Does anybody have a procedure for checking valve clearances on a 2000 748s? The previous owner did these and filled in some sheets which had loaded and unloaded measurements for closing, which were subtracted to give the clearance. The Haynes manual does not mention this? Please advise? Thanks Garry
Methinks the loaded and unloaded measurements may relate to the method used to obtain the closing shim clearance? A screwdriver or similar is pressed down on the closing rocker, against the pressure from the closing rocker spring - this will give the combined clearances for the opening and closing shims. Minus the opening clearance off and you should have the closing shim clearance. :smile: Plenty of vids on Youtube etc? Ducati 4 valve adjustment Part I - YouTube Ducati 4 valve adjustment Part II - YouTube For your first time, it is probably easier to do if you take the heads off and do them on a bench. NOT easy, very fiddly... if you do decide to do them on the bike then place an earplug or bolt in the oil return tunnel to stop losing bits into the engine. :biggrin:
Excellent, thanks! I dont intend to do it for a while as its just been done, just wanted to understand the process.
As 470four says taking the heads off makes the job much easier. I did mine a few months ago and decided I wanted to take the heads off and check/reseat the valves at the same time as I was planning a trip to Ireland which would cover a fair distance and I wanted peace of mind knowing that everything was as good as it could possibly be. I already had a couple of spare heads with valves, rockers and shims so was able to have a good "play" before starting for real and I found this helped a lot especially as I was intending to reshim to exact clearances and not just within a set of tolerances as listed in the manual. It took quite a few hours with a micrometer and oilstone but I got the end result that I was looking for and the engine ran faultlessly on my trip away and has continued to do so. For those who might be interested I used the following settings, Inlet openers 0.15mm, closers 0.05mm. Exhaust openers 0.20mm, closers 0.05. These clearances were suggested on the old Ducatisti site by Mr.R some years ago.
