I just finished adjusting my valves and am concerned that I may have set them too tight. I found the following clearances for the GSR valvetrain online:

Intake: .006 - .007
Exhaust: .007 - .008

I wanted to set the clearnaces as tight as possible but still within the range above. The procedure I used was to tighten the adjustment screw until I really had to work to get the smaller of the feeler gauge blades to fit. By "really work" I mean a lot of pushing and side to side motion to get it to eventually make it to the other side of the cam shaft. When I started the engine it seemed to idle fine, no CEL codes, or other signs, but once the engine warms up I can hear a very faint clanking sound when I listen near the exhaust manifold. Even though the valve clearances are set pretty tight, the smaller of the feeler gauge blades does fit with some work like I said before. So I guess my question is if it is possible the valve clearances are too tight because of the method I used or could the faint clanking sound be related to something else?

 

Opinions? I just want some input to I know if I should re-do the adjustment right away or if its safe to ignore since the clearances are technically within spec. Thanks.

 

did you use all your strength to tighten it down?

 

I can always hear a ticking from my GSR, but its the injectors fireing.

What you did is the incorrect way to use a feeler gauge. They should slide into and out of the gap with just a slight effort, not forcing it in there.

You might have left too little gap. But I'm willing to bet that if the shop manual says .006 - .007, Honda probably designed the car to tolerate .005 - .008 (or more, because even that is probably expecting too much precision from your average mechanic). So, it could very well be something else.

When I went to adjust mine for the first time, and they were all still within spec so I didn't change anything. However, I swear I could hear a ticking that was not there before during the first drive. In reality, I just wasn't listening before I opened up the valve cover, but I certainly was after.

 

thanks for the replys, I guess I'm just going to leave it the way it is unless I notice any thing unusual.

 

I just took a quick video with my phone to try and pick up the sound that I'm still second guessing myself about. There is a ton of background noise so the audio quality is poor but I think anyone that is interested will be able to hear what I am hearing. Im starting to think it might just be rattling of the heat sheild or something else in that area. Any ideas?

video link

 

When you did the valve adjustment and set the cams at TDC, did you look to see if the crank pulley's white mark was at the pointer on the lower cover. Sounds like you are off a tooth on the timing belt, or you somehow didn't adjust the valves correctly, or you have a bent valve. Never know, could be a unrelated bearing going somewhere, like the A/C tensionor.

 

I am thinking about adjusting my valves soon, I have been putting it off for a while. My car seems to tick alot above 3.5k, so I am assuming its the valves.

 

I did not check the white mark on the crack pulley when setting to TDC (I used the up arrows and slots on the cam gears instead), but I did compare the white mark against the cam gears when I changed the timing belt last year so everything should still be ok there. The car seems to run great, pulls strong, no hesitation. However, it still sounds like something is off to me. If a valve was bent would it be noticeable performance wise?

 

Usually after doing valve adjustment and its still making noise then you need to get a valve job.

....or buy a b16 head and make a poormans type-r.