[rwfisher]

First, kudos to everyone on M3 forum that has contributed to the DIY sections. Wouldn't have been possible without you.

A few observations:

1) The valve adjustment itself is the easiest part of this job. The real PITA is getting TO the valves.

2) Go ahead and drop the *($& fan out of there. I wasn't comfortable rotating the engine backwards (with my luck it probably would kill kittens somewhere on the planet). Get a 32 mm socket (<$9 at sears) and a 1/2 ratchet with a long handle to turn the engine. Worth the investment, I think.

3) Order the shim kit, or at least the BMW shim tool. Worth every penny.

4) Paper shop towels are your friends. Stuff them everywhere you don't want a shim (or crush washer) falling into the depths of your engine.

5) Before putting everything back together, compile a list of the torque settings...valve cover (cylinder cover according to the TIS...that makes me think of the head but whatever) banjo bolt is ~19 ft lbs, spark plugs are ~22 ft lbs, and I think that's all I used the torque wrench for.

6) I could have probably done better with a dedicated metric feeler gauge set, but you get what you pay for. I used all of the 2.24 and 2.28 mm shims from my set, and had to re-use some of my old shims. There were a few valves that I set to the minimum basically because I couldn't get a good enough measurement (or the correct shim) to hit the mid range.

Here's the final result:

[Shimmy23]

good job bro! VA's are really easier than people think.

[SliM3]

Does BMW sell individual shims or do you have to buy the kit?

[DriveSlow]

I'm going to be doing this soon, thanks for the tips!

[robertg]

Originally Posted by SliM3

Does BMW sell individual shims or do you have to buy the kit?

You can buy them separate, I think they are under $5.00. A kit will only pay for itself if you are doing several cars. I did mine yesterday and didn't have to change one. A couple of the exhaust valves were +0.0005" over spec, but I'm not going to worry about it. I was quoted $1,500.00 to do it and it took me three hours. If I do it again I'm not even going to change gaskets.

[stash1]

Originally Posted by SliM3

Does BMW sell individual shims or do you have to buy the kit?

I called Tischer BMW and 1 other local dealer the other day, & both refused to sell me shims separately! Total BS!

[stash1]

Originally Posted by JWB1980

They sell individual shims.. get them to refill my kit. I have not used but the the standard ones mentioned here except when I do Camshaft swaps, then it changes the whole game and you will use ones you have never used before.

Who is 'they' because as I just posted, both Tischer & another local dealer, refused to sell me individual shims!

[dafoe]

I was able to add them to my cart on Tischer's site. But, having dealt with Tischer in person, I can easily see one of them stating something like that, Stan. The last few times I was there their customer service was... lets just say less than stellar.

I ordered parts from Turner on my Ipad in their parking lot. I only use them if they are last resort.

The part numbers for those shims we need are...

2.08 - 11 34 7 832 279
2.04 - 11 34 7 832 278

[stash1]

Thanx bro, yeah, I ordered from Tischer on-line earlier today...should have been more clear in my posts...just PISSED that the farker told me over the phone Friday that I couldn't order individual shims! I mean, what's the difference?!?! Either you can, or you can't, whether it's on-line, or over the phone! I'm going to follow up w/the parts dept. tomorrow morning!

EDIT: Sorry for the threadjack OP! Nice job btw!

[BTM]

Originally Posted by stash1

I called Tischer BMW and 1 other local dealer the other day, & both refused to sell me shims separately! Total BS!

As said before, just order by the part number. Here they are:

1.72MM 11 34 7 832 270
1.76MM 11 34 7 832 271
1.80MM 11 34 7 832 272
1.84MM 11 34 7 832 273
1.88MM 11 34 7 832 274
1.92MM 11 34 7 832 275
1.96MM 11 34 7 832 276
2.00MM 11 34 7 832 277
2.04MM 11 34 7 832 278
2.08MM 11 34 7 832 279
2.12MM 11 34 7 832 280
2.16MM 11 34 7 832 281
2.20MM 11 34 7 832 282
2.24MM 11 34 7 832 283
2.28MM 11 34 7 832 284
2.32MM 11 34 7 832 285
2.36MM 11 34 7 832 286
2.40MM 11 34 7 832 287
2.44MM 11 34 7 832 288
2.48MM 11 34 7 832 289
2.52MM 11 34 7 832 290