Anyone Check Their Valve Clearances?

[bronsin]

I have great experience with shim under bucket valve clearance arrangement because its used on high performance motorcycle engine and motorcycles are my bag. :thumbup:

Out of maybe a dozen bikes Ive only had to adjust the valves ONCE on one engine. Ive checked clearances maybe a dozen times. :smile:

This is your chance to post if you've ever checked the Yaris clearances and what you found. Almost no one does this or at least Ive seldom seen a post. :iono:

Bonus points if you've ADJUSTED them!:biggrin:

[Bluevitz-rs]

I'm building a head right now so I'll be doing it hopefully this week. I'm waiting on rebuild seal kit.

[bronsin]

You mean before disassembly you are going to check the clearances for possible adjustment during assembly?

[Bluevitz-rs]

The head is completely disassembled right now.

Check post 9 here... (http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=758445&posted=1#post758445)

[Flammable]

I have great experience with shim under bucket valve clearance arrangement because its used on high performance motorcycle engine and motorcycles are my bag. :thumbup:

Out of maybe a dozen bikes Ive only had to adjust the valves ONCE on one engine. Ive checked clearances maybe a dozen times. :smile:

This is your chance to post if you've ever checked the Yaris clearances and what you found. Almost no one does this or at least Ive seldom seen a post. :iono:

Bonus points if you've ADJUSTED them!:biggrin:Never checked mine, is there ever a need to do this?

[woops]

yes
you should check valve clearances every 60,000 miles

[Flammable]

yes
you should check valve clearances every 60,000 milesi don't find a maint schedule in the owners manual for this, is this something Toyota recommends? Thanks!

[Flammable]

Update, I found a 2008 Yaris owners manual online and it there is says check engine valve clearance every 60k miles. I have a 2012 Yaris and don't see this mentioned anywhere. I was recently at Toyota to have recall work done and talked with a master repair tech. I told him I was doing my own oil changes and such and asked him what upcoming maintenance I would have other than oil changes. I currently have 35k miles and he told me at 100k the coolant needs changed and at 120k the spark plugs and auto tranny fluid need changed. Other than that from now till then just oil changes, inspections, tire rotations. Never mentioned an engine valve check/adjustment. Could toyota have done something on my car that makes this procedure unnecessary?

[bronsin]

Never checked mine, is there ever a need to do this?

That's what Im trying to determine. BAsed on my experience with motorcycle engine, and the fact that Ive never heard of a problem with the Yaris engine coming from not doing it, I would say no.

Its pretty easy to CHECK the clearances, but difficult to ADJUST them.

As others have said, the official requirement is 60,000 miles.

[bronsin]

Update, I found a 2008 Yaris owners manual online and it there is says check engine valve clearance every 60k miles. I have a 2012 Yaris and don't see this mentioned anywhere. I was recently at Toyota to have recall work done and talked with a master repair tech. I told him I was doing my own oil changes and such and asked him what upcoming maintenance I would have other than oil changes. I currently have 35k miles and he told me at 100k the coolant needs changed and at 120k the spark plugs and auto tranny fluid need changed. Other than that from now till then just oil changes, inspections, tire rotations. Never mentioned an engine valve check/adjustment. Could toyota have done something on my car that makes this procedure unnecessary?

It may be based on historical data they just eliminated the requirement. I seriously doubt they made a change to this engine just for that reason.

This is an outstanding engine design, good for decades IMO.

[Flammable]

:thumbdown:uIt may be based on historical data they just eliminated the requirement. I seriously doubt they made a change to this engine just for that reason.

This is an outstanding engine design, good for decades IMO.Thank you bronsin for the info. I agree this engine is pretty much bullet proof and no doubt is why Toyota has carried this particular power train over year after year. A lot of car writers have dissed this engine for years because of its horse power and torque. But really for day to day driving it's more than adaquate from my experience. The huge plus is reliability and longevity. I will trade some hp and torque for reliability and longevity in my daily driver any day.

[MUSKOKA800]

I'm at ~170,000 kl. and have never checked mine however recently I am hearing some ticking at idle. Will definitely inspect/adjust once it warms up out there.

[Bluevitz-rs]

My gasket set came in for the engine I'm building so I'll try and document the procedure for everyone and post a new DIY thread on the check and adjustments. I have one new valve so I'm guessing it'll need a new bucket.

[Flammable]

It may be based on historical data they just eliminated the requirement. I seriously doubt they made a change to this engine just for that reason.

This is an outstanding engine design, good for decades IMO.Below is a link to an article I found about all the different valve types used in motorcycle engines. For "shim under bucket" valves the guy who wrote the article stated that as the miles pile up valves will tighten and it's better to have loose valves than tight valves. A quiet engine is trouble. Perhaps this is one reason why the Yaris engine is so noisy? Bronsin, is the info in this article been your experience with valves in general? Thanks!

http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-do-bikes-use-shim-under-bucket-valve-adjusters

[Jcp123]

My 1NZ Echo has 253k miles and I'm sure has never had it's valve clearances checked. There is no undue top end noise whatsoever, snappy performance, and still returning top-notch fuel economy. I'm with everybody above who says you can probably dispense with the clearance check.

[bronsin]

Below is a link to an article I found about all the different valve types used in motorcycle engines. For "shim under bucket" valves the guy who wrote the article stated that as the miles pile up valves will tighten and it's better to have loose valves than tight valves. A quiet engine is trouble. Perhaps this is one reason why the Yaris engine is so noisy? Bronsin, is the info in this article been your experience with valves in general? Thanks!

http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-do-bikes-use-shim-under-bucket-valve-adjusters

The valves tighten with this design because the heads of the valves wear into the seats. Its a very SLOW process. When you have a high quality eningne such as ours, in effect there is so little wear as to be meaningless. Now...an American or Euro car...not so much!

My Yaris engine and my sons ECHO engine with 200k on it are QUIET. If your engine is noisy have the clearances checked. IF they are loose have them adjusted (murder) and see if the engine is now quiet. Its the only way to know!

[Flammable]

The valves tighten with this design because the heads of the valves wear into the seats. Its a very SLOW process. When you have a high quality eningne such as ours, in effect there is so little wear as to be meaningless. Now...an American or Euro car...not so much!

My Yaris engine and my sons ECHO engine with 200k on it are QUIET. If your engine is noisy have the clearances checked. IF they are loose have them adjusted (murder) and see if the engine is now quiet. Its the only way to know!The noise my yaris makes I have been told is from the fuel injectors. The dealership I use said it sounds perfectly normal. This being my first yaris and not knowing about the nuances of this engine I wasn't sure until I asked them. It's not terribly noisy and from I side the car it sounds kind of like a purr. Thanks for all your help Bronsin.

[tmontague]

The noise my yaris makes I have been told is from the fuel injectors. The dealership I use said it sounds perfectly normal. This being my first yaris and not knowing about the nuances of this engine I wasn't sure until I asked them. It's not terribly noisy and from I side the car it sounds kind of like a purr. Thanks for all your help Bronsin.

The 1NZ-FE does have noisy injectors, but if it increases in noise it could be your clearance. More than likely though I would check your front exhaust gasket, they tend to go every 120,000km or so and a leaking exhaust will cause a tick type noice during acceleration and a bit during idle. I just replaced mine on both my Echo and Yari and they are both much more quiet because of it.

In response to Bronsin's original post:

I checked my clearance at 125,000km on my Yaris, all were within range.

I am pullin the head off of my Echo next month to replace stem seals and clean out sludge. I will be checking the clearance before I pull it off and will replace the valve buckets if needed. The car has 347,000km on it so it will be interesting to see how the clearance is. It is only slightly louder than my Yaris other than the "new" water pump (replaced 1 year ago) that is now chirping on and off

[Flammable]

The 1NZ-FE does have noisy injectors, but if it increases in noise it could be your clearance. More than likely though I would check your front exhaust gasket, they tend to go every 120,000km or so and a leaking exhaust will cause a tick type noice during acceleration and a bit during idle. I just replaced mine on both my Echo and Yari and they are both much more quiet because of it.

In response to Bronsin's original post:

I checked my clearance at 125,000km on my Yaris, all were within range.

I am pullin the head off of my Echo next month to replace stem seals and clean out sludge. I will be checking the clearance before I pull it off and will replace the valve buckets if needed. The car has 347,000km on it so it will be interesting to see how the clearance is. It is only slightly louder than my Yaris other than the "new" water pump (replaced 1 year ago) that is now chirping on and offThanks for the info tmontague. My Yaris is a 2012 and only has 34,500 miles on her. I don't think the exhaust gasket is leaking but this is something I certainly will keep an eye on. When I get a chance I may post a vid of it running. :)

[tmontague]

I wouldn't bother checking clearances until the 180,000km range, based on the shape mine were in at 120,000km I won't be checking htem again for a while. My engine has stayed very clean under the valve cover so there is no reason for premature wear. My finacees Echo has some sludge (bought it used at 287,000km) so I'm not too sure what type of clearance I'll end up finding.

[Flammable]

I wouldn't bother checking clearances until the 180,000km range, based on the shape mine were in at 120,000km I won't be checking htem again for a while. My engine has stayed very clean under the valve cover so there is no reason for premature wear. My finacees Echo has some sludge (bought it used at 287,000km) so I'm not too sure what type of clearance I'll end up finding.Sounds good and thanks again for the info. :thumbup:

[bronsin]

I wouldn't bother checking clearances until the 180,000km range, based on the shape mine were in at 120,000km I won't be checking htem again for a while. My engine has stayed very clean under the valve cover so there is no reason for premature wear. My finacees Echo has some sludge (bought it used at 287,000km) so I'm not too sure what type of clearance I'll end up finding.

I'd be suprised if the clearance is out of spec high and expect it will be slightly out of spec low. But it might be OK. Many must be.

[Flammable]

I'd be suprised if the clearance is out of spec high and expect it will be slightly out of spec low. But it might be OK. Many must be.It's funny there used to be a recommended mileage interval to check valve clearance and then Toyota did away with that recommendation all together. I have heard of people putting a ton of miles on their Yarises and never checking the valve clearances one time. I imagine there is the occational engine that will have valve issues but it appears that is rare with these motors.

[Bluevitz-rs]

After dismantling the head I'm working on, I was surprised that the valve had no visible makes from their seats. It's like they were all new still. I think the head oly had about 60k KM though so relatively low milage but still, I thought I'd see something. I think they have a coating of some kind on them.