Camhead valve adjustment

[Marlen Padberg]

I have a new (to me) 2010 RT. I've surpassed the 26,000 KM mark, so its time to set the valves. Anybody here done their own valve adjustments on the camhead? The guy at the dealership told me it needs shims, and that I need to tell him what size shims I need. Is he correct?

 

I'm comfortable with just about every aspect of maintenance, except for perhaps this. Time to get comfortable...

 

I also have a paint question, but will start a different thread to cover that one off.

 

[mneblett]

Not hard: http://sanjosebmw.smugmug.com/Other/Tech-pictures/10976964_bHf66#!p=1&n=10

 

The shims tend to be very stable -- rarely need changing. But when they do:

 

Best to check the shims with a micrometer to verify their size.

 

If you need a shim, first verify you can't get the needed clearance by swapping shims between valves (you have been recording the shim and clearance at each valve, right? ).

 

When you run out of options, it's a trip to the dealer to pick up the correct replacement shim.

[terryofperry]

There is also a spreadsheet to help you choose a correct shim, go here and use the link to download if you desire.

 

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/camhead-valve-shim-spreadsheet.670668/

 

Terry

[Highway41]

Watch the San Jose BMW video and try it. Its easy to measure the clearances and I doubt you'll need to replace many.

I've purchased one shim in 94K miles on Camheads.

Bill

[lkchris]

Since you've written to verify whether the dealer is correct, we can assume you don't have a service manual. That's a bad start.