Valve adjusment on 8th gen Civic

[rationull]

Honda's maintenance schedule for the 8th gen Civics recommends valve adjustments at normal service intervals "only if noisy" IIRC, which seems like kind of a weird strategy. I got to thinking about this today, and how much of a PITA it's going to be to check the valves given the cowl trim that needs to be removed to get the valve cover off. I'm just glad the specs are given for a cold engine.

Does anyone know what the published labor time is for this job?

 

[grampi]

I can't believe in this day and age there are still engines that require valve adjustments. What's up with that?

 

[kingrob]

Did Honda pull the engine off a 73 Beetle and base their design around that? j/k, those you had to adjust every 3,000 miles.

Seriously, with a $1200 Water pump/t-stat/timing belt replacement on top of a regularly scheduled valve adjustment, why doesn't Honda just simply say "rebuild engine every 50,000 miles?"

 

[grampi]

What year models were the 8th gen Civics?

 

[mechtech2]

Checking valve clearance on a cold engine is the only way to insure consistency.
Warm/hot can vary, and vary from cyl to cyl. The longer it takes to perform the job, the more discrepancy there will be.
Cold is cold. Overnight cold is best.
Bucket type mechanical adjusters wear very slowly, and if initially set up properly will last a LONG time.
Screw and locknut type need it more, but can be surprisingly stable .
If it were mine, I'd check it at 50,000 to see how things look.
It will probably not be necessary to do anything major.
I'd base any future checks upon what I found at that time.

 

[dorkiedoode]

Originally Posted By: grampi
What year models were the 8th gen Civics?

06+

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
Did Honda pull the engine off a 73 Beetle and base their design around that? j/k, those you had to adjust every 3,000 miles.

Seriously, with a $1200 Water pump/t-stat/timing belt replacement on top of a regularly scheduled valve adjustment, why doesn't Honda just simply say "rebuild engine every 50,000 miles?"


It should only cost about $200 labor + $120-180 parts, how did you get the $1200 quote?


To answer the original question. It is as easy as using a bent feeler gauge ($6 from Sears) after you open up the valve cover. You have to turn the engine to a correct position via the crank pulley with a 19mm (or so) socket on a rachet. You don't have to do it every time, but doing it will make the car run smoother and quieter. Suppose to be a 15-20 mins job if you know what you are doing.

 

[The Critic]

The valves only need to be adjusted every 110k or so, whenever the plugs are replaced.

This particular Honda engine uses a timing chain. It does not have a timing belt.

$1200 is about right for a V6 timing belt job. It's five hours to replace the timing belt and water pump and the valve adjustment adds another three hours. Labor is well over $100/hr in many areas, and if you add another few hundred in parts, $1200 is about right.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I have a 7th gen Civic and had them do the valves with the T-belt and pump at 86k because the cover had to come off anyway. My mech. said all valves were loose and he returned them to the tight side of spec. They sound the same now as they did before. I'm going to have them do it again at 180k which should happen about June 2009.

 

[H2GURU]

Toyota also uses these manually adjustable valves as well but its a service that rarely, if ever, needs to be done. I would venture a guess that if a motor is wailed on like in street racing or something like that you could see valves that might need attention if found to be noisey?

 

[Mr Nice]

Unless I see a noticeable drop in gas mileage as our 2007 Civic ages past 100K miles, I will not have the valves adjusted.