I am about to reset the valve clearances on my MSM using the Mazda Special Service Tool. I've read a few of the forum posts and folks seem to like the cam removal approach better.
So is anybody interested in seeing some pictures and a write up of the process using the dreaded SST?

 

Unless you've change to aftermarket shim under bucket style lifters, then there is no need to mess with them as the OEM lifters are hydraulic and need no adjustment.

 

His MSM is an nb and they all come with solid lifters.

 

Go for it. I’m sure it will be appreciated.

 

agreed. since you're doing it anyway, snap some pics along the way

 

Will do. The shims should be here next week.

 

Yes, you are right. I just haven't had my coffee yet this morning!

 

No offense but a how-to using the special mazda tool isn't all that helpful. That tool is very expensive (300 iirc) and it's simply far more cost effective and just as easy to just forgo that tool and remove the cams to do it. I'll definitely scroll through the thread once you do it out of sure curiosity of the methods using the tool and seeing if they differ from the service manual. But valve clearance is like 1/5 of a timing belt job which 75% of diy miata owners can do in their sleep after their second one.

 

How long does it take you to remove and replace the cams?

 

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I'm about to go through my '99 head and would love such a writeup.

 

fwiw, I have the SST (I didnt pay anything like $300 as I got it second hand off a local forum member here in australia so paid about USD$75) and find it very handy if you only have one or two shims to change.
However any more than this, and its just as time effective to remove the cams and do them.
Setting the tool up so it pushes the bucket down correctly can be a fiddly time consuming process, that often takes a few goes to get the angle right, so once I've measured how many need changing I make the call whether to use it or just pull the cam(s)..

 

Sub'd going to doing this soon.

 

Once lined up, IIRC the tool allows you to measure a shim, pop it out, pop a new one in, and measure the clearance on the new one, right?

I can see how if you've got a dealer service department's worth of spare shims and a bunch of practice in setting it up, it could be a lot faster to do the shims that way. If you don't have a ton of spare shims then you need to measure everything, put it all in a spreadsheet, figure out what to swap around to where to get things as close as possible, and then order 4 or 5 shims. And then when they show up, hope you did the math right so that you don't need to order more.

--Ian