Help with valve shims!

That's what I usually do. I'm at 160k so I'll just take that off my to-do list.

 

I wouldn't completely write it off. But I think you're safe for a while. The 3.4 doesn't seem to be nearly as prone to it as the 2.7. But checking it around 180k wouldn't be a bad thing. My truck was a one owner rig that was driven like a grandma car most of it's life (160k miles) with oil changes at 4k intervals. And even at that I've got at least 3 that are tighter than spec. Granted I'm not nearly as nice to it as the PO was. I shift at 2.5-3k almost every time and its seen 5k a few times. Never hit the rev limiter though, and I don't intend to. Unless the throttle sticks wide open in 1st gear like my rav4 did once. Put it in neutral and that thing bounced of the limiter for a good minute before I could get it to stop, it was ice cold too, made me cringe hard. Didn't occur to me at the time that shutting the damn thing off would have been a lot easier. Live and learn haha.

 

Even I shift at 2750-3500 RPM, but I'm not slamming it from gear to gear, nice soft shifts. Although I do hit the rev limiter every once in a while nowadays. Lotsa fun, you should try it. It's not a violent rev limiter, it is kinda slow. Shifting these 4cyls with road gears (3.58s) like mine will make you run it up higher though.

 

I've got another rig that has rev limiter duty haha. That poor old thing sees 7k a lot. Good old Volvo B230FTs can take a pounding that's for sure. 185k with stock internals on 22lbs of boost and that old redblock takes it like a champ with nothing more than a different MAF to make it run rich. Trans and rear end are buzz kills though, shattered the first set. New rear end is 4.10 Dana 30 locker. car accelerates like a bat out of hell but it's screaming at 105 and there's nothing left to give. Big difference from stock 3.55s.

 

Hopefully I'll have a new vehicle in a day or two for rev limiter duty.

 

Some random relevant facts.

1/1000mm=.0000393"

There are 17 shim sizes in only .05mm increments (that's 2 decimal places), $7.34 ea, $10.17 list from Toyota.
Anyone who has actually done this job knows that new shims out of the box are lucky to be within .01mm of the stated value.

While the 3.4 is easier on valves than the 2.7, they still should be checked. The predominant wear factor is the exhaust valves/seats wearing allowing the valve to sink into the head, tightening the required clearance requiring smaller shims.

03 and 04 3.4's have "more durable" seats than previous years. The exhaust valves usually settle to a point then stay relatively stable. Still they should be checked at around 175k-200K if your serious or when any other work requiring the intake manifold/s to come off. It's not uncommon to find exhaust on the tight side at that point. Will they be OK for another 100K? Many times they will, sometimes they won't.

 

What are you looking at for a rig?

 

74 Datsun 620, wanna make a daily out of it so I can go whole hog on the Taco

 

One of my bucket list trucks. Doubt it'll be too rev happy with a stock engine though haha.

 

Looks like a fun little bugger, apparently the L18 engine is good to about 7000RPM with stock valve springs. Without a tach I'm not sure I would go very high though because no rev limiter.

 

I spent today at the salvage yard and pulled the shims out of 2 v6 engines in 4runners. Almost all were right around 3.01 or 2 down to 2.96 or 7 with one at 3.08 and one at 2.90. They are 28mm diameter. I'm thinking it didn't gain much to do it as they are all so close together. The pic shows what the thicknesses were.

 

My valve gaskets started weeping oil last winter so I'll probably have the gaskets replaced / get the valve clearances checked in about a year or so. Definitely can't afford any major work at the moment.

 

1/1000th of a millimeter?...haha really? It is obvious have never worked in a machine shop and really have no concept of precision machining and surface grinding so quit pretending you do. Regardless of what I have in my garage why would I need to hold that kind of tolerance when they come in 0.05mm increments from Toyota? Let me break it down for you...0.05mm=1/20mm.

As far as what I or others have at their disposal it doesn't matter as the OP said that a "head guy" would grind them for him. If you want me to spoon feed you the quotes I will alternatively you could just scroll up and practice reading. Not all surface grinders are CNC machines BTW (refer to above statement about you not knowing about this particular trade) and plenty are capable of grinding to the same tolerances as a CNC grinder.

 

To measure them did you mic them or use a caliper?

 

I just used a digital caliper

 

I've had my valves checked twice on my truck once at 150k and again at 185k. Everything is in spec but I do have a couple of exhaust valves that are on the edge of spec for tolerances.
Truck is a 2002 2.7L

 

You would see a greater variety of sizes if you measured them with a micrometer.

 

Pardon me, should have typed 0.001mm tolerances, and that is from the FSM for the thickness ranges. As for your response, its also obvious your not going to provide anything to back up your claims that youre going to DIY new valve shims. So yea, bullshit.

 

Haha, OK!

You are funny my friend. I laugh every time I read one of your posts.

 

See now thats working smarter not harder. Might be worth making a FS/trade thread for these. Did you happen to look at any 3RZ engines? Wondering if the diameter and sizes are the same.