight?

Appreciate any help 

Thanks 

Cheers 

Mark 

[migrant]

On 1/22/2023 at 10:06 PM, Dingo55 said:

Hi all 

Gingerly working my way through my first service on this bike (80K km)

So a couple of questions if I may

Difference between copper and aluminium crush washers ( beside the obvious)

I see it calls for a copper washer on the FD filler which is what was on there 

The bmw supplied service kit has an aluminium one 

Any issue?

Hopefully got the oils sorted although didn't have much luck catching the oil from the oil filter (might drill it next time)

So I've dived in to doing the valve clearance check

How critical is getting TDC accurate?

On the oilhead I would use the timing marks

I see some using the old chopstick method and others have a tool that locks TDC

Haven't had a lot of experience using feeler gauges and understand that it's all about feel

But given that we seem to be dealing with rather small increments how critical do I need to be in terms of accuracy when measuring?

It seems easier (more accurate) to measure the gaps on the side that is exposed as opposed to the cams hidden behind the carrier block      

Dumb question - Is the measuring done between the cam and the follower or the follower and the shim?

I've only checked one side for now 

Settled on 0.10mm and 0.35mm. That as I understand it is on the tight side

What is happening in a motor for these gaps to be changing?

I understand too loose would be a bit noisier but what's happening if too tight?

Appreciate any help 

Thanks 

Cheers 

Mark 

My $.02

I prefer copper washers....softer than aluminum and can be restored to soft for repeated use by heating to red hot and quenching in water. Learned that in the Navy, reused lots of them on the V12 Packards we had.

 

Drilling the filter is a good practice to minimize mess.

 

Having the engine at exact TDC is necessary for synchronizing the cams, not setting valve clearances. What is important is having the cams in position where the "ramp" of the lobe is not effecting the clearance. Having the engine at TDC ensures that, but you can be a few degrees off one way or another and still be OK.

 

Developing the correct feel for using feeler gauges takes practice and understanding...the fine line between having to force the gauge and having it too sloppy. Needs to be what I call a slip fit, where you can insert the gauge without forcing it and it stays in place when you let go.

If you have a set of gauges, instead of singular, you can compare what .007", .008" and .009" feel like to determine what the clearance is. (Or whatever the metric equivalents are)

 

Measure between the cam and follower.

 

As the valves wear into the seats, the clearances will reduce, this is most common. As the followers and cams wear...not so common, the clearances will increase. 

Too tight, if left too long the valves may not completely close and the exhaust gas can erode the valve. The amount of time the valve contacts the seat has an effect on heat transfer, but that level of detail is above my head. Exhaust valve spec is greater due to heat expansion, obviously.

 

These videos have been a great help to me thanks to Boxflyer.

https://www.youtube.com/@Boxflyer11/videos

 

 

[Cap]

5 hours ago, migrant said:

...Developing the correct feel for using feeler gauges takes practice and understanding...

 

I learned a technique from Boxflyer that helps me.  I take the feeler gauge and bend it slightly by holding it at each end, so that its curvature matches the arc of the cam lobe.  This slight bend facilitates the "slip fit" mentioned by @migrant above

[Dave_in_TX]

9 hours ago, migrant said:

 

As the valves wear into the seats, the clearances will reduce, this is most common. As the followers and cams wear...not so common, the clearances will increase. 

 

I had to replace two shims on my 2011 R1200RT and one on my 2020 R1250GS. In all three instances, the clearance had increased.

[Dingo55]

Thanks for the replies 

Appreciate the help

Ended up with the following measurements

Inlet 0.10, 0.10, 0.12, 0.13

Exhaust 0.38, 0.37, 0.36, 0.38

A couple of "tight" inlet readings 

Do I need to concern myself or just monitor it at next check?

I guess this motor has bedded in to a degree or can things continually change?

Thanks again

Cheers

Mark

 

[Dave_in_TX]

6 hours ago, Dingo55 said:

Thanks for the replies 

Appreciate the help

Ended up with the following measurements

Inlet 0.10, 0.10, 0.12, 0.13

Exhaust 0.38, 0.37, 0.36, 0.38

A couple of "tight" inlet readings 

Do I need to concern myself or just monitor it at next check?

I guess this motor has bedded in to a degree or can things continually change?

Thanks again

Cheers

Mark

 

My 2014 R1200GS had one valve on the tight end of spec when checked at 12k miles. Decided to just monitor it. It was still in spec at 132k.