valve shim report....

[bojangles]

pulled my valve cover,
hooked up pushbutton to diagnostic plug to crank engine,
measured all clearances - spec is .28 - .33 mm I just checked that the .28 went in and the .33 did not. this is since the dealer tells me the shims are only available in .05mm increments so there is no point fussing with anything in between
only one was below .28 (I could get a .25 feeler gauge in)

I used an allen key between the valves to press them down, then a jewler's screwdriver and a magnet and got the shim out no problem.
It was engraved 3.85 I measured it and it was almost exactly that. depending how hard I squeezed the caliper it read 3.85 or 3.84

I ordered a 3.80 shim from the dealer for 15 bucks... it will be in today.... imagine that. less than 24 hours delivery!

funny thing is that I asked the dealer for a quote to do a valve adjustment and they estimated it would be over 800 dollars.

B

[BMWCCA2]

funny thing is that I asked the dealer for a quote to do a valve adjustment and they estimated it would be over 800 dollars.

Yeah but the difference is they wouldn't have replaced the shim that you are and would have still charged you $800!

[Rich Euro M5]

pulled my valve cover,
hooked up pushbutton to diagnostic plug to crank engine,
measured all clearances - spec is .28 - .33 mm I just checked that the .28 went in and the .33 did not. this is since the dealer tells me the shims are only available in .05mm increments so there is no point fussing with anything in between
only one was below .28 (I could get a .25 feeler gauge in)

I used an allen key between the valves to press them down, then a jewler's screwdriver and a magnet and got the shim out no problem.
It was engraved 3.85 I measured it and it was almost exactly that. depending how hard I squeezed the caliper it read 3.85 or 3.84

I ordered a 3.80 shim from the dealer for 15 bucks... it will be in today.... imagine that. less than 24 hours delivery!

funny thing is that I asked the dealer for a quote to do a valve adjustment and they estimated it would be over 800 dollars.

B

Great news about your valve ajdustment. If I was you' I'd be making an appointment with your dealerships Service Manager wanting to know where they came up with a $800 estimate. You can buy a shim set for less money and you'd never have to purchase another shim from BMW again. I suspect they gave you an outrageous quote to scare you away. I doubt they have anyone in their service department qualified (trained) to work on the S38 and don't want the liability of their techs screwing up an expensive to replace/repair engine.

Rich

[bojangles]

the estimate came from a e34 that they claim they did recently.

they included new valve cover gaskets. assumed at least 12 shims would need replacing, and something crazy like 4 hours labour...

they showed it all to me.. that was what inspired me to get off my ass and just do it myself.

[Rich Euro M5]

the estimate came from a e34 that they claim they did recently.

they included new valve cover gaskets. assumed at least 12 shims would need replacing, and something crazy like 4 hours labour...

they showed it all to me.. that was what inspired me to get off my ass and just do it myself.

That's still obscene. But considering BMW's new parts pricing policy, it's about right. FWIW: The cost of the parts on RealOEM for the valve cover gaskets, the gaskets for the plug tubes, and 12 shims is $150.74. They're probably paying less than this for the parts, so even if you assumed they are charging $120/hr for the labor, they're raping you by significantly over pricing the parts.

Rich

[bojangles]

keep in mind I am talking Canadian dollars.. and the part pricing here is stuck around the 1.35 exchange rate.. (or seems like double what is on RealOEM) It has not been adjusted to the current rate... so we are really getting screwed on part prices.

Anyway the good of it all is that doing the valve adjustment is really not a big deal..I think with a shim kit handy this is not so much worse than doing the eccentric style rocker adjustment.

mark D's chip is in the mail to me so I wanted to make sure that my engine is ready for testing

[Ted in T.O.]

You will still have one of the slower E28 M5's in Southern Ontario Bruce.A little eye candy that Mark picked this spring with a 3.9 stroked Metric Mechanic motor. The IS to the left is Marks old car after the paint job and it is now my daily driver.

8)


Sorry Bruce but I didn't mean to hijack the thread. Ted