I was having a problem with my car dying when it was cold. At first, I thought it was my IAC valve and replaced it - no significant improvement. I couldn't isolate the cause of the problem so I sent it to the dealer to have them help me diagnose the problem. They said all looked fine except that the MAP sensor was showing a lower than normal voltage at idle. Their recommendation was to do a valve adjustment since the lower voltage could be caused by valves being too tight. I was skeptical but took the car home and did the adjustment over the weekend. To my surprise, the valves were on the tight side. After the valve adjustment and a fresh set of Iridiums, the car runs and idles fine once again.

The tight valves causing an idling problem was a new one on me.

 

Wow . . . that is a new one. I think I need to do that soon as well.

Thanks for this little tid bit.

Ruf

02 WDP TLS Black Interior w/ Black Grill Inserts
**1/4mile 14.46 @96.07MPH
(**pre headers, CAT, IMMs & BBTBs)
17x7 Konig Appeals SMF -
P225/45ZR-17 Bridgestone RE960 AS
(used Ziex 512s track only)
CT Icebox, RamAir, Sways & Springs
3nd Gen Innovative Motor Mounts
BBTBs, Mugen Cooling Mods & Thermoblok
Ceramic Coated XS Headers & Random-Tech CAT
NEO Anti Freeze & 5w-20 oil
Tranny #3 Installed 11.17.2008

 

See this thread for discussion on a valve adjustment.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...justment+valve

....and the input from the dealer tech makes sense, per this Acura tech line summary article (first bullet point).

http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/TS/BTS050802.PDF

Did you take any measurements on the valves before adjusting them? Metrics are key references that would help the forum.

 

Good information djarovsky. I wish I would have read that Tech Line article previously as that cleared up a lot of my questions.

I set the lash to .009" and .012" after speaking with a tech at the dealer. The clearances before the adjustment were all over the place but all were on the tight side. I probably opened up the adjustments anywhere from .001" - .003". on both intake and exhaust.

Your information in that previous article is right on the money. Thanks for confirming.

 

Having similar problems post-valve adjustment. Geeting my car back to the shop soon.

Awesome post.

 

what do you guys think about the performance aspect though?

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...&page_number=3

 

Given Allout's driveability issues and finding that the valves were tight, you will probably trade a little idle quality and low end torque for high end horsepower. How much and the overall benefits?....you would have to adjust the valves to the recommended specs and to the "performance" specs and do some dyno pulls to compare. Is it worth all of that work and risk in my opinion?....no way....but to each his/her own.

 

A few thousands on lash will not make a measureable difference in performance.

 

Is it true that the valves are self adjusting? i went into my local acura dealership cause i have a clicking in the engine bay (not purge valve) and 2 different service managers said they are supposed to be self adjusting. my engine is getting loud with whatever is clicking and my tensioner. someone told me changing the oil wieght will help with valve noise

 

That is total bullshit, the valves are manual adjusting. Don't even think about screwing around with the oil weight, run what Acura recommends.

 

Thicker oil may only mask the problem. You've got to fix the core problem which may be an adjustment.

 

Jeff, glad you got your idle issue sorted out. On a similar thread, I just had Shad change the timing belt, replace the spark plugs and service the S/C. During the valve adjustment, he found several tight valves.

Before this maintenance was performed, the car idled a bit rough and pinged more than normal for cold weather. Now, car runs better than I remember... and no more pinging under a heavy foot.

 

I didn't think about having Shad do the timing belt. How many miles you have on yours now?

How's the X doing? Did you ever go with the piggy back tune?

 

I did the timing belt at 104,425 miles, but now I'm neary 106k.

I'll PM you about the X...