[PlaneJob]

My cars ticks like timex. I bought it 700 miles ago as a Certified Used Car. Do you think the Valve Adjustment would/could be covered under warranty?

 

[cakley]

How many miles are on it now?

Probably not. Valve adjustment is considered routine maitenance, like an oil change.


BTW. I took my car twice to the dealer and requested an valve adjustment. Both times they said they sound normal and didn't want to measure them.

I finally did it myself last week. Out of the 12 valves about 1/2 of them could have been a little bit tighter. I adjusted them and the car is slightly quiter.

 

[PlaneJob]

not sure why it matters, being that the car is under warranty, but it has 44000 miles on it.

I think i might just crack the thing open and do it myself - how much was the Valve Cover gasket when you replaced it?

 

[cakley]

No need to use a new gasket. I don't even think the manual says to use a new one. The gasket is more like a rubber o-ring.

You'll need a torque wrench and the feeler gauges.

 

[jameskb]

Valve Adjust HOWTO?

Hey guys;
You've got my attention on this valve adjustment thing. My own car is ticking too much for my liking.

You mentioned a torque wrench and feeler gauges. I've got ENGLISH ones, do you need metric versions of both? And what about the torque range - is it the lower or higher one?

Any thoughts or feedback on HOW you did the valve adjustment would be great. Pics would be awesome. Help out an Insight brutha....

Thanks;
JKB

 

[PlaneJob]

Re: Valve Adjust HOWTO?

You mentioned a torque wrench and feeler gauges. I've got ENGLISH ones, do you need metric versions of both?

Usually, the feeler guages have both measurements on them, since you specifically say that you have SAE ones, I would just find out the specs and convert - like if you know your valve should be set at .5mm, then use a .020 inch feeler. (actually .019685 - ha)

And what about the torque range - is it the lower or higher one?

I don't own the shop manual, but I bet it is a very few ft/lbs, ior possibly in/lbs. 7ft/lbs seems to be common for clamping rubber VC gaskets, but be sure to go by the book.

Any thoughts or feedback on HOW you did the valve adjustment would be great. Pics would be awesome. Help out an Insight brutha....

Well, I'm no help here, but I bet these valves are just like any other valves - thank god they don't use lifter buckets with shims (shims are evil). anybody have pictures of the head popped open? I'd like to see too. [/quote]

 

[cakley]

intake 0.18-0.22mm
exhaust 0.21-0.25mm

OR
intake .007-.009 in.
exhaust .008-.010 in.


Torque
Intake valve 14lbf-ft
Exhaust valve 10lbf-ft

Valve cover bolts should be tightened in two or three steps. In the final step, tighten all bolts, to the sequence I list below, to 8.7lbf-ft.

5__3__1__7
8__2__4__6


Pretty easy to do as this was my first time adjusting valves. I recommend buying the manual.