!@#$%
04-18-2008, 10:56 AM
DIY Valve Adjustment for k20a3
-Alex Foshee (If doing this- PRINT THE TEXT OUT AND THE CHART PIC) and read over it before hand. Get the idea of the gameplan together in your head so you know what the job will look like. You will be glad that you did.)
Summary:
For those who have hondata and see revs upwards of 7700 rpm, I suggest at least keeping an eye on your valve clearances. Adjusting the valves is NOT for somebody who has no knowledge of how the combustion engine works. This write up is very long and detailed because it reflects just how much detail must go into the labor you provide. This is a very long and DELICATE process which will take huge amounts of PATIENCE. If you have neither, I suggest taking it to a mechanic. It took me three tries at adjusting them to get the clearances just right, but now that I know what to look for (particularly,determining whether the friction was just right with the feelers- which will DEFINITELY be explained below) getting the job done accurately will not be a problem in the future and will save me large amounts of money. Once you have done it right, you can do it a million times. If you feel confident then it can be done.
Disclaimer:
All of the specs shown in this guide are per the Honda Civic Si service manual. I will post pictures as well, since this is a step-by-step diy. Also, I will mention a lot of little tricks that I came about in getting the best results. I went about doing the procedure a few different ways and found the results below to be not only the most convenient, but also more accurate. With that said, on to the supplies.
Supplies:
- 3/8'' drive tq wrench capable from 7ft lb up to 14 ft lb. <--- HUGE. If you don't have this, do NOT attempt this diy. (I bought a generic $20 special from autozone and it worked perfectly. GET A CLICKER TYPE. Sears sells them for $65, but the whole point was to save $$$. =])
- 10mm deep socket
- Thin tipped flat head screwdriver. One that is a smidge longer than the deep socket if possible.
- 6'' ratchet extension
- 3'' ratchet extension (makes the exhaust side nuts easier to tighten)
- 5/8'' spark plug socket
- Set of Feeler gauges (.008 .009 .012 .013 to be used from the pack) ($8ish-sears)
- One pair of pliers
- 1 Tube of Anti-Seize lubricant (for the spark plugs/ at any parts store)
- 1 Tube of Hondabond liquid gasket from the dealership. ($15ish)
- Some will say another new valve cover gasket, but it is NOT necessary as long as you don't somehow knife up the current one. I've reused mine all 3 times with no leaking. You will notice the hondabond is only applied on the corners so it won't be an issue cleaning it off. (If you want one anyway, you can pick one up from either www.inlinefour.com or www.hondaautomotiveparts.com)
- A good pump jack + 1 jack stand. Having a pump jack is very essential as you will be jacking up and lowering the car several times when working the exhaust side. Do not rely on the factory scissor jack as it will take forever.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/jack.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/craftsman.jpg
Procedure:
- Remove the i-VTEC intake manifold cover. (2 bolts, 10 mm)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA2.jpg
- Remove the Black plastic spark plug cover. (4 nuts, 10mm)
- Remove the last two screws from the remaining ignition coil packs. (2 screws, 10mm)
- Pull up the coil packs halfway, one at a time, and unclip all of them from the harness by hand.
- Fully remove the coil packs from the engine and set them aside in order of removal. (It's suggested they are installed in reverse order of removal. Reminder at end of diy.)
At this point you should be looking at your valve cover with four holes in the top and a bare intake manifold. Not much more to removal.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA3.jpg
- Take pliers and apply pressure to the clamps in order to remove the intake hose from the right side of the valve cover. It can be pushed to the side. No need for full removal.
Note: If working alone, it may be a good idea to zip tie the a/c hose closer to the passenger headlight to help keep it out of the way from the valve cover. (I roped it using the holes above the headlight.)
- Remove the spark plugs using the ratchet, 6'' extension, and the 5/8 spark plug socket. Be sure to keep the plugs in order of where they came from. Probably not necessary, but I'm superstitious about putting stuff back as it was.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA4.jpg
Note: The reason for removing the spark plugs is to take the compression out of the chambers. This will make turning the rim/wheel to set the pistons in position MUCH easier, although it can be done without removing them with added muscle. You will be turning the engine over ALOT for consistency and double/triple checks, so it's easier to just remove the plugs.
*It is time to remove the valve cover.
- You should see 6 silver nuts along the edge of the valve cover that are shown in the picture above. (3 up front, 2 above the header, and 1 next to the coil packs.) Remove these and no not lose them. The metal retainers/rubber washers under the nuts can be removed by hand as well. You do not want to lose these.
- To break loose the seal on the valve cover you will probably have to shake it with your body weight a few times. If it's on really tight, be very gentle and run a very thin tip flat head screwdriver along the edges. There is no need to jam it underneath because you will potentially damage the gasket. This is just to remove and break loose any grime, grit, or hondabond that is holding it on.
- Pull straight up and fully remove the valve cover. The rubber lining gasket may stay in the valve cover's groove, or it could stick to the head. Just expect to not rip up on the cover, and carefully remove it. No hulk needed.
Note: This is what you should be looking at by this point.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA16.jpg
NOTE: I will be using a few terms that some may not quite be familiar with. The main one and most important is TDC. This means Top Dead Center. At this point, according to the arrows/marks on the cam gears you can determine which piston is at tdc, or sitting at the top of the block.
Looking at the engine from the front of the car, the pistons are labeled 1,2,3,4 respectively from left to right. (passenger to driver)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA14.jpg
- Put the car in fourth gear.
- Jack up the passenger side front, leaving the driver side front wheel still on the ground. Insert the jackstand underneath the passenger side front tow hook. Having the wheel off the ground is going to allow you to crank over the engine while watching the cam gears. (You will just kneel down and turn the tire with your hands while you watch the cams spin into place. It's really simple.)
Adjustment:
- Set the #1 piston to TDC by turning the wheel clockwise until the marks are shown like the pic below.
The arrow on the intake vtc gear is just at 12 o'clock. You will notice that two corresponding hash marks will be facing each other
at 3 o'clock (exhaust) and 9 o'clock (intake/vtc) respectively. With this done, the #1 piston's valves are ready to be adjusted.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA7.jpg
The piston's valves will be adjusted in the order of ****1,3,4,2****!
This is VERY important. Follow the chart below.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA14.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AAchart.jpg
-Alex Foshee (If doing this- PRINT THE TEXT OUT AND THE CHART PIC) and read over it before hand. Get the idea of the gameplan together in your head so you know what the job will look like. You will be glad that you did.)
Summary:
For those who have hondata and see revs upwards of 7700 rpm, I suggest at least keeping an eye on your valve clearances. Adjusting the valves is NOT for somebody who has no knowledge of how the combustion engine works. This write up is very long and detailed because it reflects just how much detail must go into the labor you provide. This is a very long and DELICATE process which will take huge amounts of PATIENCE. If you have neither, I suggest taking it to a mechanic. It took me three tries at adjusting them to get the clearances just right, but now that I know what to look for (particularly,determining whether the friction was just right with the feelers- which will DEFINITELY be explained below) getting the job done accurately will not be a problem in the future and will save me large amounts of money. Once you have done it right, you can do it a million times. If you feel confident then it can be done.
Disclaimer:
All of the specs shown in this guide are per the Honda Civic Si service manual. I will post pictures as well, since this is a step-by-step diy. Also, I will mention a lot of little tricks that I came about in getting the best results. I went about doing the procedure a few different ways and found the results below to be not only the most convenient, but also more accurate. With that said, on to the supplies.
Supplies:
- 3/8'' drive tq wrench capable from 7ft lb up to 14 ft lb. <--- HUGE. If you don't have this, do NOT attempt this diy. (I bought a generic $20 special from autozone and it worked perfectly. GET A CLICKER TYPE. Sears sells them for $65, but the whole point was to save $$$. =])
- 10mm deep socket
- Thin tipped flat head screwdriver. One that is a smidge longer than the deep socket if possible.
- 6'' ratchet extension
- 3'' ratchet extension (makes the exhaust side nuts easier to tighten)
- 5/8'' spark plug socket
- Set of Feeler gauges (.008 .009 .012 .013 to be used from the pack) ($8ish-sears)
- One pair of pliers
- 1 Tube of Anti-Seize lubricant (for the spark plugs/ at any parts store)
- 1 Tube of Hondabond liquid gasket from the dealership. ($15ish)
- Some will say another new valve cover gasket, but it is NOT necessary as long as you don't somehow knife up the current one. I've reused mine all 3 times with no leaking. You will notice the hondabond is only applied on the corners so it won't be an issue cleaning it off. (If you want one anyway, you can pick one up from either www.inlinefour.com or www.hondaautomotiveparts.com)
- A good pump jack + 1 jack stand. Having a pump jack is very essential as you will be jacking up and lowering the car several times when working the exhaust side. Do not rely on the factory scissor jack as it will take forever.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/jack.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/craftsman.jpg
Procedure:
- Remove the i-VTEC intake manifold cover. (2 bolts, 10 mm)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA2.jpg
- Remove the Black plastic spark plug cover. (4 nuts, 10mm)
- Remove the last two screws from the remaining ignition coil packs. (2 screws, 10mm)
- Pull up the coil packs halfway, one at a time, and unclip all of them from the harness by hand.
- Fully remove the coil packs from the engine and set them aside in order of removal. (It's suggested they are installed in reverse order of removal. Reminder at end of diy.)
At this point you should be looking at your valve cover with four holes in the top and a bare intake manifold. Not much more to removal.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA3.jpg
- Take pliers and apply pressure to the clamps in order to remove the intake hose from the right side of the valve cover. It can be pushed to the side. No need for full removal.
Note: If working alone, it may be a good idea to zip tie the a/c hose closer to the passenger headlight to help keep it out of the way from the valve cover. (I roped it using the holes above the headlight.)
- Remove the spark plugs using the ratchet, 6'' extension, and the 5/8 spark plug socket. Be sure to keep the plugs in order of where they came from. Probably not necessary, but I'm superstitious about putting stuff back as it was.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA4.jpg
Note: The reason for removing the spark plugs is to take the compression out of the chambers. This will make turning the rim/wheel to set the pistons in position MUCH easier, although it can be done without removing them with added muscle. You will be turning the engine over ALOT for consistency and double/triple checks, so it's easier to just remove the plugs.
*It is time to remove the valve cover.
- You should see 6 silver nuts along the edge of the valve cover that are shown in the picture above. (3 up front, 2 above the header, and 1 next to the coil packs.) Remove these and no not lose them. The metal retainers/rubber washers under the nuts can be removed by hand as well. You do not want to lose these.
- To break loose the seal on the valve cover you will probably have to shake it with your body weight a few times. If it's on really tight, be very gentle and run a very thin tip flat head screwdriver along the edges. There is no need to jam it underneath because you will potentially damage the gasket. This is just to remove and break loose any grime, grit, or hondabond that is holding it on.
- Pull straight up and fully remove the valve cover. The rubber lining gasket may stay in the valve cover's groove, or it could stick to the head. Just expect to not rip up on the cover, and carefully remove it. No hulk needed.
Note: This is what you should be looking at by this point.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA16.jpg
NOTE: I will be using a few terms that some may not quite be familiar with. The main one and most important is TDC. This means Top Dead Center. At this point, according to the arrows/marks on the cam gears you can determine which piston is at tdc, or sitting at the top of the block.
Looking at the engine from the front of the car, the pistons are labeled 1,2,3,4 respectively from left to right. (passenger to driver)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA14.jpg
- Put the car in fourth gear.
- Jack up the passenger side front, leaving the driver side front wheel still on the ground. Insert the jackstand underneath the passenger side front tow hook. Having the wheel off the ground is going to allow you to crank over the engine while watching the cam gears. (You will just kneel down and turn the tire with your hands while you watch the cams spin into place. It's really simple.)
Adjustment:
- Set the #1 piston to TDC by turning the wheel clockwise until the marks are shown like the pic below.
The arrow on the intake vtc gear is just at 12 o'clock. You will notice that two corresponding hash marks will be facing each other
at 3 o'clock (exhaust) and 9 o'clock (intake/vtc) respectively. With this done, the #1 piston's valves are ready to be adjusted.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA7.jpg
The piston's valves will be adjusted in the order of ****1,3,4,2****!
This is VERY important. Follow the chart below.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AA14.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/hondata7700/AAchart.jpg