so i decided to finally rip the valve cover off MY03 yesterday just to check it out, since i was changing the oil and swapping out the spark plugs anyways
there is a sort of black ring around the retainers. is this normal? and does everything look normal under there?







and this is what my spark plugs looked like



i did a quick google search and tourqued the spark plugs to 21 ft.lbs. but upon further research that is not correct? is the 21 ft.lbs. going to damage my motor at all?

 

Looks normal... You can torque the plugs 18-20 ft/lbs

 

Retainers look fine. Im not seeing the black ring you are speaking of. But a visual inspection of the top side of a retainer will not show signs of cracking untill its almost gone.

Plug looks clean. But improperly torqued plugs can cost you a whole motor.

Too loose and it will back out, cause blowby and melt the tip of your sparkplug off and it will fall onto your piston.

Too tight and it could strip the threads out and cause a similar thing to happen.

 

I'm guessing the black ring you are referring to is the paint marker Honda uses to verify visual inspection was completed when the motor was being assembled.

 

thanks guys, im just paranoid about cracked retainers. im approaching 100k on my original f20c and thinking about upgrading to ap2 retainers even tho ive personaly never over-reved and the previous owner claimed to have never either. and ive had it for the last 35k miles with no problems whatever.