DF175 Adjusting Shims for Tappet Clearance

[Zuki175]

How do you use the Suzuki tappet holder tool? I have a Suzuki Service manual for my motor and the instructions are very simple.

1. Line up cam lob vertical to the tappet.
2. Spin tappet until the tiny notch is accessible for prying out the shim.
3. Remove two screw from cam bracket and install tappet holder and reuse the screws to secure the tappet holder tool.
4. Rotate lob 90 degrees to tappet.
5. Use a magnet to lift shim from tappet.


I did all those steps but I'm not able to remove the shim. I appears I don't have enough space between the cam lob and the lip of the tappet. I've slowly moved the flywheel by hand to reach maximum spacing but still no luck.

Also, the installed tappet holder has prongs or legs pressing against the motor but I don't see what's it's purpose? It's not assisting in any way to create more space for the shim or pressing the tappet into the motor for easy shim removal. This process looks easy but I must be doing something wrong.

I really need some guidance in getting the shims out properly.

Thanks in advance. 20180501_180407.jpg

[redlowrey]

Read your manual again, the position you have there is for checking clearance, fit your tool when the lobe has the valve open then rotate and have the lobe at 90 deg the cam bucket will hit the tool and give you clearance.
Read through your steps you will see where you went wrong, you should have left it alone, putt the cover on and checked them again in 400 hours.

[Harper]

Yeah, you need to "line up cam lobe vertical to the tappet" in the other direction, so the valve is fully open (tappet fully pushed down). Then attach your tool to hold the valve in the fully open position while you turn the cam lobe 180° to provide room to remove the shim.

[artdf175]

YOU SAID" Also, the installed tappet holder has prongs or legs pressing against the motor but I don't see what's it's purpose? "

if you will look closely at your picture.. the shim is in the center of a ring to keep it centered.. the "LEGS" on the tappet tool are to "carefully" depress this ring as you tighten the cam bolts
Art..

[LPowers]

The way that picture looks, the legs are bottomed out on the block and not even touching the ring. Tool manufactured wrong??

[Harper]

The way that picture looks, the legs are bottomed out on the block and not even touching the ring. Tool manufactured wrong??

No, he just got it lined up wrong. It's not the best tool in the world, and until you mess around with it a little bit, you will probably do the same as Zuki175 did. Since he didn't understand how to position the cam in the first place, there was no way he was going to get the tool to catch the top rim of the bucket in which the shim sits.

[LPowers]

So just to clarify the instructions- Turn the crankshaft counterclockwise(CC) so cam lobe is pushing down on shim, then install tool with prongs holding shim ring in place, then turn crankshaft CC again to make room to use a magnet to remove shim?

[Zuki175]

First off, a huge THANK YOU to Harper, Artdf175 and redlowrey (in no particular order) for the outstanding advice and knowledge.

Yes, the tool works in safely removing the shim from the bucket. The instructions in the Suzuki manual was vague about how the tool should be used. There is some wiggle room to slide the tappet holder left and right to set the legs on top of the bucket's edge. Once you get that aligned, turn the flywheel counter clockwise till the lobe is about 180 degrees with pointy end of cam lob facing you. With a tiny flathead screwdriver, press into the slot on the side of the bucket and the shim should pop out.

But have a telescoping magnet with a swivel head ready to catch the shim. The swivel head magnet is especially helpful when working with the bottom shims as the access space is very limited to get the shim back in the bucket.

Measure the shim with a micrometer to take note of the shim's thickness. My shims did not have any numbers indicating the thickness so it had to be measured manually.

The mistake that I encountered is what Harper mentioned above. I did not use the tappet tool correctly and I did not turn the lobe pointy end to create the space that I needed to remove the shim. Beginners error but now I'm confident in doing this task for my next scheduled maintenance. It's actually not that difficult especially with having assistance from knowledgeable members of this forum for guidance.

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[LPowers]

How did your butterflies look? Im coming up on 600 hours

[Zuki175]

How did your butterflies look? Im coming up on 600 hours

I have not taken the intake manifold apart for an inspection yet. But I'll be replacing them next just for peace of mind. I'm hoping the new replacement intake manifold will have an upgraded material for the butterflies or a different design for longer durability. On another forum, I've chatted with a few people that had their butteriflies break apart and caused major damage to the motor. Many were around the 800 hour mark which is where I'm at right now. A couple around 1200 hours and I was told another around 2200 hours. Nevertheless, this sounds like a manufacture design flaw. I wish Suzuki Motor Corp would put out a warning bulletin just to let us be aware of the problem instead of finding out the hard way. If I never participated in this forum or other fishing or boating forums, I've would have learned the hard way, an expensive one at that.

I knew a guy that was cruising along at 28MPH and without any precursor noise, the motor binged and banged and started to smoke and ended up dead on the water. He described it as his motor just exploded with no warning. His was a 2006 Suzuki DF175 with about 1100 hours.

[wilbur1]

So this tool holds both buckets down at the same time.?

[Harper]

So this tool holds both buckets down at the same time.?

Affirmative.

[Zuki175]

So this tool holds both buckets down at the same time.?

Just remember to spin the top and bottom buckets so the notch is facing the center of the engine block before you install the tappet holder. Otherwise, you will need to remove the tappet tool and make your adjustments and reinstall the tool again.


As a side note, the very bottom shims are difficult to re-install. At least for me it was. I used a small screw driver as a guide on the opposite side of the cam lob to press the shim into the bucket.

[wilbur1]

Thanks guys for the info.

[Zuki175]

Just a reminder to measure the new shims with a micrometer before installation. I waited 12 days for the parts to arrive and the thickness were not the same as the number printed on the shim.