Valve Timing / Spacing 5S-FE

[thisisntjoew]

I am wondering if anyone knows about the procedure with getting the proper valve spacing. What I mean is that I have heard that you use shims to get the valves to open properly but the remaufactured head i have doesnt have any shims, it just has "buckets" that go over the valve springs. Please let me know anything that will help.
This is for a 94 5S-FE with 204,000 miles.

[RichieRichJP]

What is it exactly that you're trying to do? Camshafts? or just spacing?
As far as the shims go, that's if you have grounded down camshafts. You really don't need to deal with shims. And yes they are seated and bolted down (buckets).
Anyway, we need more info

[thisisntjoew]

I am have purchased a remanufactured head to put on when I change my head gasket. I Know the camshafts will be removed so I have to match up the gears correctly and I was also concerned about making sure they are adjusted right. I have adjusted the valve clearances on VW's and BMW's and this Toyota looks different to me. Please fill me in on anything that might help. Thanks!

[thisisntjoew]

So noone helped me out but now that the job is done heres the info I learned...

The valve spacing(camshaft lobes to valve springs) is done with shims or spacers. These come in various thicknesses and are used to keep the correct spacing. I have been told that they can only be bought from toyota and they are about $6 per shim(with 16 shims per 16 valve 5s-fe head) It is also about a $300 cost to have toyota do it.

[Tom 2000]

I know what you're talking about. You want to set your valve clearance.

One engines with rocker arms (like on VWs as well as older toyota engines (22R, 3A, etc..) the valve clearance is adjusted with a screwdriver, wrench and some feeler gauges.

On 3S and 5S and on modern Toyota DOHC engines without hydraulic lifters, there are no rocker arms (and no adjuster to go with it), so shims are used to set the correct valve clearance in the valve lifter buckets.

I had this done on my old Camry (1988) and it was an expensive job. $192 for labor and luckily, I only needed one new shim. If you need 16 shims, then the price gets really expensive.

If you get a Haynes Repair Manual for the car, it explains how to do the job.

Option 1: See if you can re-use as many of the shims as you can from the current head.

It's an intensive process, but take the shim from the old head one by one, measure them and fit them into each valve lifer bucket in the new head and then check the valve clearance. The clearances aren't as tight as on a VW engine (0.006", if I remember correctly), but rather a range. I think there was a sticker on the underside of the hood that had this figure.

Option 2, go to the nearby import salvage yard and see if they have an old 5S cylinder head that would other wise be recycled as a core. Get all the shims from them (if they are in decent shape), take measurements of the shims, and try fitting them, then check the valve clearance again. You may not be able to reuse all the shims, but at least most, I would imagine.

If you need more shims, see if you can find another cylinder head and try again.

[hbasavar]

Just to put things in perspective, here is a pic. The left is the bucket and right is the shim that goes on top of it (on the other side). The shim thickness is what varies. I had to do my own valve clearance job on my 3VZ-FE as I dropped all the buckets out when I turned the head upside down. Eventhough everything was there, I had to figure out which one goes where.

I have been told that these do not wear that easily and rarely need to be replaced. I followed this approach to figure things out.

- Put the shims on and assemble the camshafts in the head. Use the service bold on the torsional shaft, otherwise it is going to be lot harder.
- Use a feeler gauge and measure the clearance.
- Make a note of each of them (Some higher, some lower).
- Now remove the camshafts and pop out the shims without mixing them up.
- Measure thickness of each of the shims (using a caliper) and make a note.
- Swap the shims looking at the readings above to uniform out the differences (for example, if the clearance is more than the spec, put in a thicker shim. and vice versa)

Mine was a 6 cylinder, so had to this with 24 shims. Now you get the idea how painful, that must have been. When it all went humming just fine, you should have seen the smile of my satisfaction. Good luck with your effort.