Valve Adjustment Tool Kit available for rent

[jdoublehcubed]

A few weeks ago I tried to find a shim set to rent for a valve inspection on my M. I was unable to find a kit to rent, borrow, or purchase, and ended up going to ECS to buy one. This kind of sucked, because I didn't really want to shell out $500 for a tool I would only use once every 2 or 3 years. So, I'm now going to make my kit available to other members of the forum.

The kit includes:

- BMW Shim set, full, no shims missing.
- BMW Shim installation tool.
- Digital Micrometer, accurate to .001 mm
- Craftsman feeler gauges, with gauges including .179, .205, .229 (perfect bracket of intake side) and .279, .303, .330 (perfect bracket of exhaust side).

How it works:
1. You paypal me $500 (thats my replacement cost for the kit).
2. I mail you the kit (via USPS priority mail. Delivery in 2-3 business days).
3. You get 3 weeks (from delivery) to do the adjustment. If you need more time, thats no problem, I just don't want it to turn into a 6 month stretch.
4. You mail the kit back.
5. I refund your money, minus $70 plus the cost of replacement shims.

I buy shims at getbmwparts.com, for $2.86 each plus $10 shipping. This is the cheapest price I've been able to find, but you're obviously welcome to refill the kit before you send it back, in which case you aren't charged for shims. If you want to use shims you took out of your engine to refill the kit, they have to be +/- .005 mm from the labeled size (this is the accuracy of the shims that come in the kit). If you have spare shims to send back, that won't fit into the kit, I'll buy them for $1 each.

If you're in LA near Pasadena, I'll drop the kit off to you and knock $10 off since I don't have to pay shipping.

edit: adding my reccomended DIYs.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=492445
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=450097

edit: shipping note. the box I send out is a Priority Mail Flat Rate Medium Box. when you go to ship it back, make sure to buy a Medium Flat Rate label; if you pay by weight it will cost significantly more.

######### new edit: ############
for anyone doing this job with or without the shim kit, I have a big stash of odd sized shims, accumulated from all the removed shims I purchase from people who've rented the kit. they're in between sizes that won't fit in the kit. if you're ever doing a valve adjustment and need an odd size, PM me and let me know what the size is and I'll check to see if I have it. $1 per shim for anything from my odd size stash, plus $3 shipping (i'll refund any shipping difference, not wanting to make money at this just helping out anyone stuck without the shim they need). I can also overnight shims if you need.

[sipman]

John's a stand up guy.

Kit was complete and everything was in great shape. The digital micrometer is a plus!

John came over two weekends ago and helped me with the valve job. I'm not saying he will, but if you rent this I'm sure he'd be available to answer questions you come up with during the job. Which by the way, was only difficult to imagine myself doing. But once done, it's really a pretty easy job.

John, next one we/you do, we/you should create the diy. You've got that Mark II. ZPost, ready for some high resolution DIY photos?

[puciorek]

just a quick question/ verification, the valve adjustment should be performed at 30,000 miles (?)

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by puciorek

just a quick question/ verification, the valve adjustment should be performed at 30,000 miles (?)

...approximately, yes

It will come up on the service indicator.
It will vary depending on how the car has been driven.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by sipman

Which by the way, was only difficult to imagine myself doing. But once done, it's really a pretty easy job.

A fellow BMW CCA club member with an E46 M3 had the shim kit and offered to help once he found out that I needed to have the valve adjustment done.

I agree, it's not a hard job, although it is time consuming, and you have to be patient and precise. Preparation and organization is key and you want to develop a routine as to how you're going to approach the job. I was hesitant only because I had never done a valve adjustment like this, and I really didn't want to do it alone, so it was nice to have someone assisting that had done it before, knew what to look for, show me how to do the first pair of valves, and both remove and replace a shim.

The fewer shims you have to replace the easier the job will be.

After everything's done and you fire up the engine for the first time, it's very satisfying to know that you did it yourself.

[puciorek]

"...approximately, yes

It will come up on the service indicator.
It will vary depending on how the car has been driven"

service indicator.....I thought it tells you when the oil should be changed....

Back in May I took the car to the BMW and changed the oil but the service indicator has not been reset. I currently have 30,000 and my indicator shows 5,000 miles, so I guess that's when the valve adjustment should be performed (?)

[jmillet]

Your service indicator display (SIA) should show either "oil service" or "inspection".
Do not reset the display until the miles go negative.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=17

Originally Posted by puciorek

"...approximately, yes

It will come up on the service indicator.
It will vary depending on how the car has been driven"

service indicator.....I thought it tells you when the oil should be changed....

Back in May I took the car to the BMW and changed the oil but the service indicator has not been reset. I currently have 30,000 and my indicator shows 5,000 miles, so I guess that's when the valve adjustment should be performed (?)

[jdoublehcubed]

Sipman, thanks for the kind words.

Had a great maintenance session with Sipman, we did his valve inspection, then did my transmission fluid. And we got to look at the other's car (I have a roadster and he has a coupe) and find some differences we hadn't known about. Which mostly left me feeling cheated that the roaster does not have the awesome roundel trunk latch thingy

puciorek, I think something is off with your service indicator, possibly the dealer didn't reset it at the right time. 30,000 is the interval for valve adjustment in the manual, but most people report the indicator calling for adjustment significantly earlier, not later. 22-24k is not unusual.

Agreed with SD Z4MR, the inspection is pretty easy to do, especially if you have someone who's done it before. Sipman and I did it in about 2 and a half hours. It took my about 5 hours the first time I did it, moving very slowing and working from a DIY.

[silverfishZ4M]

It goes by mileage or months after your last inspection. i forgot exactly how many but it is around 2 yrs if I am not mistaken.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by silverfishZ4M

It goes by mileage or months after your last inspection. i forgot exactly how many but it is around 2 yrs if I am not mistaken.

Not true, if this was the case there would be no point in having the computer monitor the interval, it would be the same for everyone.

Based on other posts on this forum, I'm going to say its tied mostly to gallons of gas used, but I think there are some additional factors.

Case in point: some of the cars that have been driven really aggressively (i.e., lots and lots of track days), have seen inspection intervals of something like 20k miles.

[beta]

It's based off fuel burned, which is why the lower the mpg, the sooner the inspection.

[JeffchaPz]

OP,

I did mine at 34k. Once I was done the engine felt a lot smoother. Make sure you buy the BMW OEM Valve cover gasket.... Trust me on that one!

I say do it if you are near or past 30k... My car was telling me I had like 9000 miles left before inspection ONE... but I have a feeling that the previous owner or last tech messed around with it.... That's why I say - do it... DU et!




Jeff.

[silverfishZ4M]

whoops, you're right, i meant to say fuel burned, not mileage!

[jdoublehcubed]

bump.

Just topped off my kit with new shims, ready for another valve adjustment session! Get your car ready for the summer now!

[jdoublehcubed]

bump

[danlauz]

Mine is a previous US z4m with 50000 km. The car was reprogrammed by a canadian dealer previously and, never i saw any indication about any inspection relate info on the dash. I know however than, on startup, the engine is not as smooth as at the beggining. Its not the vanos as it has been changed before as, the bolt of the cams sprokets had also been changed before.

[BruceJ]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

bump

Jdoublecubed - you can just p/u a nice metric micometer, feeler gages and make your measurements. Then just order the one, and one up and one down of the correct size. Takes longer but about 300 cheaper.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by danlauz

Mine is a previous US z4m with 50000 km. The car was reprogrammed by a canadian dealer previously and, never i saw any indication about any inspection relate info on the dash. I know however than, on startup, the engine is not as smooth as at the beggining. Its not the vanos as it has been changed before as, the bolt of the cams sprokets had also been changed before.

??? Are you asking whether or not you need valve adjustment?

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by BruceJ

Jdoublecubed - you can just p/u a nice metric micometer, feeler gages and make your measurements. Then just order the one, and one up and one down of the correct size. Takes longer but about 300 cheaper.

Unless your car is your daily driver, and you can't let it sit with the engine open for a week while you get in shims. Also, given the significant variability between shims even of a same size, I don't think you could get every valve perfectly in the center of the range with that method. You really need more shims to play with.

Certainly possible to do the job that way, but for the cost of renting the kit from me (or many others on the e46 forum), why make it difficult? After all, you've already spent enough $$ to buy an M

[BruceJ]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

Unless your car is your daily driver, and you can't let it sit with the engine open for a week while you get in shims. Also, given the significant variability between shims even of a same size, I don't think you could get every valve perfectly in the center of the range with that method. You really need more shims to play with.

Certainly possible to do the job that way, but for the cost of renting the kit from me (or many others on the e46 forum), why make it difficult? After all, you've already spent enough $$ to buy an M

Guess I missed your point from the beginning - good luck with your rental

[papitosabe]

anyone willing to do a video DIY on this to help others out on this? you'll get tons of karma point

[jdl1pt]

Originally Posted by papitosabe

anyone willing to do a video DIY on this to help others out on this? you'll get tons of karma point

+1, would enjoy trying this on my service 2 with a good DIY