? about Valve Lifters

[kntmikado]

According to the TSRM, those bucket-shaped things in the valvetrain are in fact called lifters. So none of that in this thread, please.

Now, on to business. I'm FINALLY looking at getting my engine woes diagnosed properly/repaired, and part of that requires removing the head. To this end, I've got a rebuilt head waiting and ready to go. However, the lifters that came with it are rusty in spots and generally bad-looking. Since I'm going to be transferring my existing cams to this new head, what I want to know is if I can also transfer my existing lifters/shims to the new head as well, providing I put everything in the same spot it's in now. I can't really imagine why it'd pose a problem, but valvetrains aren't something I'm much of an expert on.

 

[tookwik4u89]

Swapping them is perfectly fine, but you will have to check all your clearances and re-shim where neccessary.

 

[kntmikado]

That's good news. The lifters on the old head appear to be a total loss, and a full set of new ones is crazy expensive. Shims shouldn't be nearly as bad. Thanks a ton.

 

[Mrbaboon]

Shims shouldn't be nearly as bad. Thanks a ton.

Oh boy are you in for a nice surprise.

 

[Jaguar_5]

Ha, i was thinking the same thing

If you're lucky you can mix & match from what you already have

 

[tookwik4u89]

Shimming is a PITFA! swap as many as you can and clean up the old ones, so you have to buy as few as possible.

 

[Mrbaboon]

I had to shim the head with 2 shims that were small enough to take clearances off of. It took me a good 8 hours to check and re-check the shims. Get the Toyota valve shim removal tool (I bought mine from the store "Canadian Tire", hell if I know where to buy one in the states) so you don't have to bolt and unbolt you cams. It's TERRIBLE for the threads.

 

[kntmikado]

What I meant by "not nearly as bad" is that I can't possibly foresee shims being $11 each and needing 24 of them. 24 lifters @ $11+ each plus tax or shipping add up very fast.

So since I've got this whole thread to embarrass myself in... approximately how much should I be expecting to pay for shims, each?

 

[Jaguar_5]

between $6 and $8.50 each

 

[trydrew]

Adjusting valve clearence is so fun...

Outside of school, it was the first time I made an Excell spreadsheet. I do say that it helped quite a bit though, because keeping tabs on 24 different shims isn't that fun.

What I did was measure the clearence of the shims as they were. Then I mic'd all the spare shims I had (~48) and set them all out in order. Using the spreadsheet, I figured out which spare would replace each shim from the head. If I didn't have a correct size, I would skip it. Then when I finished all that I could, I checked the ones I skiped to see if they could be replaced with ones that I removed from other valves. Surprisingly, quite a few worked out that way.
In the end, though, I still had to buy 9 shims... lol

The little bit of money is worth the kinks that you are ironing out.