Transmission shim?

Energy One

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
I'm installing my engine and tranny, and I'm shimming everything now. I have the motor and tranny loose, and the primary/motor plate torqued down. When I run a feeler gauge under everything, I am able to barely pass a .005 feeler under one stud (right side) on the tranny. All the other mounting points are tight. Bike is LSD and the tranny does not have a 5th mounting point. Should I bother shimming that, or torque it all down?

Thanks!
 

TCALZ06

Well-Known Member
You need to follow the alignment procedure in the BDM manual.
That will determine where you need to shim
 

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
I had everything off, and switched to an open primary last summer, but never bothered to re-shim. I'm just wondering if .005 is even worth shimming.
 

Little-Boo

Well-Known Member
Troop Supporter
IMHO I would shim it. It is better that everything fits square on there before you torque it down to specs. That little bitty .005 might be just enough to cause a crack on the tranny housing. I would play it safe and shim it.

my :zz2cents:

Carlos :cheers:
 

Staffy

Active Member
You need to follow the alignment procedure in the BDM manual.
That will determine where you need to shim
What he said!!!
This will do a couple of things for you.....
1)Vehicle alignment (engine, tranny, primary and final)
2) Wheel alignment
3)Final Drive belt tracking
All of which are extremly important to a good smooth ride
 

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
I just cut off the ends of the feeler gauge and shimmed with that. Tranny took an .005 and one rear motor mount took an .004. I didn't see any shims when I took it off, and that's something I'd have looked for. Motor plate fits well and slides right on and off, so I think I've got it. I guess what I was asking is at what point is it not worth shimming? .005 is very thin, much thinner than a piece of paper!
 

TCALZ06

Well-Known Member
Did it have shims before, and if not what could have changed?
Just because it doesn't have shims doesn't mean anything. My friends Iron Horse didn't have shims either and had been on the road for 13K.
The bike did have a belt squeal since he bought it and the trans went at 13k

The belt made no noise after we did the alignment and it did need shims.
I bought all the BDM tools and it was easy. With the tools and following the alignment procedure it is very clear if it needs shims or not.
 

gearsmithy

Active Member
I just cut off the ends of the feeler gauge and shimmed with that. Tranny took an .005 and one rear motor mount took an .004. I didn't see any shims when I took it off, and that's something I'd have looked for. Motor plate fits well and slides right on and off, so I think I've got it. I guess what I was asking is at what point is it not worth shimming? .005 is very thin, much thinner than a piece of paper!
.005 rides the line of requiring a shim or not. The way I see it, it's cheap insurance compared to a cracked case. Shim it and sleep easy
 

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
When I was working on it last night, I found that when I installed the engine, I pinned an oil line under the motor between the pump and the frame. This may have give the motor enough lift to create that little gap I had to shim. When I'm done wiring it ill shim it again.
 
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