F-U-B-A-R

Hey guys, Winter is upon us & I am getting ready to put my baby away. Kind of sad, I just purchased my S last month. I only put 1000 miler on her. I'm @ the 34k mile mark & just purchased a ton of stuff from Amazon. I will be doing a lot of the easy maintenance myself (tranny flush, diff flush, oil change, coolant flush, replacing air & cabin filter, spark plugs, etc.).

Someone bumped into my rear bumper & left a scuff/scratch so I will also be getting an ext. detail before I put her away. Hopefully it buffs out.

So, the real reason I started this topic was to ask you fellow NW members, if you guys know of any reputable shop that does valve adjustments? My original plan was to take it to the stealership, but if someone has a better recommendation, I would rather go there.

I'm in the Puyallup area & don't mind driving as long as its for a good shop. Thanks in advance guys!

Themikewoo

My friend and I did my car. Not as bad as you would think. Bump for you.

spets

Hey there,

Send a PM to DcMike33, he does valve adjustments for a good price. He's up north, but maybe could work something out.

If it is just a light scratch then a detail will make it less visible. If there's paint missing or you feel grooves with your fingernail then it isn't coming out. I do details on the side, but I'm pretty backed up with school at the moment.

Chuck S

Valve adjustment requires the engine to be under 100°F. Makes it difficult to drive over some place and get it done unless you can leave it all day.

It's also simple to do with $10 worth of tools and some bent feeler gauges. Tedious but simple. There are several videos and photo essays on this here. Adjust to the looser side of the spec as they tighten when they wear. Complete gasket set is maybe $20 (?). Easier to turn the engine with the plugs out and a new set is about $40. The plugs are no doubt fine but why not change 'em?

-- Chuck

street_ruler

if you take it to a shop they will put a big fan on the engine to cool it. at least a good tech will rather than just half assing it a little tight.

if you take it to a friend or someone on the side, do the same. big 20in box fan on the VC for an hour should do. Ive done this before and it works fine. as always overnight cold is the best but sometimes things arent ideal.


as someone said its a relatively easy job but the skills only come with a little experience. what is the proper "drag" is hard to feel if you are new at this. one thing i always do is have the upper, lower limit feeler gauge "tang" out and the one i want to set to. the upper should be tight, the lower loose. I use the actual middle value to set. Then i take the strip thats one increment out of spec (ie: if the value is .008 - .010 i would use .011 to do this part) and make sure it does not fit at all.

for the record, this is an art not a science. getting non-clattery valves that are performing properly is all bout feel.

roscoe

Mike will come to you if needed his prices are amazing. He's a tech also, so there's no worries there.

s2000Junky

At only 34k miles id be surprised if you needed any valve adjustment, with the exception of the 06+ DBW which for some reason are prone to overly tight valves at as low as 20k miles. Its Billmans recommendation to check 06+ early and more frequently.

Also no need to put the car away for winter, there will still be plenty of great top down days to take her out for a spin, you can thank global warming for that Last 3 years we haven't even had any snow to worry about or sand/salt on the roads. The salt is something that should be avoided for sure, but not really an issue around here. If you want to get more then 1000 miles on the car in a year, you cant tuck her away half of that time. The S is meant and built to be driven hard (not as hard as me, but within reason ) and often, not pampered to death for the next owner!

drstrangelove

Dude, it's a f@#king Honda. Make sure the oil is topped off and drive it. Avoid the snow if you can but otherwise let her rip. Mines had so much surgery it's not really a Honda anymore but it's a daily driver,160k+ miles third engine and killer oversteer but it's a blast. Putting it away is like paying for a high dollar Russian hooker and sending her home after dinner. Not to mention it's built with the same process as the POS Civic that's rust free next to you at the stop light blipping his fart can.

s2000Junky

Fart can FTW

F-U-B-A-R

Sorry for the late reply guys. Been really busy with work.

I've done a little research on doing it myself. Doesn't seem very difficult, but since I've never done it before, I'm a little hesitant to do it on my S. I'll probably shoot DcMike33 a PM in December. s2000Junky is right, I still want to enjoy the car as much as a I can. I'll get the valves adjusted when I put her in storage. Oh, & I have been driving hard The rear end likes to whip out. Definitely has given me a few scares (I take it easy when it's wet out).

& as far as the scratches go (@spets), I don't really know anything about detailing. I'm fairly young & my other cars have been beaters, not worth detailing lol. There's a little bit of paint missing & I can definitely feel grooves. Am I SOL? Thanks guys!

Off topic: @roscoe, would you happen to be living in the Puyallup/South Hill area by any chance?