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Sanding down VTEC Lifters? $34 a Bucket? What!?


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Hello All.

 

I'm in a predicament. I am doing the V4 valve adjustment myself (I don't want to hear about how you didn't have to do it for 100k miles 😀) and I need a LOT of shims unfortunately. I actually likely need to replace 5 VTEC LIFTERS ALONE! And those cost $33.95 on bikebandit.

 

Can I shave down the top of the lifters using a band saw or something similar? Costs are adding up on this VFR and I didn't anticipate $160 worth of bespoke valve shims/lifters!

 

If not (probably not), does anyone have any VTEC lifters sized 2.50mm to 2.75mm for sale? I need 5!

Valves.PNG

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Something doesn't add up here.

I paid around AU$70 for a Hot cams shim kit, with lots of shims (over 120 from memory).

Don't touch the buckets, they are case hardened and can't be cut, only surface ground, but I don't see a need for that.

Why do you need new lifters?

You don't need that many shims, are you sure you know what you're doing?

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1 hour ago, VFROZ said:

Something doesn't add up here.

I paid around AU$70 for a Hot cams shim kit, with lots of shims (over 120 from memory).

Don't touch the buckets, they are case hardened and can't be cut, only surface ground, but I don't see a need for that.

Why do you need new lifters?

You don't need that many shims, are you sure you know what you're doing?

This is a 6th gen. It has 8 regular shims, and 8 VTEC "lifter" buckets with set shim heights printed into the bucket.

 

See here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-VFR-800-Vtec-Shim-Bucket-Valve-Adjustment-286/282090986394?hash=item41adeedb9a:g:g0IAAOSwzJ5Xe~5c 

 

>You don't need that many shims, are you sure you know what you're doing?

 

8/16 of my valves are out of clearance, I know how measure... This is a sixth gen so it requires removing of the camshafts and modification of the VTEC buckets to even check clearance. I swapped lifters side to side (with the same measurement) into different slots to make sure it wasn't an issue with the VTEC bypass I did and the numbers are the same.

 

I should clarify green means in clearance, yellow means bottom clearance, and orange means OUT of clearance. The red numbers indicated a VTEC valve.

 

So still waiting on verification from someone that knows VTEC ones, but am I stuck having to spend $33 a valve lifter?

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damn that sucks, I would say no they cannot be modified, if you did I think they would wear very fast and damage a cam. I do not have any laying around.

 

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4 hours ago, 3dcycle said:

damn that sucks, I would say no they cannot be modified, if you did I think they would wear very fast and damage a cam. I do not have any laying around.

 

I asked on VFR people and people are too busy riding to answer if they have any lol. I learned I can repurpose 3, so I only have to buy 4... great... $135 for 4 lifters. RIP!

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Maybe have them machined at a local shop? Or using a lapping tool?  I have sanded normal shims down myself and measured with a micrometer to get my old 5th gen shims in spec. Just taped a wet sandpaper to a piece of glass and sanded it in a figure 8 till it was down to the correct thickness. But these buckets are a pain in the ass.  Not many vtech owners seem to mess with valves I have found. Put it in a vise and get a sanding disk small enough to fit on a drill and sand away? Might not be flush than? Just brain storming, I dont want to think you want to deal with the outside of the bucket you might sand it too thin and it will break but the thickest part of the underside?

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I would go with the Wet and Dry on a glass plate and lap the top of the bucket down until you get the correct thickness.

Check your initial measurements again and did you use the "locking" pins to lock the VTec buckets to the followers.

 

Part number:  07XMZ-MCEA100

 

Without the locking pins the VTec valves are always going to be tight.

Check the factory manual for the 6th Gen

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/21/2018 at 9:12 PM, HighSideNZ said:

I would go with the Wet and Dry on a glass plate and lap the top of the bucket down until you get the correct thickness.

Check your initial measurements again and did you use the "locking" pins to lock the VTec buckets to the followers.

 

Part number:  07XMZ-MCEA100

 

Without the locking pins the VTec valves are always going to be tight.

Check the factory manual for the 6th Gen

Thanks for your reply. I asked the local machinist about sanding/using a lathe to cut these down and he advised against it, plus shop time was going to be ~$100 anyways. I just bought the new VTEC shims.

On 5/17/2018 at 4:48 PM, HispanicSlammer said:

Maybe have them machined at a local shop? Or using a lapping tool?  I have sanded normal shims down myself and measured with a micrometer to get my old 5th gen shims in spec. Just taped a wet sandpaper to a piece of glass and sanded it in a figure 8 till it was down to the correct thickness. But these buckets are a pain in the ass.  Not many vtech owners seem to mess with valves I have found. Put it in a vise and get a sanding disk small enough to fit on a drill and sand away? Might not be flush than? Just brain storming, I dont want to think you want to deal with the outside of the bucket you might sand it too thin and it will break but the thickest part of the underside?

Yes, many VTEC owners didn't mess with them because they are either too scared or couldn't be bothered with all the work. It's pretty comprehensive, I'll admit. I will do it again in 40k miles though. Once you've done it once it shouldn't be an issue again. There was just a LOT of little issues getting it done (things I forgot to do, like keeping a tiny bit of pressure on the rear CC Guide so the cam gear doesn't skip a tooth when installing the gears.

 

I just bought them from Bikebandit with a Memorial Day weekend sale.

 

Now i'm getting this "slow to rev" issue I need help with. Any idea why it won't rev quickly?

 

 

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Sorry but back to the VTec buckets.

 

In all cases you need to measure the bucket with a micrometer and make sure the size etched on it is correct.

Someone may have already lapped them down so they may not be the marked measurement.

 

You are only talking about a few thousandths of an inch.

No machine shop is going to do anything for you.

As I said earlier, 800 grit wet and dry on a glass plate and lap them down in a figure 8 pattern whilst keeping the surface wet with water and a bit if dish washing detergent.

Keep measuring with your micrometer until you've removed the amount necessary to give the correct clearance.

 

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I'd be doing a compression test on this to make sure everything is OK.

Also recheck your cam timing.

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Cam timing was good, I pulled off the covers again just to make sure. I rechecked all clearances and whatnot, and all were in spec. After putting everything together I discovered the vacuum line from the MAP sensor to the 5-way splitter was cracked (wording) so replacing it helped. Now the bike runs much better. No popping or weirdness. But it's still slow to rev when you just romp on it from idle. I wonder if it's worth fixing or if I should just ride, lol.

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