How to make your own valve adjustment tool

Doing a valve adjustment on a Diablo turns out to be pretty easy -- I'll post another thread on that. In the meantime, one of the trickiest parts is how to remove the spacer shims in order to install different shims. Lambo will sell you a special tool (part number 961195014, more than $200 USD) like the one below:

 

 

Others will tell you to do things like remove the cams. I started going down that path, but didn't want to deal with the possibility of mismanaging the timing when reinstalling the chain, or changing the chain tension, etc. I considered getting a local machine shop to make me a tool, but they quoted some pretty high prices (at $95/hr), so I instead made my own valve adjustment tool.

 

Total Cost: $3.99 + sales tax (assuming you own a bench grinder -- I didn't, so my cost was actually $48 total).

Estimated Time: 20 minutes, ignoring travel time to your nearest Harbor Freight

Materials:

1. 5-1/2" Brake Spoon (Harbor Freight part number 96961)
2. 6" or 8" bench grinder. I got a Ryobi from Home Depot for $45
3. Leather gloves
4. Metric ruler with millimeter markings

Instructions:

1. Unpack brake spoon
2. Wear gloves and goggles. The goggles are an option play, depending on your penchant for blindness, but the gloves are a requirement unless you've lost all sense of temperature in your hands. Things are about to get hot.
3. Grind down the sides of the last two inches of the spoon so that it becomes 7mm wide. Use the rough wheel on the grinder. Don't just grind one side to get down to 7mm -- grind both. This way, you get a nice square base instead of a rounded base on one side. This step should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
4. Taper the tip of the spoon by grinding the underside so that the tip is around 1mm thick, and the thickest part at the curve is 5mm. Precision here isn't too important. What's important is that the taper remains reasonably smooth, so that the tool is easy to use.
5. Test your handiwork by inserting spoon between the cam and two valve buckets. Everything should work just fine.
6. Buy yourself and a few buddies a round of drinks with the money you saved.

The most important step of this is that the spoon be 7mm wide. Any wider, and you won't fit between the spacers. Any narrower, and you'll keep popping one or the other bucket. 7mm.

 

Happy trails.

 

nice, five

you wont be able to teach inventiveness

you have to be born with it

Am I the only one who was expecting a paper clip, rubber band MacGyver setup?

Am I the only one who was expecting a paper clip, rubber band MacGyver setup?

I was expecting him to put a screw driver in a large pipe bender...

I was expecting him to put a screw driver in a large pipe bender...

Screwdriver in pipe bender would have been pretty sweet, actually. I even had a screwdriver that was 7mm wide. The trouble is a few things: a) I don't own a pipe bender, I'd still have to grind down the sides, and c) I'm not sure all screwdrivers would bend instead of snap. Perhaps if I had a torch.

 

@TheAmericanStig: never go back to watch MacGyver. I had fond memories, so I went back and watched several episodes about a year ago. Couldn't have ruined it any better than to go back to re-watch them. Just like with "V", Airwolf, or any other 80's show, leave them pristine in your memory.

Would someone please give this guy a honorary VIP, or at least a spiffy title? He has been a monster of great information and tips lately!

 

Thanks again Five

 

Best