Valve 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.

 

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.

 

===================================

If it was a first-generation CR-V, then yes (but not at that price).
Otherwise, skip it.

'Curly'

 

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

 

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...

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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.