Valve check?

Hello all, I got my bike about six months ago and the previous owner said he had not done a valve check on it.

It has 24000 miles and I'm wondering if I should take it in and fork over the big bucks or tear into it myself or not worry about it yet. :unsure:

I have done searches for this and some people say not to worry about it until 48000.

I am also aware that the owners manual says every 16000.

Just wondering what some of you have done or would do.

Thanks for all the help.

 

My 16,000 check on my '99 was good, no shims needed. I'm getting ready to do the 30,000 check within the next couple of weeks, got the body work off, just need to get around and do it. Personally I would say go by the book. If they are good you're golden, if they're bad, you catch them before they get worse. JMO. Easier to check it than to repair it.

 

Yes my scoot has about 14k on it and I think I will do them sometime this riding season.
From the guys out there that have 5th gens,what is the approximate time frame that one should allow to do the job. With that I mean from removeing the first bolt to tightening the last. thanks eddie

 

I agree, I'm going to do a spark plug change, clean up some wiring, and antifreeze change while I have it apart. I can't remember how long it took me last time, but I spread it out over a couple of days.

 

I wonder how much time the Honda service techs are given to do the job. I also wonder
how they approach a lengthy task like this? Do they try and take every short cut known to man or really get into it. My best guess is on a project like this,you are so much better off if you can do it yourself. eddie

 

I'm a tech...I think I did two or three bikes like yours last summer. Three hours sounds about right. BTW neither needed adjustment. If actual shimming is needed you can add an hour or so.

With that style of head (little shim under bucket directly actuated by cam) on a Honda...I so seldom have to change out a shim as to be surprised on the rare occasion it happens.

On a scale of difficulty...I would say it's moderate (6 gen is difficult). It's a possible do it yourself project for a person of decent mechanical skills. If you have no concept of what you're actually doing...bring it in.

 

Excellent post.Been wondering the same myself although mine has only 12k miles.I have great 'faith' in Honda's engineering and personally feel manufacturers recommendations may be a bit cautious.From what I've heard, those valves stay pretty solid,omo.I'm curious now about changing to synthetic oil(not an oil ?)Not riding as much this winter and thinking how best to keep the vif 10+.Had the harness recall rewire job done this last summer n/c and had no problem with the local dealer.Curious what the valve check costs.I'm in eh recession deppression.Ouch

 

I'm religious to the point of pathological about doing the checks per THE BOOK, especially since the lady's under warranty til 2010...

 

Doing an inspection on a vtec takes a lot longer. You have to remove the cams, disable the vtec lifters using Honda's special little pucks, reinstall to make your measurement, then remove and reinstall again to reenable the vtec lifters. If you need to make an adjustment and want to verify it, you would have to add one more cam remove and install cycle. The 6 gen's also use cam chains...so you have to deal with that and the tensioners, which makes removing camshafts more difficult than gear driven models, which are "cake" to remove and retime comparatively. I've done inspections on 6 gens, but none have required any shimming.

I certainly wouldn't fault anyone for wanting to keep their bike in top running condition (ie. by the book). But here's something to think about...all it takes is one little grain of sand in the wrong place to cause a big problem (ie. the tight fit of the lifter and bore in the head) or one tooth off on your timing. My point is...a small oversight can make for a MAJOR pain. So IMO, this is not the kind of work you really want to embark anymore than you have to. Matter of fact, based on the large lash clearance specs, and the fact they rarely need adjustment...I would candidly tell you to stretch your checks out to double the recommended. The GL1800, which uses a very similar valve train, has 32K intervals.

 

Thanks for everyone's advice. I am still up in the air on what to do. I think I will take it to a shop and get a price quote. Thanks again :cheersaf:

 

I had the service manager estimate how much it would cost to do an 16K mile check on my 6th gen. The manual calls for 7 hours of labor x $80/hour= HOLY CRAP!!! Dizzy can you confirm this? I am scared about not doing it, but the law of "ain't broke don't fix it" may get invoked.

 

OUCH!...hate to say it but the time is probably about right. Of course that includes ALL 16K maintainance, which means brake fluid and coolant change as well as a number of inspection type things.

I've already made the argument that 32K may be a more reasonable and better service interval for valve lash inspection...especially when the venerable "ain't broke" law is invoked. I wouldn't neglect the other items on the maintaince chart though.

 

Your sig says that you have a 5th Gen right? If you have a VTEC, ignore anything I have to say, the VTEC engines are way difficult. I just finished my 5th gen not too long ago, but I also did a bunch of other stuff which took me about 3 weeks, I think propbably about 5 -6 hours was spent on the valves, which btw were still within spec after 47k on it. The intakes were at 7 and the exhausts were at 10.

I'm a pretty fair wrencher, but by no means an expert, and this was the first time I had tore into this engine, so a full day of wrenching taking your time and following the manual should take care of it. I found a shop manual on line and used that, if you need it, let me know and I'll email it to you.

Now that I have done it, I would not hesitate to do it again if needed. I also spoke with some Honda mechs at a local dealership and asked them about it, pretty much they all said that if the valves aren't ticking they wouldn't bother with them. BTW if you decide to do it yourself, take some pics and post a step by step, there's a lot of people here who would really appreciate it.

One of the biggest benefits of doing it yourself is not only saving some serious bucks, you can take care of other stuff at the same time for no extra cost other than parts. You could change the radiator fluid, plugs, etc. while you are there and have it broken down. Stealerships will charge you some pretty hefty bills for that.

 

I'd say just do the check yourself at least. Non vtech is really easy, u will spend more time takin off the plastic and junk than doing the checks. If its good, u r done,. If some are out, then u can decide then if u want to proceed or pay..I'd say tho that at that point just do it..If you have the time its a good learning deal.
Its not all that hard, and to really make it easy i always mark all the gears, do the clearances the easy no timing way, and then its a no brainer to put it back together without worrying about it..
Mine had a couple right on the edge and one tight at 20,000miles. I only did my vtech once and it just took longer..

Just a note...no ticking can be not good..can mean tight clearances..usually the valve clearances get smaller with time, rarely looser.I always set mine on the loose edge of spec, can forget about it for years that way.....a bit of clicky makes me happy..

Good luck!

 

"A tappy valve is a happy valve."

 

I don't quite have a step-by-step howto on this but I made a thread a while ago on supplemental information for valve clearance checking: http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/16474-tips-5th-gen-valve-clearance-inspection.html

The Honda service manual shows you how to do this and honestly if you need a fellow member to post a step-by-step with pictures you can't do it. The service manual already is detailed enough for anyone with a brain and decent wrenching skills.

IMO the hardest part about this job was putting the bike back together. To make that easier I recommend taking pictures of the bike at each step of disassembly so that way if you're wondering where that part goes you can always refer back to pictures.

 

Yes, I was pretty surprised to say the least when I measure them, they were all uniform, also. The PO said that he had checked them recently, but I have no way of knowing if he actually did. The condition of the oil and front end did not give him a lot of credibility as far as maint goes.

I don't mean to start a flame war, but just to comment on the "ticking valves" every tick you hear is the valve train slamming into the valves, the louder the tick the harder it is hitting them, not good. They should be pushing them, hence little to no ticking. And if valve adjustments got tighter with age, then there would be no need for shims. I do agree that it is much better looser than tighter, and when setting them it is far better to err on the side of caution, just my .02. What the mechs were saying that if your engine starts ticking when it previously wasn't that means the adjustments are slacking with age, hence the need for adjustment.