I adjusted my valves
02-22-2011, 10:01 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
I adjusted my valves
ok, 2004 with 53,000 on the clock...valves adjusted at 30,000 by dealer. I chose to do it myself, I have some ability, but I have not adjusted valves since about 1984. Used the forum for info and found a print out that was exceptional about AP1 motor, applies 98% to mine as well so I went ahead.
Got valve adjustment tool online, about 13.00 plus shipping, it helped allot. got feeler guage at local store ($7.00)and gasket kit (not needed so far) online, which was about $28.00 includes shipping.
Used 17mm 1/2 drive socket to turn engine. the take apart was easy enough, the adjustment was difficult as there was not much room to work with...the heat shield coming off would have helped (last bolt tooo difficult), the airbox had to go.. to get to vibration dampner to turn engine. pulled plugs, they all looked the same, nice and light coloring. flashlight inspection of top of cyl through spark plug hole indicates NO carbon build up. K&N cone run since new, throttle body inspection is CLEAN.
All exaust were tight or loose, all intakes were spot on and did not need an adjustment. exaust were easier to get to than intake but you can get to them all....
Put it all back....woops???how did those hoses go??? airbox was the most difficult to get right and i ended up with a check engine light which went away with several starts and stops and about 15 miles of driving.
bottom line....my hamfisted mechanical ability took about 4-4.5 hours, would have been easier if i noted where each airbox hose went...car has smoooooother low end power increase, higher idle by about 100 rpm....purrs so well that it is quieter by far.
Bottom line, car ran fine before, runs a tad better now, smoother and quieter with more low end torque and over 6,000 it sings a bit more(push back in seat more). Expect better mpg by 5-10% easily over a few more tanks. observed mpg is about 21-23 mixed driving.
Worth it. I will endeaver to do this every couple of years...I can tell the difference...and that check engine light....pulled backup fuse, it still was on...but ther engine ecu learns and resets just fine.
Got valve adjustment tool online, about 13.00 plus shipping, it helped allot. got feeler guage at local store ($7.00)and gasket kit (not needed so far) online, which was about $28.00 includes shipping.
Used 17mm 1/2 drive socket to turn engine. the take apart was easy enough, the adjustment was difficult as there was not much room to work with...the heat shield coming off would have helped (last bolt tooo difficult), the airbox had to go.. to get to vibration dampner to turn engine. pulled plugs, they all looked the same, nice and light coloring. flashlight inspection of top of cyl through spark plug hole indicates NO carbon build up. K&N cone run since new, throttle body inspection is CLEAN.
All exaust were tight or loose, all intakes were spot on and did not need an adjustment. exaust were easier to get to than intake but you can get to them all....
Put it all back....woops???how did those hoses go??? airbox was the most difficult to get right and i ended up with a check engine light which went away with several starts and stops and about 15 miles of driving.
bottom line....my hamfisted mechanical ability took about 4-4.5 hours, would have been easier if i noted where each airbox hose went...car has smoooooother low end power increase, higher idle by about 100 rpm....purrs so well that it is quieter by far.
Bottom line, car ran fine before, runs a tad better now, smoother and quieter with more low end torque and over 6,000 it sings a bit more(push back in seat more). Expect better mpg by 5-10% easily over a few more tanks. observed mpg is about 21-23 mixed driving.
Worth it. I will endeaver to do this every couple of years...I can tell the difference...and that check engine light....pulled backup fuse, it still was on...but ther engine ecu learns and resets just fine.
03-01-2011, 01:57 PM
#2
Registered User
Thread Starter
ok, 2004 with 53,000 on the clock...valves adjusted at 30,000 by dealer. I chose to do it myself, I have some ability, but I have not adjusted valves since about 1984. Used the forum for info and found a print out that was exceptional about AP1 motor, applies 98% to mine as well so I went ahead.
Got valve adjustment tool online, about 13.00 plus shipping, it helped allot. got feeler guage at local store ($7.00)and gasket kit (not needed so far) online, which was about $28.00 includes shipping.
Used 17mm 1/2 drive socket to turn engine. the take apart was easy enough, the adjustment was difficult as there was not much room to work with...the heat shield coming off would have helped (last bolt tooo difficult), the airbox had to go.. to get to vibration dampner to turn engine. pulled plugs, they all looked the same, nice and light coloring. flashlight inspection of top of cyl through spark plug hole indicates NO carbon build up. K&N cone run since new, throttle body inspection is CLEAN.
All exaust were tight or loose, all intakes were spot on and did not need an adjustment. exaust were easier to get to than intake but you can get to them all....
Put it all back....woops???how did those hoses go??? airbox was the most difficult to get right and i ended up with a check engine light which went away with several starts and stops and about 15 miles of driving.
bottom line....my hamfisted mechanical ability took about 4-4.5 hours, would have been easier if i noted where each airbox hose went...car has smoooooother low end power increase, higher idle by about 100 rpm....purrs so well that it is quieter by far.
Bottom line, car ran fine before, runs a tad better now, smoother and quieter with more low end torque and over 6,000 it sings a bit more(push back in seat more). Expect better mpg by 5-10% easily over a few more tanks. observed mpg is about 21-23 mixed driving.
Worth it. I will endeaver to do this every couple of years...I can tell the difference...and that check engine light....pulled backup fuse, it still was on...but ther engine ecu learns and resets just fine.
Got valve adjustment tool online, about 13.00 plus shipping, it helped allot. got feeler guage at local store ($7.00)and gasket kit (not needed so far) online, which was about $28.00 includes shipping.
Used 17mm 1/2 drive socket to turn engine. the take apart was easy enough, the adjustment was difficult as there was not much room to work with...the heat shield coming off would have helped (last bolt tooo difficult), the airbox had to go.. to get to vibration dampner to turn engine. pulled plugs, they all looked the same, nice and light coloring. flashlight inspection of top of cyl through spark plug hole indicates NO carbon build up. K&N cone run since new, throttle body inspection is CLEAN.
All exaust were tight or loose, all intakes were spot on and did not need an adjustment. exaust were easier to get to than intake but you can get to them all....
Put it all back....woops???how did those hoses go??? airbox was the most difficult to get right and i ended up with a check engine light which went away with several starts and stops and about 15 miles of driving.
bottom line....my hamfisted mechanical ability took about 4-4.5 hours, would have been easier if i noted where each airbox hose went...car has smoooooother low end power increase, higher idle by about 100 rpm....purrs so well that it is quieter by far.
Bottom line, car ran fine before, runs a tad better now, smoother and quieter with more low end torque and over 6,000 it sings a bit more(push back in seat more). Expect better mpg by 5-10% easily over a few more tanks. observed mpg is about 21-23 mixed driving.
Worth it. I will endeaver to do this every couple of years...I can tell the difference...and that check engine light....pulled backup fuse, it still was on...but ther engine ecu learns and resets just fine.
03-01-2011, 03:15 PM
#3
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I'm having this done to my car tomorrow. I am mechanically inclined but not willing to mess with my valves as it can cause a lot of damage. I guess I will find out afterwards what it feels like, hopefully the same experience as you.
Btw, did you change all the gaskets on the valve cover? I picked up a set just to replace them since the ones on there currently arefrom factory.
Btw, did you change all the gaskets on the valve cover? I picked up a set just to replace them since the ones on there currently arefrom factory.
03-02-2011, 05:18 AM
#4
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Good work. I am not mechanically inclined enough to do it myself. I will probably get one of the s2k gurus around my area to help me out (i.e. pay them for it, haha). This is actually the first car I have ever been hands on with and while I have learned alot (oil changes, trans fluid changes, new intake, new exhaust, new TP, new sound system, new seats and a new hood to name a few) I don't feel ready to tackle something that important!!!
03-02-2011, 12:15 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
I was lucky, i bought a gasket kit and did not need it, carefully inspecting the gaskets and rubber parts they were just fine. no leaks in a week of driving. This made so much of a difference it feels like i have more hp/torque. How bad were they? all intakes did not need to be touched, but the exaust were all loose or tight.
The sound difference it noticeable as well....motor quieter on start up, idle, at freeway speeds, all the time...and smoother by far. Vetc is hard coming on, as it should be, you can tell...it is just smoother all around.
The reset of the ecu was optional....and the learning curve of the engine takes a while, on and off, miles driven, etc...I havenot used a new tank as of yet but my guess is that I will see increase in mpg, was getting 21-23 before, mostly 22...
car feels much better, I can use a higher gear around town without lugging or vibration felt now.
To do it again, which i shall, will take me less time...again room is an issue as the area to get the guage, adjustment tool, etc into and out of is tight on some valves. Having the car at top dead center to start, marks on the timing chain is not as important as adjustment made when the cam is off the valve and it is loose enough to rattle back and forth. i followed the sticky I downloaded from this site for an AP1 engine and it was perfect....hardest part was putting the airbox and related hoses back on properly, there are so many...and i used a 1/2 inch drive ratchet to turn the crank bolt, with the plugs out it is very easy to turn the engine...it was also neat to check out the plugs which are original, and see they are all perfect. you also may want to have to antiseize grease around to place them back into the engine and for the hoses.
so far so good!
The sound difference it noticeable as well....motor quieter on start up, idle, at freeway speeds, all the time...and smoother by far. Vetc is hard coming on, as it should be, you can tell...it is just smoother all around.
The reset of the ecu was optional....and the learning curve of the engine takes a while, on and off, miles driven, etc...I havenot used a new tank as of yet but my guess is that I will see increase in mpg, was getting 21-23 before, mostly 22...
car feels much better, I can use a higher gear around town without lugging or vibration felt now.
To do it again, which i shall, will take me less time...again room is an issue as the area to get the guage, adjustment tool, etc into and out of is tight on some valves. Having the car at top dead center to start, marks on the timing chain is not as important as adjustment made when the cam is off the valve and it is loose enough to rattle back and forth. i followed the sticky I downloaded from this site for an AP1 engine and it was perfect....hardest part was putting the airbox and related hoses back on properly, there are so many...and i used a 1/2 inch drive ratchet to turn the crank bolt, with the plugs out it is very easy to turn the engine...it was also neat to check out the plugs which are original, and see they are all perfect. you also may want to have to antiseize grease around to place them back into the engine and for the hoses.
so far so good!
03-03-2011, 05:08 AM
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So the valve adjustment made a huge difference. The guy that did it knows a ton about Honda motors and he said that they were really tight. He adjusted them to spec, and it is much smoother.
I had the issue before the VA where up to 4500 rpm, it was sluggish. Now its a smooth transition to VTEC. I really haven't push it that much. I reset the ECU so it could adjust to the VA so I really haven't pushed the car into VTEC that much.
I had the issue before the VA where up to 4500 rpm, it was sluggish. Now its a smooth transition to VTEC. I really haven't push it that much. I reset the ECU so it could adjust to the VA so I really haven't pushed the car into VTEC that much.
03-03-2011, 10:47 AM
#7
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my experience with teh ecu reset is that it takes a while after the check engine light goes off for the car to be completely tweaked...lots of trips and starts and stops ...engine on and off. glad it went well.
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