Just curious. I did the $.25 mod on the driver's side this past weekend and the quarter slid in fairly easy. I could still separate the plug just a tad with my thumbnail with a little force. Didn't seem like I separated it as much as it was when I pulled the valve cover. I doubt it matters but it was one of the newer quarters, figured it would be less worn.

 

It's held in by the edge of the valve cover.
In fact, if you don't trim the quarter enough, it will prevent the valve cover from properly seating.
I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

mike...remember on mine we had to grind the quarters down even more when i installed the new gaskets and harnesses? mine were extremely tight, but they were also new. as Kwikkordead said, i think you will be ok.

 

I realize it won't fall out, I guess I should have explained it better. I meant, it doesn't feel snug enough to act as a shim. Shims are usually pretty tight, maybe it doesn't take much? I did get lucky and ground it down to the perfect height first time around, nice and flush .

In the wise words of my Father in Law, "Better than it was."

Thanks guys

 

As long as the quarter is holding the barbs up so they won't disengage, it should be fine.

 

Oh, you want it to be thicker than it is.
Hmmm, how about browsing the hardware store for washers?

 

Mine went in snug. I used good condition 90s quarters. (like I can remember what year they were. LoL) the non "state" quarters may be thinner. Not sure though.

 

You'll be good, my homemade plastic shims were a fuzz slimmer than a quarter and still doing there job to this day. Hmmm.. better knock on some wood.

 

Hmmm, mine were extremely tight. So much so I actually broke the clip on the passenger side. That plug is now held in with two zip-ties trimmed to fit.

 

mine were tight too. I had to grind down the edge all the way around to get it in. Not sure what min. thickness would work but I'd bet it doesn't take much to get the plug to stay in place.

 

Interesting. Thanks for your input guys. When I do the passenger side, I'll try different quarters to get a snug one. Next time I pull the driver's side cover, I'll swap that one out for a thicker one. I figure it's held for 12K miles, this quarter can do nothing but help.

 

Next time you have the valve covers off, see if you can press down on the tab and unplug the connector with the quarter in place. If you can, you need a thicker shim. If you can't, then it's working fine.

 

I believe you are going to find that the thickness and diameter of a quarter is VERY-carefully controlled at the mint, and won't vary by anything you'll readily measure. Yea, a little wear on the older ones, but not much.

Vending machine coin mechanisms are really picky, and if there was a lot of tolerance, a lot of our coinage would be rejected by them.

Get out your micrometers......

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