Don't bring it to the dealer for this kind of work. As an enthusiast, you need to be sure the problem is addressed correctly. Pulling the valve cover is not hard if you take your time. If you want, post detailed pictures of the valves and we can tell you if they are good. I would also try to adjust the valves yourself. There is a cheap tool you can buy to make it easy. Take your time, do each valve right.

No technician at a dealer will care about getting it right as much as you do.

 

I will check on them. My valves are pretty quiet do I still need to check gaps?

 

Yes. Tight valves are quiet. Loose valves are noisy. I like hearing a little valve noise - it is a reassuring sound with this engine.

 

There needs to be a small gap to make sure the valves close completely under all tempature conditions. A little noise is not a bad thing. Typically the exhaust valves run a little tight and the intakes a little loose. Any where in the spec is good, however if you do it yourself, you can decide how much you want to geek out on it. Want to ensure good valve seal don't care about noise... run them on the loose side of spec. Want every .001 of valve lift and you prefer quiet valves... run them on tight side. The differences are really nuanced. Although you could argue overly tight adjustment has higher risks than loose.

The whole point is you can make sure it's done right.

 

I do not speak for him obviously, but I think I recall Billman posting that his ap1 valves held their adjustment on the tight side of the oem spec for about 100,000 miles. This is where I have mine set. I now know what they sound like - a little, but not much, clatter. I'll check them every so often just to be safe. But, with an ap1 anyway, I think that once you get them set properly you are going to be ok. The ap2 valves recommendations are different.

 

im seeing a lot of very, well... annoying responses to this. i was told it could be a problem, and so i "checked out" the retainers... they all looked GREAT! but, i replaced them anyway... and found that almost every single retainer was cracked! they crack at the bottom where you cant see. its not that hard of a job its $65 bucks in parts and $50 for the correct valve spring compressor.. there shouldnt be a f20 with ap1 retainers on this planet, IMO.

 

I see your point but you have to appreciate for some people doing this job may create more problems then they have now. I myself have not changed them although I probably should. Why?? Well I do inspect them, plus I don't miss shifts. The valve cover comes off every spring, inspect and adjust. Three years and 15 track days later, my system has worked. For how long? Who knows, maybe I will change them next spring. Maybe not. Still no reason to get annoyed. It is perfectly reasonable for someone to opt not to change them out as long as they understand the risks.

 

You have to know what you are looking for when you do the inspection. You are not looking for visible cracks because as you point out - they crack on the underside. You are looking for valve stem tops that are sunken down in the retainers lower than normal which is a symptom of cracked retainers. The problem only occurs if the engine is over rev'd. If you don't over rev your engine you will not have a problem with ap1 oem retainers. Sorry if that is annoying to you.

 

Do you have a picture of the tool you are talking about? I will open the valve cover and maybe at the same time replace the retainers or adjust the valves if needed before its too late who knows how the car was driven before.

or

Is there a way to know if the retainers have been replaced already?

 

theres really no way to know, that would be easy. i believe there may be some stupid tiny difference in the retainer that you could only pick out if you had both an ap1 and an ap2 in your hand. i bought the same tool that the speedacademy guys used on their youtube video, i HIGHLY suggest you use that video as a guide.

the parts are cheap, i asked the guy at honda to give me the mechanic price and he kindly did, which helped a lot. i would absolutly be willing to ship this tool out to anyone as long as you send it back when your done, imean it was only 50 bucks but if you wanna save a few bucks...


- VIDEO

- SPRING COMPRESSOR (EASY)