 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Honda Cars / December 2006Valve Adjustment?
Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm having done today. The odometer reads 88K miles. Is the valve adjustment really worth $250? Is it something I should attempt myself? (I have always adjusted the valves myself on my old Toyota 4cyl pickup). I told them to hold off on the valve adjustment for now. TIA, M.Paul I am betting you are in a hurry, so here is some quick and dirty counsel from one of the amateurs here. I would hold off. First, I think it is something you can do yourself. Second, unless you suspect the valve lash needs adjusting (based on other symptoms), it's probably not necessary. The factory service manuals generally require an "inspect" for the valve lash, which usually means one checks them and, for Hondas, they rarely change. Get yourself a manual and do it yourself. Chilton's should be fine, since lately it excerpts procedures like this from the Factory Service Manual. Or spring for a whole Factory Service Manual for probably under $80. You can also try the procedure available via http://search.ebscohost.com/ . You'll see the valve lash setting procedure under the "Routine Maintenance and Tuneup" section. I did not touch the valve clearance on my 91 Honda Civic for over 13 years and 140k miles. The procedure at the site above is very similar to that for my 91 Civic. If I can do it, you can. > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 > valve adjustment [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > TIA, > M.Paul > You can also try the procedure available via > http://search.ebscohost.com/ . Login (for free) using the username "lib" and the password "access." Click on "Auto Repair Reference Center." Disclaimer: The ebscohost site's "Repair Procedures" and "Maintenance Intervals" sections seem to lean towards the generic. Worse, I have found notable discrepancies with these latter two sections and the Factory Service manual. The valve lash section I mentioned in my previous post seems accurate, particularly since it refers specifically to the V6, but ideally one should double check it with a Chilton's or Factory Service manual. Thank you very much! I also called another shop (very reputable independent Honda specialists) to get their quote for a valve adjustment and they said that they would never recommend a valve adjustment before 110k miles. They also said that Honda only recently started recommending the 1 time valve adjustment for their V6 engines and that of the ones they've seen, none of them really needed it done. Thanks for the quick response and for the resource link and follow-up! M.Paul > I am betting you are in a hurry, so here is some quick and > dirty counsel from one of the amateurs here. [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > TIA, > > M.Paul > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > TIA, > M.Paul =================================== If it was a first-generation CR-V, then yes (but not at that price). Otherwise, skip it. 'Curly' > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm > having done today. Honda's not. The dealership is. Remember, the dealership is an independent businessman. What does your owner's manual say? The manual for my 02 Odyssey does specify a valve adjustment sometime around the 100K mile mark. And yes, on my car, it's expensive. But on yours it shouldn't be that bad. Find an independent shop to do all this work for half the money (or less). Take another look at your manual. The 99-04 Maintenance schedule for the Odyssey says inspect valve clearance, otherwise adjust only if noisy every 105,000 miles. His accord has essentially the same V6 engine as yours so the cost would be the same. Unless they are noisy they should be left alone... >> Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve >> adjustment [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > yours it shouldn't be that bad. Find an independent shop to do all this > work for half the money (or less). my 96ex accord 4cyl is hitting 90k next week, ironicly at the same time I've scheduled the timing belt, water pump and valve adjustment. I've been quoted by a independent honda shop just over $500. Skip going to the dealer. Nick > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > TIA, > M.Paul > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > TIA, > M.Paul as others have said, beware the dealer fleecing you. the timing belt replacement mileage for your vehicle is 105k miles iirc, not 88k - that should give you a clue. otoh, i personally believe valve adjustment to be a good thing - depending on how you drive. i get my civic good and hot with prolonged high speed freeway stuff, and the valves benefit from being checked every year. if you just potter about town and cruise legally, you'll not be too worried, but again, if the motor gets a workout, be prepared to check the valve lash regularly. if it's neglected, valves can burn and cause you a lot of grief. Thanks for all of the replies! I paid the $779 (minus 15% from coupon) for the timing belt job and skipped the valve adjustment for now as there is no detectable valve noise and I think that the mileage is just too low for a valve adjustment on this engine. The reason for changing it at 88k miles is because the car is over 7 years old and the manual states 105k or 7 years - which ever comes first - and many believe that time is a factor for the timing belt. I am aware of dealer service fleecing so I am skeptical of anything they recommend, but their price with the coupon was on par with the independant shops in my area - plus the dealer provided some extras like shuttle service, a lame attempt at a car wash, etc. The dealer service folks had three chances to change the motor oil for me (I provide my own - synthetic) and they have proven to me that they cannot measure the proper amount - each time they put in approx 1 quart too much! I will now only use them for work I don't feel comfortable doing myself. Thanks again for all the replies! M.Paul > > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > to check the valve lash regularly. if it's neglected, valves can burn > and cause you a lot of grief. If you've done valve adjustments before on any engine you should have no problem with the Accords. The exhaust valves may be a bit tight by 105K. I used a FelPro gasket set and they worked well. A problem with the V6 is that the idler pulley bolt is under the water pump weep hole. If the pump leaked then the bolt is likely to seize. I don't doubt some V6s still drive around with an old idler. Did the dealer replace both pulleys and the pump as well? If they charged you $780 then the water pump, three oil seals, tensioner pulley, idler pulley should all have been replaced along with the timing and drive belts. > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > TIA, > M.Paul They changed the water pump, belts and seals as part of the job. They also replaced the drive belt tensioner (bearing noise) for an extra $80. Don't know about the idler pully so my guess is that it wasn't changed. > If you've done valve adjustments before on any engine you should have > no problem with the Accords. The exhaust valves may be a bit tight by [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > TIA, > > M.Paul |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.