Valve Adjustments?

[Keoni]

Originally Posted by Ourfarm09

Do we want pics?

Silly question.

Pics located here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCY6Gh4

You're welcome

[rollinhonda]

That looks very ambitious, and almost like more than is needed, but the detail does not show anything that should be beyond the capability of the average shade tree mechanic, or weekend DIYer. Nice pics!

[Keoni]

Yes, it's very doable. But believe me, everything that's shown in my pics HAS to be done. You'd never be able to adjust the rear valve clearances without the manifold removed, particularly #2 cylinder. The good news is that the manifold removal is the easiest part of the job! Takes 10-20 minutes using hand tools.

Now that I've done this process once, I think I could do it in half the time (took me four hours total the first time, including breaks taken to run to the computer to look at others' photos of different Honda engines, AND taking time to snap a few photos--mostly during reassembly). The crankshaft rotation and valve adjustment takes about an hour. Easy job, IMHO.

Aloha,
Keoni

[Ourfarm09]

Awesome pics. Were any valves loose or tight?

[Keoni]

Yup--none were loose, all were tighter than specs, and a few exhaust valves had ZERO to negative tolerance (tight!). I felt pretty good about catching that. My truck doesn't have that slight cold miss that it used to have. Runs very smooth now. Oh, and as a bonus, my check engine code 2279 when away once I did the valve adjustment.

I also changed my tensioner and was surprised at how much quieter my car became! It had been rumbling for a while and was getting worse each week. So you know, I tried pulling the pulleys off, cleaning the bearings, and repacking them, but it only stayed quiet for 20 mins or so. Those bearings are under constant load, so even a slightly worn bearing can make noise.

FYI, mine made noise when the AC turned on, then quieted down a lot when the AC turned off. Many would suspect the AC clutch, but my trusty stethoscope pointed to the tensioner pulleys. Best $175 on a part I've spent in a while. I know I could have gone the cheaper route by replacing just the pulleys (O'Reilly's $70 for both pulleys), but with my luck, the tensioner would go next

I was ready to relax and enjoy my Sunday today, when my wife yelled from the garage that the washing machine was beeping. Code F11 on my Kenmore H3t. Oh well, the fixing continues--removed the circuit board and found cracked solder joints under the relays. Resoldered 'em all and BAM, it's working again. Added some sound-dampening material to the parts and the cpu case and it's washing clothes vibration-free

I guess it's been a pretty productive weekend after all!

Aloha,
Keoni

[speedlever]

Originally Posted by Keoni

Yes, it's very doable. But believe me, everything that's shown in my pics HAS to be done. You'd never be able to adjust the rear valve clearances without the manifold removed, particularly #2 cylinder. The good news is that the manifold removal is the easiest part of the job! Takes 10-20 minutes using hand tools.

Now that I've done this process once, I think I could do it in half the time (took me four hours total the first time, including breaks taken to run to the computer to look at others' photos of different Honda engines, AND taking time to snap a few photos--mostly during reassembly). The crankshaft rotation and valve adjustment takes about an hour. Easy job, IMHO.

Aloha,
Keoni

This is one of those jobs that I wouldn't mind doing myself... once I'd had someone watching over me the first time. I figure that's about a 2-3 day job for me my first time without knowledgeable supervision.

There's always a fastener somewhere that hangs me up or something that's not spelled out literally enough for me to figure out before I do it the hard way first.

[speedlever]

Originally Posted by Keoni

snip

I also changed my tensioner and was surprised at how much quieter my car became! It had been rumbling for a while and was getting worse each week. So you know, I tried pulling the pulleys off, cleaning the bearings, and repacking them, but it only stayed quiet for 20 mins or so. Those bearings are under constant load, so even a slightly worn bearing can make noise.

FYI, mine made noise when the AC turned on, then quieted down a lot when the AC turned off. Many would suspect the AC clutch, but my trusty stethoscope pointed to the tensioner pulleys. Best $175 on a part I've spent in a while. I know I could have gone the cheaper route by replacing just the pulleys (O'Reilly's $70 for both pulleys), but with my luck, the tensioner would go next

I wonder if that's the same noise I'm getting on our Pilot when we cut the A/C on?

There's a link to a soundclip in post 3.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/f...ad.php?t=45920

Tell me what you think.

[laserguy]

Please let us know how your gas mileage changes, I read here from one member that after the adjustment the mileage increased quite a bit

[Keoni]

I've updated the valve adjustment thread with pics:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/f...ad.php?t=46630

I will update the group of any fuel economy improvements. Truck is purring like a kitten (although I'm not much of a cat guy .

Regarding that noise, speedlever, I can't tell from the video. Probably better to record it from the engine bay. Use a hose (any hose) and hold it to your ear and move it around the area where you think the noise is coming from. A mechanic's stethoscope would be even better (that's how I found my bad tensioner pulley).

Hey, my pulley felt perfect in my hand while spinning it, bearings felt smooth as silk--but once the grease that was left in it (like almost nothing), you could feel a few gritty notches here and there...but I wouldn't have expected it to make such a loud noise under load! I actually removed both pulleys, flushed out the bearings with solvent, blew them dry, regreased and reinstalled. Was quiet for only about 10 minutes, which was enough for me to know that the bearings were bad...and that I had found the cure.

Cheers,
Keoni

[speedlever]

Thanks Keoni. The sound is pretty distinctive, so I was hoping you might recognize it. No worries. Good idea about the tube/stethoscope.