polecat Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Question to one of you Smart Ones !Mechanic said I need to adjust the tappets and could do it myself in a couple of hours.What the heck is a tappet and why is it not mentioned in my HAYNES manual ?How hard is it to do them when I find where they are and if they exsist ?Mechanical Noob so be gentle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hodgy Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Tappets = valve clearancesYou'll need feeler guages, remove valve cover, check clearances with engine cold usually, but it should tell you in the book, adjust if necessary, again Mr Haynes should tell you what the clearances should be and how to adjust them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Tappets = valve clearancesYou'll need feeler guages, remove valve cover, check clearances with engine cold usually, but it should tell you in the book, adjust if necessary, again Mr Haynes should tell you what the clearances should be and how to adjust them ah so tappeets are now valves ok relook at Haynes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 No, tappets are not valves mate. They used to be the screw and locknut that you use to adjust your valve clearances. Modern engines tend to have shims on top of buckets that sit on top of the valves. You can,t adjust shims, you have to change them. If you come to Winster, we,ll have a go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastanglianbiker Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 they are the locknut and screw type on those engine you need to remove top engine cover to get to them and need to use feeler gauges to set correct gap between rocker and valve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin the Bear Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Google not working then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 they are the locknut and screw type on those engine you need to remove top engine cover to get to them and need to use feeler gauges to set correct gap between rocker and valveOk I may feel brave enough to give it a go next week can you damage the thing running it badly adjusted ? Google not working then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TappetIts working but I wanted more hands on info than internet can provide and I imagined tappets to be somethng that Taps and valves as something that stops air coming out of it !Haynes does not mention tappets at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin the Bear Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 tappet is the noise made by a worn cam follower, however the term is widely used to represent the cam follower itself.If you follow haynes and do a service all will become clear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jixerman Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 they are the locknut and screw type on those engine you need to remove top engine cover to get to them and need to use feeler gauges to set correct gap between rocker and valveOk I may feel brave enough to give it a go next week can you damage the thing running it badly adjusted ? You run the risk of bending the valves if they are too far out Not done any for a long time but I recall something about the cylinder needing to be top dead center (TDC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Valve clearance should be checked and set when cam lobe is opposite valve. At tdc some valves are closed, some are open and some are in between. Turn crank clockwise until you see a cam that is opposite the valve, ie valve is fully closed, then check clearance. Turn crank some more until you can repeat this until all are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Valve clearance should be checked and set when cam lobe is opposite valve. At tdc some valves are closed, some are open and some are in between. Turn crank clockwise until you see a cam that is opposite the valve, ie valve is fully closed, then check clearance. Turn crank some more until you can repeat this until all are done. On modern bikes there are have two unscrewable covers. One revealing the nut to turn the engine and one to make sure its lined up at the right point. The haynes should show how.Tappets are easier to live with tbh. Just screw the adjusters up and off you go.Modern bikes now have you take out the shims and have you check with a micrometer that they are the right thickness. If they are worn and this wear matches the extra clearance on the valve you replace the shim no problem. If not you use the feeler gauges to work out the clearance and then buy an extra sized shim to boot.At a bikes first valve clearance (usually 13,000 - 18,000 miles) there should be nothing in it. Its only when you get 50k miles plus I've ever seen a valve clearance be out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoover Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 At a bikes first valve clearance (usually 13,000 - 18,000 miles) there should be nothing in it. Its only when you get 50k miles plus I've ever seen a valve clearance be out. every bike that I've ever done has always needed adjusting at the first service and not needed doing again for the next two or three services, had to change 15 of 16 shims on mine at the first (15thou) service.you shoud always check vavle clearances when the engine is stone cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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