Define198

Taking my s2k for a service and have decided to get the valve clearance done at the same time, am i right in thinking that the engine has to be nice and cold in order to do it correctly? im booked in at half 8 on a Saturday at my local dealer i was thinking about turning up at 7am with the car and parking up and going for a walk until they open up, will this leave enough time for the engine to cool down? i obviously dont want to be paying all this money and them not be able to get the correct values due to it being too warm

Any quicker way to cool it? leave engine off with fans running and bonnet up?

jsh

I would be dropping off the day before and making sure the car was parked in the service bay it was being worked on to ensure its not started and moved before being done .

Define198

Thats what i was worried about, im working the day before so cant really drop it off before hand, and the drive to the dealer is a good 20 minutes so the car will be fully warm, think i will just turn up at 5am or something ridiculous and hopefully will be sufficiently cold before they do the work

Daytona-Dave

you won't have to drop the car off the day before, Honda state the cylinder head temp has to below 38c, it will cool down to this no problems after 3 to 4 hrs sometimes sooner

Define198

Thats great! thanks for the reply, so if i turn up for 7am car should be ready to rock im not sure if it even needs doing tbh, car is just about to tick over 70k and is 10 years old, i cant see any reference to it being done in the past, i have noticed pretty much all fluids have been changed over the years though so thats one less thing to worry about.

Only other concerns are rear drivers side shock is leaking, but does not seem bad, but i am no mechanic, and also last years advisory for the car says front passenger side compliance bush is starting to split but no excessive play so im hoping they are both advisory else the car will be spending a good chunk of the summer off the road

BenRNBP

Just make sure they don't warm it up for the oil change before doing the valves - otherwise your hard work will be wasted

jsh

You may know this Dave but does your average Honda dealer ?

Chuck S

Please let us know the engine temperature and how long it took to cool.

38C (100F) is body temperature and I doubt the engine will cool to that in less than 5 or 6 hours. Strictly a guess but you can check this before your service date. The only way I'd feel comfortable would be to have the car cool overnight. Also note Billman recommends loosening the valve cover bolts when the engine is warm. Another reason to leave it overnight -- or have the service done late afternoon after dropping the car off in the morning.

-- Chuck

Daytona-Dave

I honestly can't see them not knowing as when you look up the settings it's the first line in the setting procedure, whether they get done correctly can be the same anywhere, but basically if it's in for a service the first thing is to change the oil, the new oil being cold will help cool the engine then remove rocker cover to further help cooling and carry on with the rest of the service, this is usually enough time to get the temp below 38c,, They don't have to be stone cold the 38c is to allow for country's with a higher ambient temp

Daytona-Dave

The longest it has taken to cool down below 38c is 4.5 hrs and that was is an English summer, in winter or spring it's usually 3 to 4 hrs,