[eurban]

Many thanks to Keona and others for the valuable info in this thread. I had a knock sensor system defective code and I decided to adjust the valves while I took care of that problem. Everything was completed last week and the Ridgeline runs fine with no check engine lights (87,197 mi.). I started the project last Monday 2/13/23, and took my time. I decided to go ahead and relieve the fuel pressure, although I’m not sure that’s really needed. However, it was very easy to do. I chocked the wheels, put the Ridgeline it in neutral, disconnected the battery and started. I decided to unbolt the throttle body from the manifold and bungee it back. That was much easier than undoing all the connections. The remaining manifold connections came off easily, and the manifold cover and upper manifold were removed. I then realized there was a large aluminum spacer about 4 inches thick between the upper and lower manifold that would require two identical gaskets, one for the top and one for the bottom. I already had one so I ordered another from Hondapartsconnection.com.

I spent the rest of the day and some of the next removing the spark plugs, serpentine belt, valve covers and lower manifolds. I had to unbolt the power steering pump and hose to move it out of the way in order to remove 2 brackets that were in the way of a rear manifold bolt. I spent a long time trying to locate the second bolt mounting the power steering pump, and eventually found it directly under the pump and I thought it was too close to the pulley to remove. But I was able to remove it with a socket and rachet.

Regarding the plugs, I noticed the insulator on the number 5 spark plug was dark brown while the rest looked OK. I found some replacement plugs (original NGKs) on Amazon for $8 each, so I decided to install new plugs. I did notice the old ones came out funny where they came loose, turned easily, then alternately became hard then easy to turn. The threads looked fine. My records show I did use anti-seize when they were installed with the timing belt replacement (about 77,000 Mi.). I used anti seize with the new ones, torqued to 13 ft. lbs., and everything went fine.

While waiting on parts I spent a couple hours the next couple days looking at the valve lashes. Every intake was set at .010, and most of the exhausts also. There were 4 out of 12 exhausts that were slightly tighter at .008. I reset these 4 to .010 to match the others. After some thought, I decided to reset all the valves within spec, a tight .008 for the intakes, and a loose .013 for the exhaust. The intakes on both banks were easy since they point straight up, adjusting screw slot seen easily, and nothing in the way. Adjustment took about 5 minutes per valve. The exhaust valves are another story. The spark plug tubes and valve cover mounting bosses prevent easy access of the feeler gauge. You have to access the valve stem at an angle. In addition, the valve stems themselves are at a slight angle. Then you have to use angled feeler gauges. And the rear bank has the large electrical bundle getting in the way. I’ll try to post a pic of my super-technical solution below.
View attachment 434947
I did find out that, in my experience, once the adjusting screw is set where you want it, you can snug the lock nut slightly while holding the adjusting screw still with the screw driver, then torque to 13 ft. lbs. I never experienced any change in lash due to the torquing process. Also, the adjusting screws are very sensitive. The difference in .010 and .008 looks like about 1/3 of the distance between the points on the locknut hex. That would be at most 1/18 of a turn, or 20 degrees. I’ll try to add before and after pics.
View attachment 434945

View attachment 434946
While adjusting the valves, I rotated the engine using the ratchet and extension with socket on the crank bolt. I tried to precisely align the marks on the front cam while adjusting the valves for each cylinder. Then it occurred to me that the piston is TDC and right between the compression stroke and power stroke, so there’s no chance either set of valves are open, even slightly. IMHO, you are ok if the cam mark is anywhere in the window and you can see the mark for the number of the cylinder. Also, I spent some time rotating the engine and looking at the rockers/valve movements, and I discovered some surprising and interesting info. When I have time, I’m going to post this in a new thread called VTEC and Dynamic Compression.
Beware of the Bermuda Triangle-like area between the rear bank and the firewall. I dropped a short screwdriver in there. I couldn’t see it and fishing around with a magnet was not successful. I had dropped a flashlight in there earlier, but I could see it. I managed to retrieve it by using an old pillow and blanket to extend my body over the engine and put my entire arm into the “triangle”. But I almost had to call 911 to extract my body from the engine compartment!
There was nothing left of the Knock Sensor connecting wire, just the plastic connectors at each end. Obviously rodents, probably chipmunks, had eaten that away. The insulation on the new replacement wire had pictures of rodents with large Xs on them. I hope there aren’t other wires that they can chew on! I replaced the knock sensor also just to make sure everything was OK.

Thanks again guys

Thanks for the great pics and sharing your experiences. I have done this on my CB750 but never on the Ridge. I've only got 63K on my 14 so it may be a while . . . . There have been enough warnings and horror stories posted here and elsewhere to make me concerned about your purchase of spark plugs through Amazon. Too many reports of counterfeit plugs. You might want to search around on that subject and decide for yourself whether or not to swap them out.

 

[eurban]

Yes, $8 per plug was pretty inepensive for these plugs. But they looked identical, packaging looked good, gapped correctly. The Ridge runs fine, and I kept the old ones just in case...

They are pretty crafty with the appearances but hopefully you got a real set.

 

[eurban]

I removed the #6 plug and examined it carefully. It met the criteria (COUNTERFEIT NGK Laser Iridium Spark Plugs IZFR6K11 - YouTube) for being a genuine NGK plug. It also met the criteria on the NGK web site.
I also looked carefully at the old plugs which I bought on eBay in 2018 when I replaced the timing belt. They are fake! So I'm glad they've been replaced.

Any chance you can show a picture of genuine and fake right next to each other?

 

[eurban]

Will this procedure work on a 2011?

YES

 

[eurban]

When turning my engine over, do i just rotate to the closest number to TDC and start adjusting or do i need to do a certain amount of turns and start at a certain number?

TDC will be for only a particular cylinder (or cylinders) so you need to know which one(s) are at TDC. Here are some images from the factory manual.

 

[eurban]

So if I’m close to for i can just rotate to 4 and start on 4 is what I’m gathering. Thank you!

Yes