Polishing valve shims to the right thickness

[mvalenti]

I actually re cut shims on a lathe, makes me think they were handed throughout, need some special tooling tho. If it were me get me from the shim club...

[Scout]

I can't believe that grinding the stock shims is even being debated. I don't know if these are surface hardened or the same harness throughout but I wouldn't take the risk. Just not worth it to save a couple bucks.

Just pick up the correct size replacement shims. In most cases you can shuffle them around and you'll only need to purchase a couple.

Agreed, grinding shims is a fool's errand unless done professionally. If your time is worth anything just buy new ones

[JTGS850GL]

Hardened all the way thru and they did it all the time back in the day. If I had a surface grinder I would do my own too. Bet you send Ray a message and he has ground them too.

OK then. Now I know it can be done and by who. I stand corrected. I just wouldn't trust hand sanding them to get them even.

[tkent02]

OK then. Now I know it can be done and by who. I stand corrected. I just wouldn't trust hand sanding them to get them even.

Doing it by hand would be a last resort for me, but uneven and too thin would be better for the engine than too thick. Too thick burns valves.

[JTGS850GL]

Doing it by hand would be a last resort for me, but uneven and too thin would be better for the engine than too thick. Too thick burns valves.

Just be careful that you don't go too thin and risk having one shatter or having the cam lobe hit the bucket.

[tkent02]

Just be careful that you don't go too thin and risk having one shatter or having the cam lobe hit the bucket.

I won't be doing them at all. I have a lifetime supply of shims, including a few in every size they ever made. Suzuki sold them down to 2.15mm, so that should work OK. If you need one thinner than that it's time to fix the head.

[mikerophone]

I have been dealing with Ray (Ghostgs1) and he has been great. The Post Office lost (or damaged?) the original shipment and he was willing to re-ship them to me at half the price. The package wasn't insured or trackable sadly, but out of the many shipments he has sent, it's probably one of the few you can count on 1 hand.

He made a special trip to the Post Office for me to re-ship them today! Great member and what a great service he offers. I am not sure if his are OEM or not, but haven't heard any bad reviews. You can also get K&L shims from Z1 for $6/each plus shipping. Using the shim club is even cheaper...Not worth risking catastrophic damage.