Parts for a valve check

[RCinNC]

I'm getting ready to take the bike in for the third valve check. As a rule, I usually buy the parts ahead of time so they're ready to go when the job is scheduled. The last time I had the valves checked, I believe I bought the three different parts identified in the diagram. I'm not sure why I bought the rubber mounts last time; I checked my service manual and it doesn't mention anywhere that these are expendable items that have to be replaced. Can anyone chime in and tell me exactly what parts need to be replaced during a basic valve check (that doesn't involve changing shims)?

I've attached a diagram showing which parts I got last time.

 

[RonH]

I've only done one, but didn't replace any parts at all. All the gaskets are reusable unless damaged.

 

[holligl]

I bought a shim kit so I would not have to wait for right sizes, and the various gaskets, although I agree that they could usually be reused.
Gaskets: Valve cover , clutch cover, cam tensioner.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[RCinNC]

Why would you need a clutch cover gasket and a cam tensioner to do a valve clearance check? I've never needed a clutch cover gasket on on the two previous valve clearance checks.

As far as a shim kit, I imagine the shop has a supply of those.

 

[RonH]

Clutch cover and cam chain tensioner gaskets only need fooled with if adjustment is needed, and even then, both these gaskets are reusable. Not just being cheap, but why replace things if they need not be? Replace that valve cover gasket, you are in for a real job that will make you wish you didn't fool with the old one that didn't need replaced.

 

[Karl]

I did not replace any gaskets either. No leaks.

 

[EricV]

The clutch cover gasket is 'paper' and usually comes off in one piece. I've pulled that a couple of times for clutch basket stuff w/o it being damaged. I don't know what the CCT uses.

The valve cover gasket is going to get heat affected over time and harden. If you replaced it the previous valve check, it might be fine. SOP is to replace valve cover gaskets to avoid leaks at the sharp corners, where they usually develop first. It's your dime. When I was wrenching on cars for money, I would always replace valve cover gaskets so I knew I wouldn't have a customer coming back in with a leak. If it was my own car, it's only my labor and time to swap it out, so I might make a judgement call if the gasket looked and felt fine.

As an aside, have you already replaced the CCT? If not, you might consider doing it now.

 

[RCinNC]

I ordered a new OEM CCT, Eric. I've gone back and forth between an automatic one and a manual, and was just about ready to get a manual, and then went back to the automatic one again. My next valve check is due in about a thousand miles, and I'll have them put the CCT in when they do the check. I figure 78,000 is a good time to replace it. Between that, and new brake lines, radiator hoses, and some other stuff, that stimulus check is getting gobbled up pretty quickly.

If I was doing the job myself I might try and risk not tearing up the old gaskets so I could reuse them, but I'd still want to have a new set on hand just in case. When I recently changed the spark plugs on my V6 Camry, I bought new gaskets for the upper air intake just in case the old ones weren't up to par. The old ones were still fine (not bad after 13 years) so I returned the new ones to the auto parts store. I hate having to stop right in the middle of a task because I tore a gasket and either have to run around looking for one or else order one and have to wait. The shop doesn't have quite the same motivation to keep the gaskets intact; if they mess it up, they'll shove my bike to one side and make me wait two weeks just to get a twenty dollar gasket. I'd rather buy the gaskets and other parts in advance to minimize the down time on the bike. If I don't use them, I can always return them or sell them to someone else here on the forum who needs them.

 

[EricV]

I'm on the same page as you RC. When I did my first clutch cover removal I had ordered a gasket and had it on hand. I never needed it and gave it to the guy that bought my second S10 years later. You never know until you pull it apart. If the factory guy had a bad day, was in training or just brain farted, the gasket could be damaged or stuck hard to both engine and cover, instead of just to the cover.

Sounds like a smart move on the CCT to me.

 

[RCinNC]

In a related vein, is anyone here aware of a thread on the site that details the step by step replacement of the OEM cam chain tensioner? I've done both on and off site searches, and while I have retrieved some threads, none of them have been along the lines of a tutorial. I have the service manual, but I'd like to have some decent photos of someone actually doing it.

 

[EricV]

Youtube might help. Some of these would be worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=super+tenere+cam+chain+tensioner+replacement

 

[RCinNC]

Thanks Eric. I did my YouTube-Fu and found those videos earlier. I had some hope for the first one, but I scanned over the video and can't for the life of me find the part where he installs the CCT.

 

[Tenman]

The shop that did mine said they always replace every gasket. Whether they do or not. Who knows.

 

[RonH]

The head cover gasket is glued to the cover, and there is a groove all around the cover that the gasket has to be perfectly in to seal. No way on this earth that gasket can be replaced without carefully gluing it in place by removing all trace of oils. If mechanics prefer to spend hours cleaning and gluing, then wait til next day to assemble, that is pretty amazing, and not my experience.

 

[Don in Lodi]

The "rubber mounts" are seals for the valve cover screws. Replace them with the valve cover gasket. All rubber gaskets will get heat hardened over time, they don't rebound to their original thickness. 3M weatherstrip adhesive works fantastic for tacking rubber gaskets into their grooves, usually just the corners, and especially the sparkplug hole portions, they like to drop out. Used to be a product called Yamabond for tacking gaskets. Perfectly clean and dry surfaces, put matching dabs on both surfaces, let 'em get tacky and apply. Cures quick, no overnight dry time.
Not sure you need to replace the breather gaskets.

 

[RCinNC]

I thought they were supposed to be replaced too back when I had the first and second valve checks done. But if you look on pages 5-11 and 5-12 of the service manual, it specifies that the cylinder head cover gasket and breather plate gasket are to be replaced (they're both marked with the "New" symbol in the diagram), but there's no indication from the diagram that the rubber mount has to be replaced, and I couldn't find anything in the text that addressed it. They even have the CCT gasket marked as "New". The only thing I found in the diagram that references this area is a torque setting for the valve cover bolts.

 

[Don in Lodi]

They are just rubber rings for around the bolts, right? They're part of the over all seal. There are many autos that use a similar seal around their valve cover bolts... They don't come with the valve cover gasket usually, have to be ordered separately for some reason. Along with sealing for oil, they're under compression as well, keeping downward force on the rest of things.

 

[RCinNC]

Yes. Back when I bought a set I looked at them, and they're just a rubber ring, like a grommet. They're a separate item and part number from the cylinder head gasket. Yamaha isn't shy about insisting that items like gaskets be replaced every time, so I was surprised when I couldn't find anywhere that these things are expendable items. I'm not arguing pro or con about replacing them; I'm sure I replaced them the first two times because someone told me that they were supposed to be, but I can't find anywhere in the service manual that specifies replacing them, though they do specify replacement of the other gaskets I mentioned. It's 30 odd bucks to replace these rubber mounts (they're over five bucks each), so I don't really want to spend the money if they aren't even supposed to be replaced during a valve check.

 

[Tenman]

I'didn't think a stealership would install parts they didn't provide.

 

[RCinNC]

It hasn't been an issue where I go, Tenman. They'll install both OEM and non OEM stuff. The last time I had the valves done I bought the gaskets from the shop, but the time before I got them on line. The service department didn't know one way or another where I got them, and never asked. I learned through bitter experience not to schedule anything like a valve check unless the parts are already in my possession before the job starts; otherwise, the shop will make an appointment and then bike will just sit there for two weeks (at least) because the shop can't place a parts order to Yamaha unless they have a specific dollar amount.

This is the only job that I've farmed out to a shop in the six years I've owned the bike, and it does kind of bug me to have to do it. If I knew someone like Tabasco or EricV that lived close enough, I'd pay them to come and show me how to do it. I might be able to swing the valve check itself, since it mainly involves just taking parts off the bike. After tackling a spark plug change on a V6 Camry, taking a lot of parts off and reassembling them doesn't really daunt me. But if the valves actually needed to be adjusted, I wouldn't feel confident removing the cams and then trying to get everything put back correctly without wrecking the timing. I'd hate to take it all apart, find out it needed adjusting, then having to put it all together again to take it to the shop and then pay someone to take it all apart again.