Hi guys,
PREFACE: If your truck has over 100,000 miles and you are experiencing a check engine light--and your codes are emission-related--they can often be triggered by this common Ridgeline issue of the exhaust valves being too tight (zero to neg lash).
After reading bits and pieces on the web of doing a valve adjustment on all kinds of other Honda V6 engines, I decided to go for it and tackle the job myself. If you haven't done a spark plug change yet, you'll want to do it at the same time. Don't scrimp on plugs, get the original part for these. UPDATE 3/18: Torque settings and other useful info on tackling this job can be found here.
Here are some tips that might help you should you decide to do it yourself, including this master image that will help guide you through the nuts and bolts of it (sorry, couldn't resist):
![Image]()
1. You will need, at the very least, (2) two replacement valve cover gaskets. These gaskets are different than the original, superseding the ones that came on the car. They are thinner. I prefer the original design, but for whatever reason, Honda changed it. You can use your original gaskets if you're feeling gutsy, but I opted to change these.
2. Yes, the intake manifold has to come off. I left the throttle body attached to the manifold and disconnected all the wires and hoses going to it. The top plate has to come off to gain access to the bolts that hold the manifold to the head. Use napkins shop towels to plug the intake ports!! Do not leave these uncovered--a nut dropped into one of these holes will certainly ruin your day (and possible warrant a full head removal).
![Image]()
STOP what you are doing now and plug these intake ports before continuing any further! Do it!
3. The injector wire harness and guides do NOT have to be removed, you just have to wiggle the valve covers a bit to get them out (rear). There are two 10mm head bolts holding the back plastic wire cage, the one on the left is hiding a bit. There is also a bracket behind that back left bolt that holds a hose to the valve cover, remove both.
![Image]()
4. The front valve cover is as easy as pie. You don't even need to take the manifold off to get it off...it's the rear valve cover that takes extra effort. One of the valve cover bolts is hiding behind the plastic wire cage, as shown below.
![Image]()
Other hoses and brackets that need to be disconnected:
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
5. The 19mm crankshaft bolt is accessible from the passenger's side front wheel well, there's a hole for it. You will need a 6" extension on your ratchet to rotate the crank to move from cylinder to cylinder. I put my car in neutral for this. The rubber camshaft plug is on that black plastic cam gear cover to the left of your engine looking in (see master image at top), faces the windshield washer reservoir cap. You open the plug and use a mirror and flashlight to look inside. There will be a line that you'll need to align with the arrow on the plastic (bottom). There will also be a number that tells you what cylinder is ready to be adjusted (cams at lowest lobe position). I've included that master pic that shows the cylinder numbering and firing order for your convenience.
6. The gap for the intake should be set to .008 to .009 and the exhaust from .011 to .013. Loosen the lock nuts that hold the adjuster and set gap. I normally turn the adjuster/tappet down lightly until I feel resistance, then back off 1/4 turn and lock. Make sure you are only adjusting the cylinder that matches to the cam gear! Normally, the rockers will have some play when you are on the correct cylinder; however, I had a few that were TIGHT, which is BAD. This could account for my slight cold engine miss that I was experiencing over the past few months.
7. Once done with the valve adjustments, replace everything in reverse order.
Do NOT forget to remove the ratchet from the crankshaft! Also, remove the towels that you used to plug the intake ports. Don't forget to reattach the water hoses to the throttle body, but sure to clamp those.
8. I reused both of the intake manifold gaskets, as they are very expensive...and the dealer didn't have them in stock (?!?). In any case, it's an easy removal if I ever detected a leak down the road.
9. Fire up your car and listen for hose leaks, look for smoke, watch for anything funky. I forgot the breather hose on the back valve cover, which fortunately was close to the port and started to whistle.
10. Crack open a cold one and relish in your accomplishment! :act035:
PREFACE: If your truck has over 100,000 miles and you are experiencing a check engine light--and your codes are emission-related--they can often be triggered by this common Ridgeline issue of the exhaust valves being too tight (zero to neg lash).
After reading bits and pieces on the web of doing a valve adjustment on all kinds of other Honda V6 engines, I decided to go for it and tackle the job myself. If you haven't done a spark plug change yet, you'll want to do it at the same time. Don't scrimp on plugs, get the original part for these. UPDATE 3/18: Torque settings and other useful info on tackling this job can be found here.
Here are some tips that might help you should you decide to do it yourself, including this master image that will help guide you through the nuts and bolts of it (sorry, couldn't resist):
1. You will need, at the very least, (2) two replacement valve cover gaskets. These gaskets are different than the original, superseding the ones that came on the car. They are thinner. I prefer the original design, but for whatever reason, Honda changed it. You can use your original gaskets if you're feeling gutsy, but I opted to change these.
2. Yes, the intake manifold has to come off. I left the throttle body attached to the manifold and disconnected all the wires and hoses going to it. The top plate has to come off to gain access to the bolts that hold the manifold to the head. Use napkins shop towels to plug the intake ports!! Do not leave these uncovered--a nut dropped into one of these holes will certainly ruin your day (and possible warrant a full head removal).
STOP what you are doing now and plug these intake ports before continuing any further! Do it!
3. The injector wire harness and guides do NOT have to be removed, you just have to wiggle the valve covers a bit to get them out (rear). There are two 10mm head bolts holding the back plastic wire cage, the one on the left is hiding a bit. There is also a bracket behind that back left bolt that holds a hose to the valve cover, remove both.
4. The front valve cover is as easy as pie. You don't even need to take the manifold off to get it off...it's the rear valve cover that takes extra effort. One of the valve cover bolts is hiding behind the plastic wire cage, as shown below.
Other hoses and brackets that need to be disconnected:
5. The 19mm crankshaft bolt is accessible from the passenger's side front wheel well, there's a hole for it. You will need a 6" extension on your ratchet to rotate the crank to move from cylinder to cylinder. I put my car in neutral for this. The rubber camshaft plug is on that black plastic cam gear cover to the left of your engine looking in (see master image at top), faces the windshield washer reservoir cap. You open the plug and use a mirror and flashlight to look inside. There will be a line that you'll need to align with the arrow on the plastic (bottom). There will also be a number that tells you what cylinder is ready to be adjusted (cams at lowest lobe position). I've included that master pic that shows the cylinder numbering and firing order for your convenience.
6. The gap for the intake should be set to .008 to .009 and the exhaust from .011 to .013. Loosen the lock nuts that hold the adjuster and set gap. I normally turn the adjuster/tappet down lightly until I feel resistance, then back off 1/4 turn and lock. Make sure you are only adjusting the cylinder that matches to the cam gear! Normally, the rockers will have some play when you are on the correct cylinder; however, I had a few that were TIGHT, which is BAD. This could account for my slight cold engine miss that I was experiencing over the past few months.
7. Once done with the valve adjustments, replace everything in reverse order.
Do NOT forget to remove the ratchet from the crankshaft! Also, remove the towels that you used to plug the intake ports. Don't forget to reattach the water hoses to the throttle body, but sure to clamp those.
8. I reused both of the intake manifold gaskets, as they are very expensive...and the dealer didn't have them in stock (?!?). In any case, it's an easy removal if I ever detected a leak down the road.
9. Fire up your car and listen for hose leaks, look for smoke, watch for anything funky. I forgot the breather hose on the back valve cover, which fortunately was close to the port and started to whistle.
10. Crack open a cold one and relish in your accomplishment! :act035:
