Race Engine Forum UK

Hello everybody,

I have searched the forum but have failed to find an answer to a question you might think of as silly but unfortunatly I just don't have the experience to answer it myself.

I need to shim my 8V TC head and I would like to know if I can reuse old shimms? Some people claim you can safely reuse them if they are not damaged, some say allways get new ones...

If money were no issue I would just buy new ones all round. But as money IS an issue I was thinking of reusing 6 of my own shimms that have only been used on one side and turning them around. Please look at the attached photo of the unused side of the shimms. Can I reuse them again on the unworn side?

You can turn them over and use the unworn carburised side against the cam (usually has the OE size etched on it, eg: 4.25) if the worn side is in reasonable condition.

The danger is only that if the worn side is badly worn and simply not flat at all the shim can tilt and fly out.

G