Every page of my 2007 Maintenance Schedule says to adjust the (engine) valves. I have the Shop Manual and have looked up the procedures involved in doing this, and together, they are far more extensive than I have ever seen on the many cars I have owned and worked on that required periodic valve adjustment.

Nonetheless, I bought a new rocker-cover gasket and the two special tools required for the job, and have begun it. I have got the rocker cover off and now am trying to apply my feeler gauge to the valves. But the head casting interferes so with insertion of my feeler gauge that I am unable to get a reading that I have confidence in.

Has anyone done this job? How does one get the feeler gauge to "feel" accurately? Hoping for tip(s).

 

The valves should be adjusted only "if they are noisy".

A flexible feeler gauge should slip in like this: