I recently purchased a 2000 Honda Accord EX Coupe 4 Cylinder with 99k miles. I changed spark plugs & wires. Oil was black, dirty, and thick. I changed it to 5w30. I adjusted the valves, intake with filler gauge 8mm, exhaust with filler gauge 10mm. Now I have a loud ticking noise and a code 1259. While doing the valve cover adjustment, at least 4 of the valves were very tight and with zero space, as if someone adjusted this before, assumably to get rid of the noise I am now experiencing. Can someone guide me in the right direction as to resolve this. It would be greatly appreciated. Should I be using a thicker oil than is recommended?

 

intake should be 0.26 mm, exhaust should be 0.30 mm, code P1259 is related to the VTEC solenoid circuit, troubleshooting is pretty involved. get your valves correct first.

 

Thanks for the reply. Made a mistake. 0.008in intake and 0.010in exhaust. My fill gauge tool is in not mm.

 

What do you think about the oil?

 

use whatever the spec for the car is, 5w30 sounds about right. you have ticking after your valve adjustment, did you follow the procedure from the service manual? that would be the first thing to double check.

 

Pretty sure 5w-30 was called for in the owner's manual. Honda later changed that (retroactively) to 5w-20. I guess I'd stick with 5w-30 for now, just change it very early for the next few oilchanges to clean it out (you said it was cruddy).

Valve adjustment is done when the engine is COLD. Did you do it warm?