How thick are the shims in the conecting rod shim stack and what is the best way to separate them? I use a razor blade and they still don't want to come apart. Thanks for suggestions.
George
Each layer is "about" .005 inch. They vary from one manufacturer to another.
Use a pocket knife and pick at a corner to get it started and slide the knife along to peel one off. Some are so easy you could almost do it with your fingernails and others tear into pieces.
On the difficult shim packs I take the needle nose pliers and bend a corner back and forth. Sometimes that will break the lanimations apart at the corner. Then peal with your Case XX or similiar.
Drop um in a bottle with soapy water....Shake um up real hard....they should either seperate by them selves or be easy to do so after the shake.
A little heat from a propane torch works well. Hold the shim with a needle nose pliers and pass it back and forth through the flame. You can use a razor blade to separate layers. I've found that the layers are either .002" or .003" thick.
The ones I've seen are .003". However, I wish the parts guys would supply them down to .001". I have to make my .001 & .002 shims, and it's a lot of trouble. I've never had a problem peeling them apart with a razor blade.
I use the heat method, like Bryan. Once the corners raise up, they're easy to peel. I also make a lot of 1-thou shims from aluminum foil. It's very difficult to get .0015" clearance using .003" shims.