Your post was very helpful. Thanks for posting it! I came upon the same problem when trying to reinstall the rocker arm assembly into my daughter's 2001 Accord (F23A1) and was able to find your post quickly. The photos (I think) are going to be very helpful when I get the rocker arm assembly back off the car to properly position those tabs.

There is another problem I noticed after re-installing the rocker arm assembly (incorrectly, with 4 valves compressed). I am unable to turn the cam using the power steering pump hub in order to do a proper valve adjustment at each cylinder. I suspect that is because the 4 valves are partly compressed. It turned easily when the rocker arm assembly was uninstalled. In your experience, will that turn again properly when I have the rocker arm assembly installed properly -- without the 4 compressed valves? I don't see how I could properly adjust valve clearances without being able to rotate the cam.

 

UPDATE: This didn't work for me. Uninstalled rocker arm assembly and tabs were already in place. Started to reinstall rocker arm assembly and same thing started happening again. When bolts were about halfway down, rocker arms for intake valves (driver-side) at cyls #2 & #3 already had no clearance, although those for cyls #1 & #4 still had some clearance (cam hub at TDC). Also, with assembly in that position (half-down), cam hub already too hard to turn into position for #3 cyl. I noticed after uninstalling rocker arm assembly again that #3 and #1 valves hadn't sprung back fully, making me wonder if they might be bent. That might explain why it is hard to turn the cam hub with power steering pump hub with rocker arm assembly in position, or even halfway in position, but it doesn't explain why there isn't any rocker arm clearance on driver-side intake valves. I still need to re-install the rocker arm assembly AND adjust the valves to get the car back up and running for my daughter, but am stumped at this step. Any thoughts? Otherwise, my next step is to have the car towed to my neighborhood mechanic and ask for help:-/

 

I moved your posts to a new thread to make the orignal thread less confusing in the future.

Before giving some tips, why did you remove the rocker arms? Did you remove the cylinder head and/or have a broken timing belt?

 

Thank you! Noticed oil in the spark plug wells when I changed spark plugs a few weeks ago in my daughter's 2001 Honda Accord 4 cyl sedan (engine series F23A1). Hoped to install new valve cover gasket and seals at both ends of the spark plug well, then check valve clearances while in there. Seals aren't on the bottom side of the rocker arm assembly in F23A1 as they were in the 5th gen Accord, so I was unable to replace those. I don't think that was the source of the oil anyway, as wells were dry when I removed the spark plugs to do this job. A sloppy oil change might have been the culprit.

I was able to reinstall the rocker arm assembly after all. Problem was that the 3 parts of the rocker arms for intake valves weren't aligned properly. Once I aligned them they seated as they should during installation, turning bolts 2 turns at a time in the sequence listed in the Honda repair manual, torqued to spec. Now am having some difficulty adjusting the clearances properly. Following sequence in the repair manual 1-3-4-2, intake clearances 0.26mm exhaust clearances 0.30mm. Problem is that I can't turn the cam past the position for cylinder 3. When all rocker-arm set screws are in a fully upward position, the cam will turn easily, with little resistance, through all 4 cylinder positions. But after setting proper clearance for valves at #1 then #3 cylinders, I can't turn the cam to the position to set valve clearances for cylinder #4. I suspect the problem might be a couple of bent valve stems. Driver-side intake valves at #1 and #3 cylinders don't spring back to the full-up position. If those 2 valve stems are bent, is it cheaper to have a valve job done or replace the head with a used/reman head (approx $400, incl shipping)? Thanks for any guidance.

 

If the cams weren't removed, then it would be hard to push the valves into the piston unless the rockers somehow pushed the valves too far down into the cylinder when they were misaligned. I usually pull the spark plugs when doing a valve adjustment, so you aren't fighting the compression of the engine when turning by hand.

I'd suggest pulling the rocker arms to allow the valves to close. Try pressing on the spring to see if the stuck valves return to the normal position. I'd think about using an air compressor to each cylinder to see if the valves in question hold pressure. Be careful, because you could cause the engine to rotate and would then could bend a valve.

You want to avoid damaging the valve if they weren't bent previously.

You'd have to get a quote for a rebuild vs a remanufactured cylinder head if the valves are bent to determine a cost effective route.