Uhgg.. It all seems okay. I saw that plate and got a little ahead of myself?! Glad I didn't mess it up. I put a post-it in my guide saying to use 19mm main crank bolt next time.

Thanks for letting me know without being too harsh because I put it out there.

 

It helps to know WHY procedures are suggested as they are written.


9 of 10 times probably nothing would happen your way, but I'm always the 10th guy to come along.

 

Just did this adjustment.

My car is and 08 sport with 75,000 miles.

It seems there is a trend developing. My intakes where decent all withiin +/- .001 my exhaust was anywhere from .005-.009. I don't know what to make of that. But all seems well so I'll just leave it at that. A little less chatter not a very noticeable difference. Defiantly idles smoother and drives a little better. We will see if it made any difference in mpg tomorrow. The whole job took about 2.5 hours. Its surprisingly easy. I just took the battery then air box out. Then took the plastic portion of the intake off and moved it aside with the throttle body still attached. Remove the coils for some wiggle room and your done. Thanks for the write up. Was a huge help.

 

Just did the SECOND valve adjustment on my '07 Fit. Mileage was about 99k, so it works out roughly to do the valves every 50k (not the 107k Honda tells you in the manual).

The first go-around (45k) I reused the valve cover gasket. No problem with that. Just keep the rubber gasket inside its grove while its off. Second time around the gasket gets a bit flatten out and is turning pretty hard. Just pop on over to your local dealer (or go on-line) and get the new gasket. You can buy it as a "kit" with the new bolts and seals ($$$) or just the gasket ($). I did just the gasket and all went well.

The little engine needs its valves set every 40k-50k. Don't wait for a noise, just do it and save the engine some possible valve damage and enjoy a better, smoother running engine.

 

@hans471: Good post. Thanks.

 

Do you remember how much the new gasket "kit" was?

 

From Bernardi Parts,


The valve cover gasket alone is $7.86 ($10.73 list)

A "Kit" with the VC gasket and the securing bolt's rubber washers is $28.52 ($38.97 list)

 

I like the idea of doing the full kit on the second valve adjustment. Good idea.

 

^^ Actually Marrk, I've come to trust the durability of Honda gaskets. The machining Honda does on the mating surfaces is top-notch (smooth and true). Gasket leakage is rare in my experience, even when used over and over.

So, my philosophy is to look for seepage prior to disassembly. If I see some, I'll order a gasket before I do the job.



+++++++++++++++++++



There are some owners who LIKE an engine to leak oil, a bit. Remember, as long as it drips, it's not out of oil!

 

Good write-up. I plan on doing this soon and will use this for reference.

 

Are the listed specs hot or cold?

 

specs noted are when cylinder head temperature is less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius.

 

Simple English: Cold

Many like to let the vehicle sit over night to ensure its totally cooled off. I will sometimes put a little fan over the engine and let it blow for an hour or two. That seems to work quite well.

Its important for the inside of the block to be cool. There is a lot of expansion that takes place on on engine when its warm. The valves change a great deal as the temperature of the head and valves changes. A couple of thousands of an inch doesn't seem like much but to a valve it can be the difference between working correctly or burning.

 

I like to adjust them stone cold, too.

 

Ive seen a similar trend on older honda motors, with the intake side changing little, if any, towards tighter clearances, and the exhaust almost always looser.

Im thinking Im going to check mine around 20k miles though. I take my Fit to the drags every other friday, I drive spirited quote often, and I love to maintain my car. I also dont agree with any of honda's maintenance schedules. I am doing 7500 mile oil changes instead of the MM gauge telling me its gonna be over 10k miles. And the MTF is definitely being changed soon.
I hate driving on "breakin" fluids. Coolant will be changed this winter along with the spark plugs most likely. Im forseeing my mileage to be around 25k by december from me driving the car nearly everyday

 

Agreed.

Honda isn't doing anybody any favors by misleading people about maintenance. But telling people that they don't have to do maintenance is still a good way to sell cars.

 

You just got it. All car companies do this as a way to reduce the apparent cost of ownership. Ford wanted to do 25,000 on oil changes and their oil suppliers told them NO WAY! The oil companies knew when those engines failed that their oil would be blamed.

Type of use dictates when maintenance should be done. One size does not fit all.

 

You have it exactly backwards. The exhaust closes to little or no clearance because the seats and valves are hotter and bang into each other raising the valve in the seat and the valve stem stretches over time because of getting pulled on while hot decreasing the clearance.

The intakes on the other hand run cooler so the end of the valve stem is constantly beat on wearing it down and increasing the clearance.

This phenomenon has been reported in every case by members commenting here. And mine were the same.

 

the extra heat will cause threads to loosen overtime, causing the clearance changes.

Some motors show this, some dont. More compact engines tend to do this. Like the D series of honda, where most of my honda pride and joy comes from.


Also why nearly all the bolts in my camry's exhaust manifold were slightly loose. At least the ones not rusted.

Vibration and heat are a loosening combo if rust is prevented from occuring

 

Did you read the posts in this thread? EVERY ONE of the members posting found zero to very little clearance and opened intake clearance. And none reported lose lock nuts.

It's from repeated beating into the valve seat by valve spring pressure that causes the exhaust valve stem to stretch and the seats get beaten down causing the valve to ride higher toward the adjuster reducing the clearance.

The cooler intake valve tip just gets worn down from mechanical motion causing the clearance to increase.