Valve lash anyone?
12-29-06, 07:39 AM
#1
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Valve lash anyone?
Has anybody done their own valve lash adjustment? or had it done? particularly on a GS400
At 100k dealer (or lexus) says youre supposed to audibly inspect the lash (listen to hear if they are making alot of noise) and adjust if necessary.
I think i have one valve thats making more noise than I like, but I noticed it a few days after i bought the car, & by then I changed to mobil one 5-30 from 10k old oil. It ticked BADLY with a fram filter, not as bad with a mobil one filter, but still ticks.
How do you measure the lash? Do you just set that cylinder to tdc and stick feeler gauges between the cam and solid lifter (bucket)?
What special tools, if any, are required?
Do you have to remove the cams or does the shim go between the cam and lifter?
How do you get around the VVTI?
thanks
At 100k dealer (or lexus) says youre supposed to audibly inspect the lash (listen to hear if they are making alot of noise) and adjust if necessary.
I think i have one valve thats making more noise than I like, but I noticed it a few days after i bought the car, & by then I changed to mobil one 5-30 from 10k old oil. It ticked BADLY with a fram filter, not as bad with a mobil one filter, but still ticks.
How do you measure the lash? Do you just set that cylinder to tdc and stick feeler gauges between the cam and solid lifter (bucket)?
What special tools, if any, are required?
Do you have to remove the cams or does the shim go between the cam and lifter?
How do you get around the VVTI?
thanks
12-29-06, 11:12 PM
#2
It is an in-depth procedure best left to the shop. The valves are actuated by "shim buckets" instead of lifters. These shims fit between the cam lobe and the top of the valve stem.
Toyota makes shims of varying thicknesses for just this purpose. As things wear, the springs start losing their strength, the cam lobes wear down, and slack develops in the valve train. The mechanic measures the clearance or space between the lobe and stem and places a shim of the right thickness between them. Special tools are required to remove and replace shim buckets "in-car" without removing the cams. Adjusting the valves mechanically with screwdriver and wrench using a feeler gauge is now a thing of the past. Oil plays a critical role in lubricating these very intricate parts inside this complex engine. Nothing inside is cheap, and good oil is cheap insurance against premature wear.
I have 132,000 miles on my engine and the valve train is barely audible. The previous owner used Mobil 1 synthetic oil from the first 5000 miles until he sold it at 59,000 miles...(all documented by the dealer, since all the work was done there from brand new.) I bought the car then and have used AMSOIL synthetic from then until now, with excellent results.
When I changed my starter this last summer, I had an opportunity to look at the valve stems in the heads and they were immaculate. I was truly amazed. I've never removed a valve cover but things seem fine under there. I have no oil leaks anywhere.
If oil change intervals are exceeded, and/or inferior oils have been used, problems develop in engines in later years as the miles accumulate.
Many of us did not purchase our cars new, so normally we have no clue how they were operated previously. Perhaps that is the problem with your car, as these engines are really quiet and reliable well past 250,000 miles if maintained properly.
I would say that a valve adjustment using new shims is a rarity on these cars. I don't know what else it could possibly be given the information we have.
Please keep in touch and let us know the results if you decide to get any work done.
Toyota makes shims of varying thicknesses for just this purpose. As things wear, the springs start losing their strength, the cam lobes wear down, and slack develops in the valve train. The mechanic measures the clearance or space between the lobe and stem and places a shim of the right thickness between them. Special tools are required to remove and replace shim buckets "in-car" without removing the cams. Adjusting the valves mechanically with screwdriver and wrench using a feeler gauge is now a thing of the past. Oil plays a critical role in lubricating these very intricate parts inside this complex engine. Nothing inside is cheap, and good oil is cheap insurance against premature wear.
I have 132,000 miles on my engine and the valve train is barely audible. The previous owner used Mobil 1 synthetic oil from the first 5000 miles until he sold it at 59,000 miles...(all documented by the dealer, since all the work was done there from brand new.) I bought the car then and have used AMSOIL synthetic from then until now, with excellent results.
When I changed my starter this last summer, I had an opportunity to look at the valve stems in the heads and they were immaculate. I was truly amazed. I've never removed a valve cover but things seem fine under there. I have no oil leaks anywhere.
If oil change intervals are exceeded, and/or inferior oils have been used, problems develop in engines in later years as the miles accumulate.
Many of us did not purchase our cars new, so normally we have no clue how they were operated previously. Perhaps that is the problem with your car, as these engines are really quiet and reliable well past 250,000 miles if maintained properly.
I would say that a valve adjustment using new shims is a rarity on these cars. I don't know what else it could possibly be given the information we have.
Please keep in touch and let us know the results if you decide to get any work done.
Last edited by gserep1; 12-29-06 at 11:29 PM.
03-25-11, 07:41 AM
#3
I realize this is an extremely old post. I just wanted to share here. I was looking for the special tool to do this job and it turns out that they are available though the aftermarket. If you are thinking about adjusting the valves yourself, search for yourself and see if these are the correct tools: Schley Products 88250 or SIR tools TOY 008. There maybe others out there as well. I am eyeing up to do this job in a couple of months or so. I need to find the shims next.
I hope this helps someone,
Gears
I hope this helps someone,
Gears
, was looking into doing mine pretty soon
04-06-11, 12:26 PM
#5
You are very welcome! I am just giving back. I have learned a lot from this site and many others. I am having A/C problems right now so this project is on the back burner. While I was still looking into this, it seems that finding the right shims might be an issue. You dont know which ones you need ahead of time and they are probably going to vary from valve to valve (in thickness). They seem to cost around $6-7 a piece. I was looking into other sources, and they might be the same size as certain other cars (Ford?) and motorcycles(Yamaha?).
Let me know if you find anything about this,
Gears
Let me know if you find anything about this,
Gears
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