Hi, have a 95 Accord four cylinder V-tec with 210,000 miles. Have had the valves checked every thirty thousand miles since I bought it with 120,000 miles. Does the amount of miles on this car really make a valve check necessary? Keep it as long as it runs and want it to run as long as possible. What advice do you have, should I get them checked?

 

If the valves are not making noise, I would leave them alone. I've checked them on my 94 Accord periodically, and never seen any significant change. It's at 240+K miles now w/o any significant valve train noise.

good luck

 

If they get loose, they make clicking noise. But if they get too tight, they don't make much noise; they just burn valves.

Since I'd do my own checking (free labor) I would continue to check them. With a long history of NOT changing, you're probably OK letting the valves go longer.

 

Overtightening will produce excessive camshaft wear, not burnt valves.

A "burned" valve is usually the result of excessive cylinder heat and valves not closing completely during combustion stroke.

Also exhaust valves are the ones that usually get "burned" (excessive heat)


PS. Our accords have auto adjusting valve lash. They keep them within spec to a extent until wear and tear become excessive causing loose clearances.

 

OK, I thought the 4-cyl engines didn't have hydraulic lifters. Used to have a 1998 4-cyl and those were not auto-adjusting.

And I was thinking of erosion from leaking exhaust-gas if the valves were too tight & didn't close completely. I guess they'd have to be WAY too tight for that to happen.

 

Most of the exhaust valves measured less than 0.003" when I checked the clearances on my new-to-me, 220K wagon; getting really close to burned valve time. The good thing is, no measuring and running around for shims; a screwdriver and a wrench is all that's needed. But there's no automatic adjusting mechanism.

The maintenance schedule says check them ever 12K miles. You can probably double that easy and still find them within spec. I wouldn't let it go more than 48K.

 

thats because who ever adjusted them last over tightened them

intake is 0.26mm(0.010") + or - 0.02mm (0.0008")
exhaust is 0.30mm(0.012") + or - 0.02mm (0.0008")

the auto adjust keeps it within those variances. these are COLD settings per honda shop manual.

 

Perhaps. Stranger "repairs" have been made. More likely, the valves hadn't been adjusted for 150K miles and a combination of valves receding into their seats/camshaft lobe wear/rocker are wear/valve tip wear caused a .010" reduction in clearance over all those miles.

Huh. Mine must be different. I had the head off last month and didn't notice any hydraulic tappets or buckets. The valve train is just a camshaft lobe, a rocker arm with screw adjustment, and a sprung valve.

 

Hi, will leave them alone for at least another 15,000 miles. In the manual it says every 30,000 miles but they are not making any noise. Might get them checked at 225,000 miles, definitely at 240,000 miles. Thanks everyone for the replies.