2005 CR-V EX 2.4 engine

I'm right in the middle of doing a valve adjustment, and I have a question. I hope a few of you can answer quickly. I've done valve adjustments before on my 65 VW back in the 70's (cork gaskets, done with every oil change!) and came up adjusting points with a feeler gauge also. But it's been decades since I've used a feeler gauge for anything but checking plug gaps.

BTW, as others have noted, all the exhaust valves have been pretty tight.

So here it is: I have been through all the cylinders and adjusted them. But as I was putting in the feeler gauge every time, I noticed that there was some give as I pushed in the feeler gauge (due to the spring on the valve and some movement of the rocker arm and the adjusing screw.

I think I'm doing things correctly, but I just want to check. Should the correct size feeler gauge fit in between the adjusting screw and the top of the valve stem without that movement, or is that normal? I'm adjusting the intakes to .009 (0.23 mm) with a nice feel to it. But if I push pretty hard or if I lift up on the rocker arm I can still get the .010 (.254 mm) gauge in there. Should I be adjusting the clearance so that I can get the .009 in there without movement of the rocker relative to the valve stem?

I know it's a Saturday afternoon and I don't know how many people are on, but I'd appreciate a little advice so I can put things back together. I may be overthinking here but it's really bugging me.

 

Your method sounds correct. Sort of a go no go method.

 

Your ok. Sounds like you did it right.
8 to 10 thou' for intake and 11 to 13 thou' for exhaust.

Heres the procedure for future reference and anybody else doing this job.

 

Thanks to all who responded. I finished up the adjustment, fired it up and it sounded great!

I had read elsewhere about the bent feeler gauges and had bought them ahead of time. Mine were OEM Tools #25304 that I bought at Autozone. My only issue with them is the set of 12 blades didn't have an .009" blade-they went directly from .008 to .010, skipping the .009. So I took the .009 blade out of my old set of straight feelers and bent it to the proper angle. Problem solved. I suggest checking the blade set to make sure it includes the sizes you will actually need. But there was another problem with the OEM brand bent gauges. The size marking on the gauges started rubbing off pretty quickly. So I wouldn't recommend this brand. My 25 yr old straight set doesn't have that problem.

And I also recommend the go-no-go method, it's my standard method from years past adjusting points and plugs. What was throwing me off was the movement upward of the rocker arm when I inserted even the correct size gauge even when the drag on the gauge felt good.

A few thoughts that may help others:

1. I definitely recommend the bent feeler gauges, or you can do like I did with the .009 and bend a straight set yourself. I also found it easier to disassemble the feeler gauge set and take out the separate individual feeler gauges that I needed. With the awkwardness of having to reach way in their and the stuff surrounding the enging, this made things a lot easier.
   

2. I also bought the special “Jam Nut Valve Adjusting Tool” that combines a 10mm socket and a flat blade screwdriver. It made things a lot easier, especially on the exhaust side. But don't get married to it. There were a couple times on the exhaust side where the flip-over handle for the socket just kept getting in the way, so I took it off and used a regular screwdriver. I couldn't find a local shop that had the tool, most didn't even seem to know what it was. One guy looked it up and said he could have it in two weeks for about $36. So I looked on line and what looked like virtually identical tools were available under different brand names with pricing ranging from $20 to over $45. So I ordered the $19.95 one. I found it on ebay from a seller called ToolSmithDirect. It was PowerBuilt brand and the product # is 648827. It arrived in about 3 days. Here's a link: Powerbuilt 10mm Jam Nut Valve Adjusting Tool for Honda - 648827 | eBay

3. I also agree with the advice to run through the process twice to double check each valve clearance. I had to make a few changes on the second go round, so I actually did it another time for a total of 3 times. If you're new at doing this job or haven't used feeler gauges much, I'd suggest a 3rd time just to be sure.

4. Sometimes the rubber spark plug seals in the valve cover can become brittle with time, so you may want to have a set of those available. I bought some, but ended up not needing them.

5. On my 2005 CR-V, I was able to get the valve cover off without disconnecting the power steering high pressure line from the PS Pump, but I was a bit of a struggle. After watching a couple videos, I contemplated getting it back on and lined up with everything that needed to be lined up, and I decided to remove the PS hose. It make things a lot easier, though it was a little messy. Have something available to plug up the hose, and the pump. I found a tapered spout from a tube of caulk that was perfect for the hose but I couldn't find anything for the pump orifice, so I just stuffed a few rags in there to catch the drips. Turns out dripping wasn't much of an issue from the hose, but fluid just kept oozing out, due to gravity I think, from the pump orifice. So I would try to have something there to use as a plug. I keep a collection of pieces like that salvaged over the years to use as improvised plugs or caps. I initially wasn't concerned about losing fluid as the level in the reservoir was a little high, but I ended up having to add some to the pump after I hooked it back up, so you may want to make sure you have a bottle of Honda PS fluid on hand.

6. Also, I couldn't get the hose to the vapor recovery canister loose, and I needed to replace the air cleaner anyway, so I removed the air cleaner housing before pulling the valve cover off.

7. I also used the dowel rod trick as a double check to make sure I was at TDC for each cylinder. I put a 12” long ¼” dowel rod down into the spark plug hole and watched it move up to it's greatest height before it started back down. Then I marked the dowel right at the top of the spark plug tube to use a s a reference point on the other cylinders. If you are unsure about finding TDC then this will help.

The engine sounded great when I started it up. I had about 136K when I had finally gotten around to this task, and all the exhaust valves were pretty tight, at about .007-008, when spec is 11-13 thousandths. So I would suggest checking valve clearance a little early, or at least as recommended, which for my V is at 110,000 I think.