I finished my retainer swap and recommend that you use the Lisle 36200 tool. It made the removal and install a breeze. A tap of the hammer or brute force is all it took. I found that it was very easy on the install using firm pressure. I ended up standing inside the engine bay and just pressing down as leaning over the fender only keep adding ache to my back. Thanks for all the great post on DIY.

 

to all you people who have/get an AP1, do this first thing or any chance you get. ill tell you now it will save you the biggest headache ever. i just had a valve drop and it totally destroyed my #4 piston. but the thing is when it dropped the #1 piston either got some debris in it or part of the ring broke off and got wedged in-between the wall and piston and split the wall in 3 different places. ill tell you now if i had know that the AP1 retainers had that issue i would have replaced it immediately. now i need almost a whole new long block. Preventive maintenance is key!

 

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread but my thoughts and results may help others that are going to tackle this project. I did'n mention that after I started the car it threw several codes. P0300, P0303,P1399, P0411.

When I did the AP1 retainer swap I went ahead and replaced my spark plugs with the NGK Laser Dbl Platnium-7772 which were set at .40 and I also adjusted my valves following the post on this site and set the intakes at .08 and exhaust at .10. I'm running the stock airbox and haven't replaced the PCV valve. My mileage is only 72k.

Has anyone thrown codes after the retainer swap?

The car runs great and tracked it this weekend eventhough the codes were there. I noticed that it had a bit more pep which is likely from the new plugs and valve adjust.

 

Sorry to drag this thread up again, but having bought a 2008 AP1 motor over here in the UK, and reading through the threads, it seems like Honda never updated the AP1 retainers to the AP2 design, so it'd be a good idea for me to do it for a race motor?

 

Is it possible to do a visual inspection with-out lifting out the cams?

Just rotate the engine until the lifters are loose and loosen out the adjuster nut and look under?

 

Yes it would, especially for a race motor.

You don't even need to loosen out the adjuster nut. You can do it with a dental mirror like this. This way you don't have to adjust your valves to spec again...

 

What are the part numbers and quantities I need for both intake and exhaust side. Please help!

 

Looking to replace my intake side retainers and keepers

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-2009-S...72.m2749.l2649