5mm allen key to remove the spark plugs cover





Remove the ignition coil retaining bolts with a 10mm ring spanner (or 10mm socket if you have one)



Lift the coils up slightly and remove the connectors, then the coils


Remove the plug from the exhaust cam angle sensor


Remove the retaining bolt (10mm head) then the sensor


This is what it looks like removed


Pull the spark plug/sensor loom away and rest on the top of the exhaust manifold


Remove the two breather hoses and dip stick (pliers needed for the clips on the front hose)


Remove the plug from the inlet cam angle sensor and remove the sensor


Remove the five cam cover bolts (10mm heads -you can just about get away with a small ring spanner but a socket makes the job much easier). Remove the chrome washers and rubber seals underneath (don't leave these on or they may fall in the top of the engine when you remove the cover!).


Pull the throttle cable out its retaining clips to allow more room to remove the cam cover


Ready to remove - a wooden clothes peg is useful to pry the cover away from the head by inserting in the gap between the two and twisting (the wood won't damage the aluminium surfaces). Be careful with the seals around the spark plugs when removing the cover and pull it up gently and slowly.


The tools on the right (10mm ring spanner, 5mm allen key and a pair of pliers) are all that's needed.


These make the job a lot easier though


Check this post for what you are looking for:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...c=399357&st=25

My inlet valve retainers look OK:






Easier with an inspection mirror




What was I saying about dealers? (4,000 miles since a "major service" when the valve clearances were "supposed" to be adjusted and I found some inlet valve clearances very tight at 6 thou and the spark plug wells full of oil and the seals looking like this):



Nicely ripped - top job chaps!



This is what it should look like



I'm going to have to order some seals and fit them (not a problem as the car is not a daily driver and is kept in a garage).

Reassembly should be a reverse of the above, taking care of the rubber seals and oiling them prior to assembly (don't do it the "dealer way"). The cam cover bolts should not be over tightened (just "rested").

 

Excellent job and instructions

 

My seals were the same

The seals that I replaced them with are a different design so this must have been a common problem with the older seals.

 

Sounds like a few parts have been improved during the early service life of the car and these seals also (somebody told me once that the best time to buy a car model - if you are mainly interested in reliability - is just before a new model replaces it - I think that is probably true).

The thing that concerns me though is that the dealer who last worked on my car replaced the cam cover with the seals in this state.

Now the car is getting older I'm seriously thinking of servicing it myself, why do I need a Honda service history if I'm not planning on selling it and when I can both save money and be confident the work has been done properly? All I feel I ever got from dealers for

 

very good thread

 

I dont think you can assure the good condition of the valve retainers just by looking at them.

They may hav e"inside" cracks (fissures)