Hi All,

After reading all the threads regarding cracked valve retainers and having had a few minor overrevs myself from time to time I have been driving the car around scared to rev it out fully to 9 incase one of my retainers was cracked.

Rather than being paranoid and worrying about it and not wanting to trust my local honda dealer to check them for me I finally got around to checking my valve retainers myself. I have never pulled out a valve cover before and not wanting to mess anything up I was reluctant to do it. I have extensively searched all the forum posts and while they do explain what the problem is, there are no guides on how to do it for people like myself who have done very little under the bonnet. Its a relatively easy check which will give you piece of mind in knowing that your valve retainers are ok and is a small amount of time to invest compared to the cost involved when a valve is dropped.

Time required

 

Good post buddy...I've been meaning to get around to this.

 

Nice write-up.
It's a service manual in words

But.. something I find a little inconsistent:
vsDuring the inspection as described one can never see underneath the retainer, and that's where the cracks starts.
A tiny crack will not show from above as a raised retainer.
If you know you've overrevved your engine, I would check them more then just the once-over and be happy
Maybe you'll catch the fatigue-widened-crack-caused-by-an-overrev-long-time-ago in time that way.
It only takes an hour.
While your waiting for the engine oil to drain...

 

if you've over-revved the engine, just replace all the retainers (ap2) anyway. its low cost.

have you done a compression and/or leakdown?

my retainers were all fine after my over-rev, but i had slightly warped valve face and warped valve guides and low compression and leakage...

i don't think you're in the clear just yet...

 

Subscribed for future reference. Got pics handy of the good vs bad you mentioned?

 

I've likely found more broken retainers than anyone. In my experience, even the slightest crack on the underside will send the retainer slightly up the keepers.

They do not have to be as bad as the ones in the pic to be cracked. But even the slightest crack will show a raised retainer.


good on the left.............................................. ......broke on the right


both broke....left is worse

 

Best rule of thumb: you should not be able to see even the slightest bit of the inner retainer wall. if you can, it's broken.

 

might i even suggest a dental type mirror to check the undersides of the retainer. when used in conjunction with the pen light a great combo!!!

 

I recently picked up a dental mirror with a built in LED light at Walmart. I haven't used it yet, but it may be a good tool for the retainer check.

 

just study billman's picture. Print it out and then take this with you when you inspect your retainers. have about 3-4 sweeps and you should be right. Search 'valve retainers' and read every thread Billman250 has posted.

I might get a compression/leak down test as precaution as well, thanks for the advice. Again, small money to pay for piece of mind.