I am reading that it's a good idea to replace the intake valve retainers on an AP1 with AP2 ones. Is this a very common issue? And about how much will this job cost? Parts and labor?

No way am I attempting it myself after seeing youtube videos its looks very intimidating.

 

Before you do anything, take off your valve cover and inspect if your current ones are cracked. If they are, replace immediately. If they're not, do it if you track your car. If you don't, you'll be fine.

Parts are $80, labor will be around $400. It's quite easy of a job to do really, even though the videos make it look daunting. I have the bluepoint tool that allows you to remove all the retainers in a couple minutes once the cams are off.

 

It maybe(!) saves your engine from total damage. It is a known problem. Maybe the risk is small, the failure maybe only happen to 1 out of 100 engines, so everybody has to make his own decission.

Parts are 300,- . A good mechanic should perform the job in roughly 5 hours +/- 1 Hour.

I will do this in spring when i bring the car back to the road. I have collected the parts and tools allready. As a hobby mechanic, i calculate 1 day / 8-10 hours.

Even if it is not a necessary must, it will give me peace of mind, therefore i can enjoy the car more without worries.

 

I was under the impression the cracking is at the bottom and simply taking the valve cover off wont show any potential damage you would need to remove the retainers to check and at that point might as well replace. But I am not sure that is accurate information.

 

Do it.
Pros :Have an engine.
Cons: Don't have an engine.

 

Do some research. If the keepers are sunken in, the retainer is cracked. Can see it all with the VC removed.

Also, parts are not $300. All you need is 8 retainers and 16 keepers. $80 from Honda.

Doing the upgrade is not a blanket have an engine/no engine condition. It helps prevent a valve drop from user error. It can still happen with AP2 retainers, they usually just give you the insurance of 1 gear lower. Missed gears happen occasionally on track since you're shifting while being pulled, but on the street one should not miss a gear so drastically.

If you want the convenience of not ordering parts individually from Honda, Hardtop guy has a kit (only order 8 for intake side):
​https://hardtopguy.com/store/697.html?category_id=54​​​​​

 

Very helpful response, thank you!

 

My view - do a proper inspection. See pages here that show what you are looking for. Basically, if there are cracks they are likely on the underside of the retainer but they have the effect of allowing the keepers to drop lower than normal, or to sink into the retainer a little lower than normal. You can see it easily if you know what you are looking for and the pictures around here make it clear. If no cracking discovered on proper inspection, forget it unless you mechanically over rev the car. If that happens in the future, inspect again. Others will recommend to do it even if not cracked. I'm in the if it ain't broke don't fix it camp.

If you replace them, you can still have very significant problems from an over rev.

 

Can be seen in this build
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/uk-irela...eason-1189271/