Hello Honda enthusiasts

The valves on my 2000 Civic are noisier after adjustment than either of my 91 Civics. I used .010" exhaust and .008" inlet. I am wondering if any Hondas are subject to pockets wearing in the contact surface of the valve adjuster-to-valve stem. I have seen this with other cars and it makes it impossible to properly adjust the valves (with feeler gauges - I could use a dial indicator) until the adjusters are resurfaced. Has anybody had this experience with Hondas? After that I will have to inspect the cam for surface damage on the ramps.

Thanks for any tips you can offer.

 

What leads you to believe that it's your valves? Injectors make a ticking noise which can be confused with valves tapping

 

Do the injectors also start out noisy and quieten down as the engine warms up?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EyePhoto &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do the injectors also start out noisy and quieten down as the engine warms up?</TD></TR></TABLE>

mines does that too as well.
start up in the morning is super noisy and as it warms up the noise is less but still present.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EyePhoto &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do the injectors also start out noisy and quieten down as the engine warms up?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That sounds like a loose valve problem to me. Things swell when they get warm therefore tolerances get closer making less noise

 

Thanks for your info.

I was able to detect the slight ticking noise from the injectors using a piece of tubing to listen to them but this sound is much too quiet to hear inside the car. The valve noise was a much more solid knocking, almost as if the rod bearings were bad, except the noise goes away quite quickly as the engine warms up. I don't think bad rod bearings would quieten down like that.

Setting the valves to .007" and .009" helped a lot. I also used much narrower feeler gauges - the width of the valve stems, and this seemed to give a more accurate measurement perhaps avoiding the wear on the rocker arm pads.

Thanks everyone.

 

Not saying it is, but is your engine poorly maintained? if the top end has been starved for oil, excessive wear may be happening to the cam. Just a guess

 

Hmmm. I can only hope it received adequate care. I just bought the car recently and I am in the process of going over it to my satisfaction. I was looking for a car like this for a few months and could not find one except ones just sold before I got to them. The used car dealer claimed to have no knowledge of the car's history - which means I don't know such things as when the timing belt was last changed - I have bought one. I would say it suffered from some neglect but seems to be in pretty good shape. Resetting the valves to .007 & .009" seems to have eliminated the valve noise. I will have to have a closer look at the cam lobes. The valve adjustment was a bit slack when I bought it. The only other thing that doesn't work well is the cruise control. It generally work OK but I can notice the throttle increases and decreases a bit unevenly, like it needs some adjustment. I think my own driving is more even. Makes me wonder if it could be reducing the gas mileage. I recently drove a Dodge Ram diesel truck with cruise control and it was very smooth and even.

 

its a verry common thing in any honda head allthough its sometimes the injectors. make sure b4 u adjust its cooled completly down then adjust if it countinues and it isint the injectors. theres 2 choices getto rig meaning tighten them until the dont move when u push on them but its gunna run like crap cosidering your gap is off or buy new arms will fix problem deff takes away performce and mpg duuh u kno

 

The Austin Minis were prone to wear pockets developing on the tip of the rocker arms. The pocket makes it impossible to set the valve adjustment correctly. There is (was?) a special aftermarket tool called the SPQR Tappet Adjuster that allows correct valve adjustment without using feeler gauges. Has such a thing ever been developed for Hondas?

 

well i re did mines this morning and it is less noisy.
.007 intake and .009 exhaust.

 

A "slight drag" really means tight enough you can barely slide the guage in/out. The first time I did mine it sounded like a diesel truck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ricey McRicerton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A "slight drag" really means tight enough you can barely slide the guage in/out. The first time I did mine it sounded like a diesel truck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

mines slide in and out with some tension but no barely slide the gauge.

 

this is problem I have I have done the tappet adjustment and did not solve it,noise from something else I have honda accord lxi 2.2L and ideas?