Valve Adjustment Shims

[mkeeney]

I'm going to attempt to adjust the valves on our '97 ES300 in the coming days. I'm having a terrible time finding anyone who stocks the shims. My local Toyota dealer told me they've never adjusted the valves on a V-6 Camry, and the closest Lexus dealers do not stock any shims. They let the car sit until the shims come in when they do an adjustment. Does anyone have any suggestions on a shim source?

I'm told by the Lexus dealer that one of the bucket lifters is stuck and worn causing the tapping noise we're hearing. They diagnosed this by listening to the engine. The valves were actually adjusted at 154,000 and one of the front lifters was replaced then. The car has 186,000 now. They were willing to help me out with a discount on the work, but not enough to make it worth it. I'm going to try to find the worn lifter and replace it then check to see if I need any shims. Are the valve adjusting tools useful or can the adjustment be accomplished with other tools?

I've read through all the threads dealing with valve adjustment but I'd appreciate any advice anyone would like to offer.

[Mike In Vancouver]

Yeah ... I'm about to do the same. Looks like pulling cams to check all components is necessary because of the unknown. I wouldn't buy used parts. Gonna try source shims and buckets tomorrow.  I'll Let you know what i can find.

On mine Cylinders 2,3,4 have valve clearance problems. Pulled the front valve cover off and checked all clearances. Seems like cyl 2 and 4 have problems on one exhaust valve only. Zero clearance. What I've read is that carbon buildup will start to drop in and plug valves, seats and guides. The valves will start to stick and deform the buckets the shim sits on. This causes really bad compression issues. Valve will not fully close now. Not an easy fix. My car has been lady driven for 287000 km. Floored it one night and all that build up screwed everything up. Let me know how it works out for you.