Do any of the gaskets or o rings that are mentioned need replacing? I'd like to pick up the necessary stuff for this job so I can do it on this weekend. Also, am i supposed to be able to click on the pictures in the writeup?


Thanks,

Bill

 

one more question for those that have done this. when removing the coolant lines that go to the TB do i need to worry about losing coolant and bleeding the system when i'm done or is the car ready to go whe every back together and reconnected?

 

Anyone here? I have several questions as I'm unable to view the pictures in the manual that have been posted in this thread. Should I be removing both the lower and upper part of the manifold together or just the plastic part alone? Should I remove the TB and manifold together or one at a time. I've adjusted valves on a couple of Honda's without problems but this manifold and throttle body removal and all the crap that goes along with it have me seriously considering taking it to the dealer. I'm worried about getting it back together and having a leak of some sort.

Thanks,

Bill

 

Thanks for making this thread and posting the pics/links guys. I decided to check my valve lash last night and found some interesting stuff. Before doing this I've always wondered why my Fit idled funny only when cold, and had such mad top end power. I never thought it was a valve adjustment issue since Honda checked it out and found 'nothing' wrong.

As far as the procedure goes...it's VERY easy! Our intake manifold splits in two peices and you can leave the throttle body completely intact. In a nutshell you: take off the airbox so you can access the TB mounting bolts, under a couple wire harness clips, undo 5 bolts/nuts for the upper plenum, remove coil packs for easy access to exhaust valves, remove valve cover bolts. It's honestly that easy. I left the car on the ground and turned the crank through the access port in the fender liner. No gaskets or o-rings were changed out.

On to my specs after 71k miles.

All intake valves were within spec just barely larger than .007-8.
All exhaust valves were WAY too tight at around .002

I set all the intake valves to .007 and all the exhaust valves to .012 and it feels like I lost the top end rush, but the cold idle is completely smooth and not puffing anymore. A byproduct is I hear a lot more valve tapping than I'm used to hearing so I might go back in and set them to .010. I know that exhaust valves get tighter as they wear so I might just leave it...

So in short, go check your valve lash! It easy to do, no coolant mess involved, no jacking the car up, and you'll be done in less than 3 hours if taking your time. Also, hook up a battery charger, turn the key to A/C, press the A/C button with any fan speed and the car will blow itself cold

 

Bump! I just did the valve clearance adjustment and now my CEL is on. Anyone know what could be the problem?

 

Reset the computer. Any disconnection of a sensor will cause a CEL even if you reconnect it.

 

Thanks man! I actually did that probably when you were typing your reply. Now I'm CEL free. Only problem now is I have a half 10mm bolt stuck in my cylinder head.

 

WHAT!!!! where exactly?

 

I'd check the throttle body and egr plugs. CEL is emissions related so it should be a sensor that it doesn't see.

 

The second bolt on top of the cylinder head cover. It's the 10mm bolt with the rubber washers. The threaded part just snapped when I was tightening it. Now I have to find a way to extract it.

 

how the hell......

 

i know, it just snapped off where the flare ended.

 

Use an easy out...For now you might leak a little motor oil where that bolt is.

 

This may sound like a dumb question but is Hondabond(or something similar) applied around the entire cylinder head or just where the timing chain is? The directions in the how to post are slightly vague to me.

 

Honda here said it was about $110 to do the valve adjustment, the only problem is they said that the car would have to cool down, so expect a couple of hours to perform the adjustment. They said the price includes labor, and new valve cover gaskets... Hope this helps. I will be doing mine myself since I have a loaded toolbox worth more than their shop at the shop I work at

 

$110 is less than I expected; presumably, for a GD. Does anybody know if the valve adjustment procedure differs significantly for the GE?

 

Yes, that's for the GD, but I have no clue about the GE models.

If you removed the upper plenum (plastic if it hasn't been modified) then there's no need to bother the cooling system. If I remember, I gotta work a second job tonight and I'll probably come back to the shop and adjust mine afterward. I'll try and remember to post pictures of the removal process. Being a first time valve adjustment on a new car. I'm sure I'll miss some important steps to make it simpler (removing as large a chunk of stuff as possible) . I'm bad about that.

Oh, and to answer the question about the feeler gauges that did not have exact numbers mentioned on p. 2, instead said something like .006 and .008 below it, those are called go-no go feeler gauges. They're machined so that if you're looking for .007 clearance and the end will fit, but the non machined base of the gage will not fit under the rocker...it's to tell you that it's between .006 and .008 clearance with a little give or take on the .007 They're designed to make adjustments faster without having to keep re-adjusting to get it right. I wish I would remember to use my set more often, but I forget I even own them!

 

This thread is good news. I adjusted the valves in my wife's '08 Fit last month at 35,000 miles. She was getting progressively worse gas mileage and the car felt like it was losing power on the lower end. Also, the engine seemed to be getting louder but it wasn't a valve tick. I did this outside in my driveway in 25*F weather after letting the car sit overnight with temps in the teens.

Anyway ALL of the exhaust clearances were pretty tight (.008-.009), while the intakes were within spec, but on the tighter end. I ended up adjusting the exhaust clearances to the loosest end of the spec, and same with the intakes, though I adjusted the intakes to have a good amount of drag when you pull the feeler gauge out. Everything was pretty simple and easy, but I took my time and spent about 5 hours on the job, checking and rechecking the clearances on each cylinder about 5-6 times, plus taking breaks to let my hands warm up in the house

Now the valves are very clickety clacky on a cold start, but after about 10 minutes of driving the engine is completely quiet at idle, except for the sound of the those loud injectors tapping away. The gas mileage is back to normal again, and the acceleration is much smoother.

I would definately recommend that people check their valve clearances at least every 30,000 miles or so, rather than "only if they're loud". You may not be able hear tight valves. Thanks to those very informed people on this forum for providing the clearances.

 

from which orientation do u turn the crank clockwise?

clockwise looking at the cam gear from the drivers side or from the passengers side (left hand drive)

 

Just did mine today. I didn't have to remove the lower manifold, throttle body, or even the coils, since I had a gauge with a bend in it. I put the intake valves at the smaller end of .006" (and just a bit tighter for the VTEC valves), and the exhaust valves at .012".

Since my parking space has a slight slope, I just gave the car a gentle push backwards with the shifter in Reverse. You can also push the car forwards in 3rd or 4th. This turns the cam gear clockwise while looking from the right side of the car.

Great writeup! Thanks! Unfortunately, for some reason I can't see the pictures on the hondafitjazz.com site.

EDIT: I reused the old valve cover gasket, since it looked okay even after 125,000 miles.