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Yes, I bought the shims from that website... they didn't ask if I was a business/individual—I just created an account, ordered 'em, and that was it. I just checked the site, and it looks like I still can for approx. $4.50/shim.  https://www.fastservsupply.com/search.aspx?tSearch=M34+Shim

The Rt. 66 trip was great, thanks! We did have some trouble with 1) the fridge not working well on propane and 2) the wife using wrong TP in the can, but overall I'd call it a successful venture. We made it out to Amarillo, TX and back, and the motor ran as good as it ever has. I'm really glad I did the valve adjustment, for peace of mind, etc.

Trip Highlight: Palo Duro Canyon, Texas

Palo-Duro-TX.jpg.b083df4ef002afbf0d7e3d54d1f6dbb4.jpg

Warrior-Palo-Duro.thumb.jpg.4d3766606170c24b8980f40f0e0b77d5.jpg

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I called them to see if they could overnight them to me if need be and thats when they told me I needed an acct and they dont sell to individuals,glad it worked out for you.Have an appt to bring rig in next week for valve adjustment so was looking for backup place to get shims if toyota doesnt have any.

Palo Duro is pretty nice,those pics dont do it justice.We've camped there on vacation past 2 years,but last yr was trip from hell.Numerous things went wrong on the trip with the most expensive thing being hail storm that happened while we were there,big frickin hail  tore up my truck and travel trailer.

Did you hike up to the lighthouse? I dont know if you're into offroading but theres a big riding area right outside of Amarillo to ride,rode my buggy out there both trips.

Crappy video I made couple years ago.

 

Edited by redskinman
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/4/2017 at 6:45 PM, Ctgriffi said:

If these six little boogers could talk... well, they've all been swapped with new, and my clearances all look good. Time to put it all back together and see how she runs. 

image.thumb.jpg.37dc4b0cc31b1f065a67273e24dccef7.jpg

I've got mine in the shop now,I brought the shims I got from you with me and gave to him just in case one might be the right size.He was concerned about your engine because of that 1 shim of yours.I never really paid that much attn to them before but when we were looking at them together,on 5 of them you could read the numbers on them,but that discolored one was so scratched up and wore down he said something was off on your engine,I think he said something about the camshaft but I didnt press him on it,I can ask him for more info if you want me to when I pick mine up.

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Ok I got my motorhome back tonight after valve adj.

As per everyone else intake was ok,exhaust wasnt.

Intake: .009,.009.011,.010,.010,.010

3 of the exhaust clearances were ok and 3 werent.I wish he would have replaced all the shims but he only replaced 3,not happy about it but nothing I can do now.2 were .007 which he made .011,one was .009 which he made .012,the others were .010,.010,.011

I wish he would have replaced all of them and made them .013 but he was the only guy I could find that I talked to that sounded like they had a clue to do the job.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is a update to my valve adjustment. Have put on 1800 miles since adj. The engine definitely runs smother and has more power. Going up hills is noticeable, do not have to down shift as soon, got more tork. The gas mileage is back to where it was when I bought it. Over the past 4 years it had declined, now I'm getting 14.44 mpg on 1200 miles and 6 tanks of gas. That is mostly highway miles. The best was 15.77/highway and worst was 13.208/a lot of city driving. On my road trip to Alaska, in Prince George now.

Darrel

 

800 miles 

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  • 11 months later...

Started job and revisiting posts.    I have done some hard jobs over the years and this is in one of the top 10! 

I planned on 2 days to get it apart and am on day 4, not 4 days of constant work. 

I managed to get one shim out today. The # 2 exhaust. 

I am leaving the tools out and hoping the valve fairy shows up tonight and finishes this for me. 

Truck has 107,000 mile on it and SSC was done at 30,000 miles in 1998. 

 

 

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what part of the job is "hard" for you?  I found that the shim tool worked on about 1/2 the valves, things got in the way on the others.  On those I used a small bent screwdriver.   I found a pointed tool quite and a magnet quite handy for handling the shims.

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The project has been hard on me physically,  I won't whine about the golden years being tarnished.

Plus I misinterpreted a couple of the videos I looked at and made a few mistakes, add in a few things that would not come apart,  like the rear large hose on the pass side.

I have been looking at the exhaust valve by the brake boosted and see the tool will not fit in there so I ordered another tool I saw for motor cycles. Should be here in a couple days.

https://www.ebay.com/i/351815262319?chn=ps

Also the valve by the power steering pump, does not look easy,  did you remove the PS pump and engine lift bracket?

Will try the compressed air like Maineah suggests. 

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4 hours ago, jjrbus said:

The project has been hard on me physically,  I won't whine about the golden years being tarnished.

Plus I misinterpreted a couple of the videos I looked at and made a few mistakes, add in a few things that would not come apart,  like the rear large hose on the pass side.

I have been looking at the exhaust valve by the brake boosted and see the tool will not fit in there so I ordered another tool I saw for motor cycles. Should be here in a couple days.

https://www.ebay.com/i/351815262319?chn=ps

Also the valve by the power steering pump, does not look easy,  did you remove the PS pump and engine lift bracket?

Will try the compressed air like Maineah suggests. 

You can do it! I second your opinion that this is a difficult job for the average DIY guy, and I'm in good health, pretty strong and fairly mechanical (not to toot my own horn!).

Some of those shims just don't want to come out, and access is very limited when you get close to the firewall. I used the Toyota SST, along with a variety of other tools (including a small allen wrench) to lever the buckets down and get the shims out. I don't think I tried the compressed air method, but it sounds like a great idea.

I actually took a bunch of video/photos of all this when I did it because I noticed that there wasn't a lot of good info out there on the subect. But I still haven't done anything with the media... it's a lot of work, trying to edit video and all that, and I've got too many other projects.

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28 minutes ago, Ctgriffi said:

You can do it! I second your opinion that this is a difficult job for the average DIY guy, and I'm in good health, pretty strong and fairly mechanical (not to toot my own horn!).

Some of those shims just don't want to come out, and access is very limited when you get close to the firewall. I used the Toyota SST, along with a variety of other tools (including a small allen wrench) to lever the buckets down and get the shims out. I don't think I tried the compressed air method, but it sounds like a great idea.

I actually took a bunch of video/photos of all this when I did it because I noticed that there wasn't a lot of good info out there on the subect. But I still haven't done anything with the media... it's a lot of work, trying to edit video and all that, and I've got too many other projects.

I am going to demand my Shade Tree Mechanic certificate after this one and if it is not issued I will sue ?

I have a bunch of photos, but those are for reassembly,  I am not the person to make a tutorial on this job,  it is at the edge of my skill limits.

I found the bucket hold down tool very frustrating, until I tried using it from the opposite side of the cam, did not show it that way in the video I saw. 

I have never pretended to be a mechanic, but find it very hard to believe that the flat rate on this is 4 to 4 1/2 hours.  

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5 hours ago, jjrbus said:

I am going to demand my Shade Tree Mechanic certificate after this one and if it is not issued I will sue ?

I have a bunch of photos, but those are for reassembly,  I am not the person to make a tutorial on this job,  it is at the edge of my skill limits.

I found the bucket hold down tool very frustrating, until I tried using it from the opposite side of the cam, did not show it that way in the video I saw. 

I have never pretended to be a mechanic, but find it very hard to believe that the flat rate on this is 4 to 4 1/2 hours.  

A little hint write you shim size and clearance on the cylinder head in pencil that way it's right there in front of you and it doesn't matter what cylinder it is.

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Found an online valve shim calculator.  Entered data for my first shim and shows I need a new shim of 2.63mm

http://www.maultechatv.com/techguides/Valve Clearance Calculator/index.php

I entered recommended valve clearance of .013, measured valve clearance of .008,  existing shim thickness of of 2.76 mm and it shows I need a new shim of 2.63mm.

Does this appear accurate or is there a better way. 

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3 hours ago, jjrbus said:

Found an online valve shim calculator.  Entered data for my first shim and shows I need a new shim of 2.63mm

http://www.maultechatv.com/techguides/Valve Clearance Calculator/index.php

I entered recommended valve clearance of .013, measured valve clearance of .008,  existing shim thickness of of 2.76 mm and it shows I need a new shim of 2.63mm.

Does this appear accurate or is there a better way. 

That is accurate, yes.

Honestly, the math here is not real complicated, if you just convert everything to millimeters (since that is the unit of measurement you'll use to order the new shims). And, keep in mind that the point of all this is to make sure that the shim "takes up the right amount of space," vertically-speaking.

Using the numbers you provided:

  1. You currently have .008" clearance and you want to get to .013" clearance—meaning, you need .005" more space in there (so, you'll need a shorter shim).
  2. Convert that .005 inches to millimeters by multiplying it by 25.4. This equals .127 millimeters.
  3. Subtract that desired "extra space" from your existing shim to get the new shim size: 2.76mm - .127mm = 2.633mm
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I will start doing everything in MM that should uncomplicated things a bit.  Most every measuring tool I own today has dual readings except for an antique micrometer the neighbor give me.  I can still use it to double check the caliper #'s. 

#'s seem simple enough put that way!

I do not seem to be getting the hang of the bucket hold down tool,  any suggestions on that?

I got the area clean today, took about 45 minutes, now I can try writing #'s on head. 

Thanks for the input, always appreciated.    

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Jim....when you take out a shim, measure it, mark it, and put it back it before turning crank to get at the others. You do not want to turn the camshafts with empty buckets. I found that out the hard way!

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In this video the bucket holder is put straight in on the cove side of the shim.  If I put the holder straight in, it sets on the shim, making it impossible to remove, if I put at an angle will not hold the bucket down.

  Also the plier like tool has a rivet instead of a nut and bolt, my ebay one has a nut and bolt.     I suspect that something is amiss with my bucket holder.  I have gotten 2 out so far, but it has been very frustrating.  I was ready to take the worse one out by the booster, going in with the magnet and ping, the tool goes flying. 

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Did not get much done on this due to rain.   When I measure and do the math trying to get max clearance of  0.32 mm and come up with a shim #  of 2.633 mm, the shims come in .05 increments so is best to order 2.60 or 2.65?? 

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1 hour ago, jjrbus said:

Did not get much done on this due to rain.   When I measure and do the math trying to get max clearance of  0.32 mm and come up with a shim #  of 2.633 mm, the shims come in .05 increments so is best to order 2.60 or 2.65?? 

More clearance is better, the worse case is a "tick" if it's a little slack. Here is how it works it's all about valve timing for that cylinder and is far more important in performance engines and not so much in a "driver" a valve that is tight will advance the valve timing and can lead to burned valve if it's "too tight", too loose and the timing is late this is what the set clearance is about so it there is doubt in your clearance go with the loose side it will do no harm. The factory figured in the range so as long as you are somewhere in the range you will be fine.

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Thanks for the input but "think metric" is like telling me to think in Chinese algebra,  I would get it eventually.    I did find this example which made it clear for me and might help other short school bus kids. 

THINK METRIC

Measured Clearance
+ Existing Shim
= Existing Total

- Ideal/Average clearance
= Ideal new shim size.

I did each shim 2 times once at 0.22mm and also at 0.32 mm so I will have a range to work in. 

I struggled with removing each shim until I got to #3, the one used in video's, got it on the second try. Either that is the easiest one to do or I need a video for each cylinder. 

Compressed air worked will to loosen most shims but #5 did not want to budge and needed more persuasion.  

 

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OK,   Finished all the work and did the math,  anyone got time to look numbers over before I buy parts?

 1 thorough 6 cylinders, exhaust only.

                    New shim for 0.32 gap                                       New shim for 0.22 gap

#1      2.612 so look like I need a 2.65                                 2.712

#2      2.64   so another    2.65                                              2.714

#3     2.618  and another  2.65                                             2.718

#4     2.662   looks like a 2.70                                               2.762

#5     2.638  and another 2.65                                               2.738

#6    2.628   another 2.65                                                       2.728

Compared online price and list price for what I need shims, gaskets and PCV and there is only about a $25 difference in price, not including shipping.  So I will go to the local dealer and see if parts are returnable.  Not 100% sure on my #'s so returnable would be a big plus. 

Here is the spread sheet I used to double check my #'s if that would help.

 

shims.PNG

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After looking this over and deciding because of the difficulty of the job I wanted OE Toy parts I decided to purchase from the local dealer. Their list price was higher than what I found on the net and after a little whining they gave me the web list price, list price not discounted price! I paid about $21 more than I would have paid online plus shipping. But I asked and can return shims if I ordered the wrong size, which is possible. The order is for 6 shims 2 valve cover gaskets, 1 plenum gasket and 1 PVC valve and grommet

 

Toyshims.PNG

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  • 2 weeks later...

When I ordered the shims I was told 5-7 business days, this is day 7 and no call or text yet. In the meantime I have been doing some reading to try and figure out how to use the bucket hold down tool.  I am starting to suspect that the cheap tool, is too thick and the metal is too soft to keep a sharp edge.  I have asked around a bit and find no one that owns such a tool to compare.

Others saying they have used bent screwdrivers, keys and allen wrenches,  I'm having an issue with the supposedly right tool. 

Also found some reference to vehicles being approved for California have valve clearances being 0.015 on the high side? 

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#$%^&#@  Valve bucket too!  I found holding the bucket down and removing the shim very frustrating,  25, 30 attempts, start to pull the shim out and zing, the tool pops out.  To the point of getting ready to pull the cams to get the job done. 

I am reading and watching video's about this,  a guy doing it on a bench in a shop is not real world example.  I looked the situation over and decided that the cheap Ebay valve bucket tool is too thick and the edge that sits on the bucket is not flat enough with a good edge.   So decide to grind it down as I cannot possibly makes things worse.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/toyota-valve-tool

I ground about 1/3 of the thickness off the tool and carefully filed the end that sits against the bucket, to produce a nice square edge. I started with a 1/3 thinking I could always take more off and/or throw it on the roof!

IT WORKED! If you saw me pulling shims out you would think I was an old time Toy mechanic that had done this 100's of times?

In the photo I highlighted in black the area I removed material from and where I filed, I tried to remove the same amount from each side of the tool.

Also as it was the 7th day I tried calling the Toyota dealer about my parts,  6 times I called, hung up on, put on hold and forgotten about.  Eventually got through to parts and was told my parts were ready for pickup,  wonder how long they had been sitting there waiting for me to call?

IMG_0100.JPG

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Cool! Glad you found a way to make the process a little easier. I like the attitude of "think on it, then modify the d#$* thing until it does what I need it to do." :) ?

Keep us posted. I want to know how it runs when it's all back together. (That was the fun part for me, when I finally got there...)

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Seen some writeups and videos on the web, all doing on bench or #3 cyl, the easy one!

Well here is #6, in the real world, everything went well till this point.  I used 3 tools for the rest but there is no room to work around #6, wires and hoses are in the way and the engine lift bracket needs to come off. There is not enough room for the tools, so I got the angle grinder out and chopped them down to a usable length.

I was able to use 1/2 the clamp type tool and get the short wedge type tool in place to get the cut down bucket hold down tool in position.  The bucket tool cannot be seen when it is in place and if it is a bit out of position it will block the shim from coming out. #6 was still a bit frustrating as nothing wants to cooperate.  Compressed air pop'ed the shims out on all but #6, it had to be pried out.

Safety glasses are a must on this job as everything is under pressure and wants to spring out of place.

I rotated the engine by hand a couple turns and remeasured all clearence's

1.  .010   .254mm      2.  .012   .305mm      3.   .011   .279mm    4.  .010   .254mm     5. .012    .305mm   6.  .011     .279

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On 5/24/2018 at 9:27 PM, jjrbus said:

I will start doing everything in MM that should uncomplicated things a bit.  Most every measuring tool I own today has dual readings except for an antique micrometer the neighbor give me.  I can still use it to double check the caliper #'s. 

#'s seem simple enough put that way!

I do not seem to be getting the hang of the bucket hold down tool,  any suggestions on that?

I got the area clean today, took about 45 minutes, now I can try writing #'s on head. 

Thanks for the input, always appreciated.    

here's my thread from a few years ago:  

 

 

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10 hours ago, DanAatTheCape said:

here's my thread from a few years ago:  

 

 

You got closer to high specs than I did.   I think if I had not done this in metric I might have been able to fudge on the shims a bit,  I now see that on one shim the clearance difference was only .00047

NOw to satisfy my curiosity if you still have the shim hold down tool could you measure the thickness of it?

On a side note I did use my harbor freight digital calipers, using a non metric micrometer was not going to work. 

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<<<Now to satisfy my curiosity if you still have the shim hold down tool could you measure the thickness of it?>>>  I do  have it - I thought I had pics showing the heights of the 2 "heads"....    are you interested in the width of the "heads"?  

 

I recall it was thin, not much wider then the thickness of the "cup" that holds the shim,  I should be down by the camper Monday.

P1060045closeup.jpg

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Thanks for the response, interested in the thickness of your tool,  mine is not thin when compared to the width of the bucket.   My tool measures 0.063 before I ground it down, 0.051 thickness after grinding.

The one I have looks like it is stamped out of sheet metal.

Actually measuring this is surprising I thought I took off more.  

Edited by jjrbus
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3 hours ago, jjrbus said:

Thanks for the response, interested in the thickness of your tool,  mine is not thin when compared to the width of the bucket.   My tool measures 0.063 before I ground it down, 0.051 thickness after grinding.

The one I have looks like it is stamped out of sheet metal.

Actually measuring this is surprising I thought I took off more.  

curious, why do you want to modify the tool?

 

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