hey, from my last post, ppl have said i needed a valve adjustment bcuz of my tapping/clicking sounds from the valve cover. my tapping/clicking is getting a lil louder every day. i can hear it more and louder the higher the rpms go and im starting to lose a lil bit of power. i saw the DIY writeup but i dont have the time or tools to do it. ive been taking it to a couple shops around here and they all tell me 1) the sound is normal for civics. 2) you dont need a valve adjustment, its too early. 3) or you should never need a valve adjustment.

i rather trust the advice of ppl on this forum bcuz half of you are mechanics and know almost every inch of your car and what needs to be done. the soonest i can get this **** done is tuesday. any problems on lasting this long? also is there anything i should know about before or after the job is fixed to know it was done right?

i got a stock 97 ej8 with 86k miles if that helps. just got timing belt kit, water pump, oil change with 10w-30 syntec blend done a week ago.

 

if you've got 86k miles then it's almost time for you to do a valve adjustment probably.

the integra owners at other sites do their own valve adjustments periodically to keep their engine running in tip top shape.

i'm about to do my own car's valve adjustment at 90,000 miles.

if you have a non-vtec engine then adjusting the valves should be easier than on a vtec engine because of the valve design (at least it is on b-series engines).

i would have gone and did the valve adjustment when you installed the timing belt and water pump, since the car was already up on blocks.

but you can still probably do it yourself. just make sure you start early in the day.

 

i dont have any time to do it myself. how much should it cost if i take it somewhere like $75? also im due for a tune up soon too. should i do the tune before, after or the same time im getting the valves adjusted.

 

$75???

more like several hundred at the honda dealership. they don't call them stealerships for nothing.

car maintenance costs $$$.

that's why i always say do it yourself if you can.

 

ok maybe i will then lol. but should i do the tune up before, after or during the valve adjustment?

 

during, if you can.

but i thought you already put on the timing belt and water pump?

what else are you gonna do to your engine?

valve adjustment is easy if you have a DIY tutorial or Helms manual to follow.

 

yea i have a real good write up on it. and yea i just did the timing belt, tensioner and water pump. but i wanted to change the plugs, wire, cap and rotor since im almost at the 90k mark. thats what i meant when i said tune up. should i do that during or after?

 

changing the plugs, wires, cap and rotor takes less than an hour. probably closer to 30 minutes, it's that easy.

you should do it at the same time. valve adjustment first, then put the valve cover back on and then do the rest.

if you do go ahead and do a valve adjustment, you may want to buy a valve cover gasket kit just in case.

sometimes you damage the valve cover gasket when you take the cover off if the gasket is old.

the gasket kit is like $35 online if you order an OEM one. or you can pay a little more and get it from your local dealership's parts department.

if you don't use it, then you can take it back and get your money back.

 

how about seafoam, would that stop that annoying ticking/clicking noise?

 

I'm not sold on seafoam.

that ticking noise you hear is probably your valves that are out of spec (despite what your mechanic says). the valve adjustment should cure that.

my old civic hatchback had the valve clicking noise bad, which meant it was time for a valve adjustment.