Valve Adjustment at 61k miles?

[mosaud1998]

I have a 2013 Honda Accord EX 2.4L. I went to my local Honda dealership today to get the driveshaft recall inspection done. My driveshaft is fine( the car has hardly been driven). The service writer recommended getting a valve adjustment (never heard of valves needed to be adjusted) done along with spark plugs. I thought spark plugs need to be done at 100k miles? They also said my battery is bad. Yet, I am having no issues with the battery. Brake fluid I had done at another Honda Dealership. CVT fluid I did myself at 55k miles.

 

[Blinker]

I owned a 2013 Accord 2.4. The owners manual says to adjust the valves if they sound noisy.

This is nothing more than a dealership trying to drain your pocketbook.

 

[mosaud1998]

I owned a 2013 Accord 2.4. The owners manual says to adjust the valves if they sound noisy.

This is nothing more than a dealership trying to drain your pocketbook.

My valves dont sound noisy at all. Well, if they were noisy, I'd hear like a knocking noise, right?

 

[Blinker]

Maladjusted valves typically make a tapping sound. When you hear it you will know. The noisiest part about the 2.4 earth dreams is the HPFP. To me it sounds like a chirping sound.

 

[mosaud1998]

Maladjusted valves typically make a tapping sound. When you hear it you will know. The noisiest part about the 2.4 earth dreams is the HPFP. To me it sounds like a chirping sound.

Yeah, I'm not hearing any tapping noise

 

[mattd]

Tight valves don’t make noise. The manual is poorly worded to “adjust only if noisy”. More damage can be done by the quiet ones than the “noisy” ones.

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

You are totally right about tight valves NOT being noisy... but also NOT transfering heat, properly, to the cylinder head... and then burning-out. A significant issue.

I, for one, don't really like hydraulic valve lash adjusters... because ultimately, they start ticking... and when you have 16 of them, how do you find the one that is ticking? I guess, however, once one starts ticking - replace all of them.... 'cuz they may all start ticking around the same time?

Hydraulic "lifters" are, however, very, very typical for nowadays' cars. I am really surprised that Honda has manual valve adjustment for their '13 Accord. If indeed they do (and it appears so) - then I would guess that the Design is one where they actually, rarely, need adjustment. The next question, then, is are they shim-over-bucket, shim under bucket, replaceable bucket, or simplest - screw-locknut rocker arm? I also note that the intake ones on the EarthDreams (??) Honda are at the firewall, and the exhaust ones are at the front. I would have to guess that the exhaust ones live a harder life.... and one might possibly surmise that the exhaust ones would need to be adjusted more so than the intake ones. If so, fortuitous that the exhausts are at the front.

 

[miden851]

I would go to another honda dealer and ask for assessment

our K24W engine at 70k is smooth as silk to this day so no valve adjustment needed yet

 

[mosaud1998]

I would go to another honda dealer and ask for assessment

our K24W engine at 70k is smooth as silk to this day so no valve adjustment needed yet

Mines smooth too. The tech sent me a video. He did not mention anything about Valves needing adjustments. Probably just another way for the service rep to make more money.

 

[Ur2fat2weardat]

Valves could be out of adjustment won’t know unless you check clearance . I think its 100k service thou.

 

[Ram02]

My wife’s 13 accord sport is at 120k and not hearing no tapping. I’m leave them alone

 

[92saturnsl2]

Service department trying to drum up some business is all that is. Typical Honda service interval for valve adjustment is 100k on most of their vehicles, as are the spark plugs. If you press them on this, since yours is a fairly low mileage vehicle, they will likely pivot to "it's due based on age" which is a load of horse manure.

When vehicles come in for recall is an excellent time for the dealer to push services on people. Happens to me every time I have a vehicle in for recall. I don't think I've ever come home from a recall without some paperwork saying I need $3-5k in repairs, despite the fact that I maintain my vehicles religiously. Most items are pure BS and once I had them recommend a new battery when I'd replaced said battery literally a week prior. I'm assuming the service writer tries to sell every older vehicle a battery, because it's clear they didn't look at it, or they would have realized it was brand new.

 

[mosaud1998]

Service department trying to drum up some business is all that is. Typical Honda service interval for valve adjustment is 100k on most of their vehicles, as are the spark plugs. If you press them on this, since yours is a fairly low mileage vehicle, they will likely pivot to "it's due based on age" which is a load of horse manure.

When vehicles come in for recall is an excellent time for the dealer to push services on people. Happens to me every time I have a vehicle in for recall. I don't think I've ever come home from a recall without some paperwork saying I need $3-5k in repairs, despite the fact that I maintain my vehicles religiously. Most items are pure BS and once I had them recommend a new battery when I'd replaced said battery literally a week prior. I'm assuming the service writer tries to sell every older vehicle a battery, because it's clear they didn't look at it, or they would have realized it was brand new.

That's exactly what I am thinking. My battery is 4 years old. The car has no issues starting. I'll just toss the battery on a trickle charger and test the volts tomorrow.

 

[Blinker]

I will say this though. My accord went through batteries every 2-2.5 years. It’s a tiny little battery.

 

[mosaud1998]

I will say this though. My accord went through batteries every 2-2.5 years. It’s a tiny little battery.

I've got this battery in. It's 4 years old

 

[Jim_Truett]

I do them around 100k and usually find several tight exhaust valves and loose intakes.

$200 for spark plugs? That's $50 in parts and 20 minutes labor to do that. They also don't seem to know the difference between manufacture and manufacturer.

 

[mosaud1998]

I do them around 100k and usually find several tight exhaust valves and loose intakes.

How hard are they to diy?

 

[JimPghPA]

The Honda CR-V up to the 2016 year also used the 2.4 Liter 4 cylinder engine. Go to the "Honda CR-V forum" on the right side go to generation 4, then click on 2015 valve adjustment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is from that thread:

The intake valves tend to become looser as you put more miles on them, so you want to adjust the intake valves to the tight ( smallest gap ) end of the proper range so they will stay in the proper range the longest after you get done working on them.

From the Haynes Repair Manual no. 42027 page 1 - 2 for the 2.4 DOHC models the Intake valve clearance is 0.008 to 0.010 inches (0.21 to 0.25 mm). You want to set the Intake valves to the small side of that range which would be 0.008 inches (or 0.21 mm).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The exhaust valves tend to become tighter as you put more miles on them, so you want to adjust the exhaust valves to the loose ( biggest gap ) end of the proper range so they stay within the proper range for the longest time after you get done working on them. This is important because you NEVER want an exhaust valve to become too tight ( too small of a gap, or no gap) because if an exhaust valve stays open a very small amount, it will burn and melt and be destroyed. And along with ruining the valve the valve seat in the head of the engine usually will be damaged. Then the head of the engine will have to be pulled and machined or replaced, along with new valves installed. That is very expensive.

From the Haynes Repair Manual no. 42027 page 1 - 2 for the 2.4 DOHC models the Exhaust valves clearance on a cold engine is 0.010 to 0.011 inches (0.25 to 0.29 mm). So you want to set the Exhaust valves to the big side of that range which would be 0.011 inches (or 0.29 mm).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: SOME OF THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS SAY THE WRONG GAPS FOR THE EXHAUST VALVES. There was one that said 0.012 to 0.013 inches and that is more of a gap than what the Haynes Repair Manual says.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, what is misleading is that some people say you only need to do a valve adjustment if they are noisy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The intake valves will be noisy if they need adjustment because there gap will get too large. But the exhaust valves will actually become quiet when there gap is too small. And you can have the intake not making excessive noise, but the exhaust out of speck and too tight. And if you let it go too long it can get so tight that it burns an exhaust valve.

So of the two if an input is too large and is noisy then you may not get all the power you should get from the engine because the intake valves are not opening enough and the engine can not take it all the air it should normally be able to get. But this will not cause damage to your engine.

But if exhaust valves are too tight and they are quiet they can become sooooooo tight that they stay open a very small amount, then they will melt and burn and damage the valves, and usually also the seats for the valves in the head of the engine. So this quiet exhaust valves problem is much more serious because it can damage your engine.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honda recommends checking them at 110,000 miles, but there have been reports of people finding the exhaust valves too tight with only 75,000 miles on an engine ( a YouTube video reported one at 0.004 inches with only 75,000 miles on the engine).

Watch several of the YouTube videos on how to adjust the valves on a Honda K series engine.

VERY IMPORTANT: YOU WANT THE ENGIEN TO BE STONE COLD WHEN YOU ARE ADJUSTING THE VALVES. And there is a special tool for adjusting the valves on a Honda engine that makes it easier to do the job (you can see it in use on some of the YouTube videos). You can do it without that tool, but it may take much longer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you have them all adjusted, before you close it up, check them all one more time.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In one of the YouTube videos the mechanic removed all 4 spark-plugs so the engine would not have any compression so it was easy to turn the engine by hand to get the cam positioned so it was not at the peak of the lobe for each valve when he adjusted them. Mrdrey with 100,000 miles on your engine, if the spark-plugs were original, it would be a good idea to pull them like he did to do the valves, and then put new ones in when you put it back together.



There is NOTHING for 2015-16. I wasn't sure if earlier models were the same.




Thanks everyone for the very useful info. I also was able to find this, in case it'll help someone else....

​

They are.




For those who have done the adjustment before, are there markings to clearly indicate each 90 degree turn? I see there is one to indicate TDC for the first valve, but the subsequent steps ask for a 90 degree rotation. How do you ensure it's precisely a 90 degree rotation?




There are markings on the cam wheels, and you can line those up with the cylinder head surface.





Just turn the engine by hand to have the easy to see protrusion ( the lobe extension on the cam for the valve you are currently adjusting, that makes that particular valve open ) facing up so it is far away from being able to activate the valve, for each of the valves when you are adjusting that particular valve.

According to one of the videos if you know the firing order 1, 3, 4, 2, you could adjust the valves in that order so you then should have to turn the engine the minimum amount.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, I am not a certified mechanic. Just someone who grew up working on cars.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Haynes Repair Manual no. 42027 that I quoted the valve specks from is for Honda Civic 2012 - 2015 and Honda CR-V 2012 - 2016.




Is that Haynes manual pretty legit for the CRV?






Check out this list of instructions on how to do the adjustments.

Note the tool they use is different than the tool on some of the YouTube videos. It looks like either one would make the job easier and quicker.

Attachments​

• CRV valve adjustment.pdf
  292.3 KBViews: 6

 

[Jim_Truett]

How hard are they to diy?

Hard to say without understanding your skill level and access to tools. You need a good set of feeler gauges, a 10mm socket and a screwdriver for the adjustment. An understanding of how much drag a feeler gauge should have when the right setting is achieved is critical too. It takes me about an hour total if the engine is already cold, but I have done many, and I don't rush it.

 

[Jim_Truett]

Honda recommends checking them at 110,000 miles, but there have been reports of people finding the exhaust valves too tight with only 75,000 miles on an engine ( a YouTube video reported one at 0.004 inches with only 75,000 miles on the engine).

That was a great post, but I will add that I had an Element show up with 89k miles on it and a P0304 code with a rough idle and low power when hot complaint. Both exhausts on #4 were tight, and when the engine warmed up, they would hang open slightly. This problem goes back to the mid '90s.