Tool for removing valve shims???

[dr69]

Does anyone know where to get the tools that are recommended for removing valve shims (FSM gives them #'s J38972-1 & J38972-2)?

Are these tools the best thing to use to accomplish this? Are they available for loan/rental anywhere?

For a '95 Ka24de.

Thanks!

[swannjay]

turn the head up side down and shake it real hard. j/k. i hot tanked mine and they all fell out.

[dr69]

No...not the valve lifter "cups" - they do fall right out w/o the cams in the way (or a little help w/ a magnet). I'm refering to the shims within the lifters that are used to adjust valve clearance with the cams still in place. With these tools, you should be able to seperate the shim from the "cup".

Even if I have to remove the cams (no big deal) how would you dismantle the lifter to remove the shim w/o these tools???

All the parts I'm refering to can be seen on Page "EM-31" of the FSM.

[swannjay]

*doesn't look at the pic but, knows exactly what you're talking about. lol

yeah i'm talking about the valve spring shims. I washed the head and they all fell out after drying eventually.

[Red coupe]

I havent realy looked at my KA but on the toyotas we worked on at school there was a tool that hooked the cam and depressed the lifter, I guess you could take the cam out as instead, then on the sides of the buckets there were slots, we just blew compressed air into this slot under the shim and it pops right out

[slipnfall]

Check the below link, that's the one I bought. I really didn't need/want the pliers, but I couldn't find this shim tool anywhere else. Snap-on sells a similar tool, but could never get a firm 'yes' that it can be used on a Nissan(they list it for VW's IIRC). If you try to buy directly from kent-moore(the part number listed in the FSM), it's ungawdly expensive.

Anyways, it's like $28 from http://www.zdmak.com. You'll have to dig around their website, it's kinda burried. Try the 'Asian'/import section.

-Slip

[dr69]

Swannjay - Sorry, didn't mean to jump-the-gun like that...just seemed like you were talking about the "cups". So, heat can seperate them...

Slipnfall - Thanks, I'll take a look at that site and search for the part.

After doing a head gasket change, a few of my lifters got mixed-up and didn't go to their original positions...the car runs fine, but seems like there's a little more "ticking" than there was prior. The engine's pulling a nice steady 20" of vacuum, so I'll see how involved this process is before tackeling...

Thanks again guys...appreciate it

[BadMojo]

Try searching the Nissan Online Mechanic forum or ask Nistech. I'm 99% sure that I read something from him about how to get the shims without using the tools specified in the FSM. I just can't remember how he said to do it.

[slipnfall]

IIRC, he suggested to use the cam to compress the bucket/shim. Then use a straight screw-driver and lodge the head sideways between the 'shaft' part of the cam, and the thin outer lip/edge of the bucket. Someone said to use a magnetic tool to remove the shims, but I found that the oil beneath creates a vacuum, and they don't release that easy. I just used a small eye-glass screwdriver(straight).

-Slip