On 9/17 I happened to have done the unfortunate. I downshifted to 2nd gear at around 70-73 MPH, left it there for no more than 2 seconds, then took it immediately to 4th once I saw the rev-limiter bounce like crazy. Later on during that week I went to check the retainers, and all was well. *whew*

A month and a half, about 2000 miles, and countless VTEC runs later I go to check them again. Here are the results (from front to back):

Intake valve 1:


Intake valve 2:


Intake valve 3:


Intake valve 4:


Intake valve 5:


Intake valve 6:


Intake valve 7:


Intake valve 8:


Valves 7 and 8 were pretty hard to get a clear pic of, so I zoomed in and raised the brightness a little on them. What do you guys think? Based on the pics, do any of them have any signs of cracking? IMO they all seem to be running as strong as ever. I checked the exhaust valves as well but did not take pics of those since none of them seemed like they were dropping either.

 

you can check the top of the retainers all you want, i must have done this 10 times since i misshifted, but it wont insure that there isnt a crack on the underside of the retainer.

it sucks because the parts are cheap to replace with AP2 parts that are a little thicker..... but if you dont do it yourself a shop is going to charge you at least 5 hours for the job,

oh well, im in the same bind as you, i misshifted abour 3 months ago, i check the valves like every 2 weeks, engine is still running strong...

 

I guess this is where befriending a mechanic in a reputable shop comes in handy.

 

It's hard enough to see cracking when viewing the retainers directly. It is impossible to make any diagnosis based on your blurry pictures.

If you're that concerned about cracks, I suggest that you have someone that knows what to look for inspect your engine.