In the middle of my valve adjustment, observations...
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
To I hate cars,
Since you know so much, I hate to even ask since there are so many threads but you mentioned that valves should be relatively quiet, not noisy.
The reason I ask is that I took my car to get the valves adjusted at my local Acura Dealer in Ventura, CA around 124xxx this past September 2012 rather than doing it around 105k so I was overdue. Well after I got them done, there was still a ticking noise from the back of the motor.
Well fast forward to about a week ago, I get an oil change at my uncles independent general mechanic shop(cheap to do oil changes). Well he and a service tech(Had worked 10years on hondas/acuras experience) tell me there is excessive ticking noise in the back where the valve cover is located.
They asked if I had gotten a valve job done, I'm at 130xxx now.
ME: I said yes about 3 months ago
Why?
THEM: Come here and told me to listen carefully and you will hear a constant ticking sound, those are your valves and they need readjusting.
ME: I told them, the local Acura dealer noticed that they were out of spec and adjusted all in Sept. so I needed them asap. The first
service advisor told me they would be fixed after valve adjustment, well apparently they were still kind of quiet after but still noticeable, but they told me thats a normal sound. So I went one driving.
THEM: take it back to them because they should NOT be any kind of sound at all from the valves.
Called immediately to ask if they can do anything, service advisor told me that we can readjust them, lets make an appt. at no cost to you.
Fast forward to today.
Made appointment,
Took dropped my car off after at 8am-4pm
I get there to drop off loaner, pick up my car. And all they did was listen to the valves just to tell me there was nothing wrong. I was furious, why would I make an appointment to just be told there was nothing wrong.
IF YOUR STILL FOLLOWING
Their 40+ years experience service tech tried to reassure me that nothing is wrong, and its normal to make a ticking sound, its the injectors. He said its either an injecter or PCV plate that is making the ticking sound ??
Care to share some light, are these engines suppose to make slight ticking sound? I fought them on it, and they will readjust them like they promised(no written document; my bad on my account).
Just to prove that my car is running perfectly fine, they even told me they compared it to a black 06 with 84k miles and that one was way louder than mine.
Sorry for the long post. I REALLY NEED YOUR EXPERTISE
Since you know so much, I hate to even ask since there are so many threads but you mentioned that valves should be relatively quiet, not noisy.
The reason I ask is that I took my car to get the valves adjusted at my local Acura Dealer in Ventura, CA around 124xxx this past September 2012 rather than doing it around 105k so I was overdue. Well after I got them done, there was still a ticking noise from the back of the motor.
Well fast forward to about a week ago, I get an oil change at my uncles independent general mechanic shop(cheap to do oil changes). Well he and a service tech(Had worked 10years on hondas/acuras experience) tell me there is excessive ticking noise in the back where the valve cover is located.
They asked if I had gotten a valve job done, I'm at 130xxx now.
ME: I said yes about 3 months ago
Why?
THEM: Come here and told me to listen carefully and you will hear a constant ticking sound, those are your valves and they need readjusting.
ME: I told them, the local Acura dealer noticed that they were out of spec and adjusted all in Sept. so I needed them asap. The first
service advisor told me they would be fixed after valve adjustment, well apparently they were still kind of quiet after but still noticeable, but they told me thats a normal sound. So I went one driving.
THEM: take it back to them because they should NOT be any kind of sound at all from the valves.
Called immediately to ask if they can do anything, service advisor told me that we can readjust them, lets make an appt. at no cost to you.
Fast forward to today.
Made appointment,
Took dropped my car off after at 8am-4pm
I get there to drop off loaner, pick up my car. And all they did was listen to the valves just to tell me there was nothing wrong. I was furious, why would I make an appointment to just be told there was nothing wrong.
IF YOUR STILL FOLLOWING
Their 40+ years experience service tech tried to reassure me that nothing is wrong, and its normal to make a ticking sound, its the injectors. He said its either an injecter or PCV plate that is making the ticking sound ??
Care to share some light, are these engines suppose to make slight ticking sound? I fought them on it, and they will readjust them like they promised(no written document; my bad on my account).
Just to prove that my car is running perfectly fine, they even told me they compared it to a black 06 with 84k miles and that one was way louder than mine.
Sorry for the long post. I REALLY NEED YOUR EXPERTISE
Other than that its hard to say without hearing it. There's a solenoid over there that also ticks from time to time, sounds just like valves but it doesn't change with rpm.
I would look for obvious signs that its been apart like socket marks on the intake manifold bolts and front valve cover bolts.
I'll adjust them for free if you want to bring it over here but to do it right the car has to sit overnight. I got one of my exhausts a little loose. The only time I can ever hear it is if I'm driving super easy and I'm in the drive through with the window down and paying attention. I drive it very easy most of the time but if I drive it the way my fiancée normally drives its silent even in the drive through. It's so close to perfect that if I drive a little "spirited" and pop the hood and remove the covers I can't hear a thing I figure in a few thousand miles or by summertime it will be silent all the time.
The good thing in your case is noisy valves are safe, they're just annoying. It's when they get tight and silent you have real issues like burned valves and a very expensive repair bill. Last, you can always use a good 30wt oil just for the heck of it and see what happens.
If you want me to give it a shot let me know.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 889
Likes: 89
From: Oxnard, CA
No that was my concern as its recommended for a 24hr time frame for the car to fully cool, it was on a saturday. I was visiting home that weekend, came Friday night. Scheduled it a week in advance since I knew I would be heading home and needed a loaner, and it was way cheaper back in Ventura County than all honda/Acura indie and Acura dealers in San Diego County.
I remembered clearly, scheduled it for 8am drop off on Saturday. Short 20min. commute to the dealership but the car would be at normal temperature by then. I wanted to leave it at the dealership overnight on friday but couldnt since I was driving up from San Diego(college) and got home late.
OH to add to my story, since they will be working on the rear ones tomorrow, I left my car there overnight, and still have my loaner.
So I was just confused, and felt helpless, as my uncle and his tech w/Honda tech experience VS. Dealer service manager and 40+ Honda Tech on recommendations/solution to the sound.
I hate ticking, tapping, knocking sounds so I would go crazy to try and get them fixed, even if it was a characteristic as the dealer stated, I may not be mechanically knowledgable but I know that ticking sound should not be loud enough that I can hear it when I idle at a stop light or drive thru
I remembered clearly, scheduled it for 8am drop off on Saturday. Short 20min. commute to the dealership but the car would be at normal temperature by then. I wanted to leave it at the dealership overnight on friday but couldnt since I was driving up from San Diego(college) and got home late.
OH to add to my story, since they will be working on the rear ones tomorrow, I left my car there overnight, and still have my loaner.
So I was just confused, and felt helpless, as my uncle and his tech w/Honda tech experience VS. Dealer service manager and 40+ Honda Tech on recommendations/solution to the sound.
I hate ticking, tapping, knocking sounds so I would go crazy to try and get them fixed, even if it was a characteristic as the dealer stated, I may not be mechanically knowledgable but I know that ticking sound should not be loud enough that I can hear it when I idle at a stop light or drive thru
Last edited by MandoTL; Jan 11, 2013 at 01:19 AM.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 259
Likes: 4
I just got mine done like yesterday morning had dropped off my car at the Honda Dealership on Thursday afternoon and got a loaner. After I had picked up my car yesterday evening, I tell you my car is running much more smoother, more responsive, and quieter and smoother at idle. Got the valves adjusted intake valves were definitely out of specs exhaust valves were not bad, front motor mount was replaced and that itself has made my car feel tighter and smoother. Also, brought my own oil and had them use 5w30 Mobile 1 Advance syn dexo 3 approved. First time using a slightly thicker oil since it had Honda/Acura 5w20 all its life. I had the complete T-belt service done along with spark plugs around 100,000 mile and with that I had the side mount replaced. All the the other mounts are fine but the front and the side were weak.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
No that was my concern as its recommended for a 24hr time frame for the car to fully cool, it was on a saturday. I was visiting home that weekend, came Friday night. Scheduled it a week in advance since I knew I would be heading home and needed a loaner, and it was way cheaper back in Ventura County than all honda/Acura indie and Acura dealers in San Diego County.
I remembered clearly, scheduled it for 8am drop off on Saturday. Short 20min. commute to the dealership but the car would be at normal temperature by then. I wanted to leave it at the dealership overnight on friday but couldnt since I was driving up from San Diego(college) and got home late.
OH to add to my story, since they will be working on the rear ones tomorrow, I left my car there overnight, and still have my loaner.
So I was just confused, and felt helpless, as my uncle and his tech w/Honda tech experience VS. Dealer service manager and 40+ Honda Tech on recommendations/solution to the sound.
I hate ticking, tapping, knocking sounds so I would go crazy to try and get them fixed, even if it was a characteristic as the dealer stated, I may not be mechanically knowledgable but I know that ticking sound should not be loud enough that I can hear it when I idle at a stop light or drive thru
I remembered clearly, scheduled it for 8am drop off on Saturday. Short 20min. commute to the dealership but the car would be at normal temperature by then. I wanted to leave it at the dealership overnight on friday but couldnt since I was driving up from San Diego(college) and got home late.
OH to add to my story, since they will be working on the rear ones tomorrow, I left my car there overnight, and still have my loaner.
So I was just confused, and felt helpless, as my uncle and his tech w/Honda tech experience VS. Dealer service manager and 40+ Honda Tech on recommendations/solution to the sound.
I hate ticking, tapping, knocking sounds so I would go crazy to try and get them fixed, even if it was a characteristic as the dealer stated, I may not be mechanically knowledgable but I know that ticking sound should not be loud enough that I can hear it when I idle at a stop light or drive thru
On a different note, my dads solid cammed GN, the faster one, has a valve clatter that will make you jump back if you're not used to it. I've used the clatter and the lope to con people into money races because it sounds broken. It makes me realize the TL is pretty quiet for a non hydraulic valvetrain.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
Also, your sig says Redline 5w-30+40, will you clarify? 5w-40 in the summer or for the track?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
I sometimes dump the filter and run it again. It sounds crazy but when you consider Honda recommends on many cars, the TL included I believe, that the filter be changed every other OCI is't not the crazy to dump a high quality filter and use again. I used to cut these things open but there's just nothing to see, no debris, rarely anything at all in the filter media after a 5,000 mile OCI. I suspect you could do 20,000 miles easily on this filter but I'm too paranoid to try it. Maybe one day when the engine is on it's downward spiral I'll worry about filter plugging but not now.
This last time I re-ran the filter because I had already drained the oil when I realized I had forgotten to pick up a filter. 10k nothing for this one. The only issue I have with it is residual oil left in the filter but I've dumped them upside down for a few minutes and then cut open and there's not much at all. If I were pushing 15,000 mile intervals I would be more concerned with residual oil but not at 5k.
I don't want to officially recommend anyone else dump the filter and continue running it but it's something I do occasionally.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,172
Likes: 1,818
From: Bakersfield
ZDDP max levels were lowered in anticipation for a new type of catalytic converter. It was done ahead of time, ZDDP won't hurt your cats unless you're burning a lot of oil. I've run an oil with a good 1200ppm for the vast majority of the TLs life and no converter issues at 113,000 miles.
So no, it does not meet the API specs due to the ZDDP but it exceeds the performance specs by a longshot. With the near nonexistent engine failure rate and the fact that they have to prove the oil caused he failure unless they provide free oil changes its really not an issue. They're not going to deny a claim because of too much anti wear additive.
NVA-AV6 makes an aluminum adapter plate that connects the EGR valve to the intake system. When the valve opens, fresh & filtered air is sucked in under light-load cruising conditions w/o a CEL. I'm pretty sure that the valve is normally closed during WOT. I'm curious to know the benefits of the EGR system.
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