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Done A Vtec Valve Adjustment Yourself?


WGREGT

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My new-to-me '07 is coming up on 16k miles.

I don't want to re-start the whole entire talk about whether or not to check the valves, or skip it. I'm on the fence about that part (though I do remember someone saying that since it's $700-$800 to do it every time, they had checked on the price of a new engine, and figured it was cheaper after X miles and X number of intentionally-missed valve adjustments to go ahead and buy a new engine if they were beyond fixable. Interesting way to look at it.)

I was just looking for some advice from one rider/self-taught garage tech to another. I've always done all the valve adjustments on all my other VFs/VFRs and inline 4s, and was wondering from those that have done it how hard it is to do. Yes, I have the OEM service manual, but I'm looking for folks who have done it, or experienced folks who have said "No thanks. I'll let the pros handle the VTEC ones."

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I do my own & have also done a few friends bikes & if you have done valve clearances on any other bike then it isn't that hard. The hard part if you wish to call it that simply it is a time consuming pain & only because you actually have to remove the cams a number of times there is a higher change to make a mistake if your not careful. But if you can do normal valve clearances & have pulled cams out before then you will be fine it is just with the vtec you have to do it a number of times to do the complete set of valves.

Firstly you need the Honda service tool part to lock the vtec buckets (there just small dowel pins), make sure you have a good work space to lay things out in order you remove them just like any valve clearance inspection & you will be fine. I tend to mark the cam chain linkage that corresponds to the cam gear with marker paint, that just saves me having to look real hard at the alinement points on the cam gears. The only difference to normal is removing vtec buckets straight up & fitting service tool locking pins & also removing vtec bucket springs & then putting it all back together so you can inspect all valve clearances, a normal bike you don't have to pull anything apart within motor to inspect clearances.

The trick the first time is take your time & double check everything.

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The main reason I dont recommend touching the vtec valves, is as they tighten the smoother the vtec gets, so Id never touch them unless there was a serious issue in way out of spec, if you were to ever touch them at all.

16,000 miles though is really a waste though on the vfr for the regular valves, atleast 30,000 mile would be better. Most here that have checked them, has been around that range, some were alittle off, but nothing really big.

Now me, ive not checked the vfr valves, and have no intent. Over 100,000 miles, on a leaded race fuel diet, bike runs as good as the day I bought it.

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Personally I would Not worry about a check until at least 30k and even then do it if you have the time.

A dealer is as likely to Say They Checked them as actually do them, 50/50 chance there at best IMO!

Sounds like you got the skills so I would just check them over the next winter or two. Never mind that as you in S. CA. :wacko:

So check them in the next year or two when you have time.

I'm getting ready to check mine for the first time at 100k miles, I'm at 99k miles now. :beer:

BR

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Baileyrock...you gotta fill me in on what you find in there @ 100K and checking them for the first time in the bike's history. Love to hear about it...

Yeah, I actually have/had a spare parts bike w/ motor sitting in my garage just in case so I planned to just run it to 40k w/o a check and see what happeded . :unsure: Then 50, then 60 then 70 then 80k. Then I just said the hell with it and was determined to make 100,000 miles w/o one and I have less than a 1000 miles to go now. I actually doubt I'll ever check them now. :goofy:

PS I run the piss out of my bike in nothing but twisties, wheelie all the time and have gone over 10,000 miles w/o an oil change(by accident) and it's still sweet. I will say it isn't as smooth as it once was, but runs excellent.

BR

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C'mon...check 'em @ 100K! Do it for US!

I/we would all like to know what it looks like in there!

PS I'm not easy on my stuff either. I just recently replaced 2nd gear in my '94 tranny with only 50K on it. I pretty much redline every gear, every time, on every bike. Hell, if I wanted to be easy on something I'd buy a minivan!

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I do my own & have also done a few friends bikes & if you have done valve clearances on any other bike then it isn't that hard. The hard part if you wish to call it that simply it is a time consuming pain & only because you actually have to remove the cams a number of times there is a higher change to make a mistake if your not careful. But if you can do normal valve clearances & have pulled cams out before then you will be fine it is just with the vtec you have to do it a number of times to do the complete set of valves.

Firstly you need the Honda service tool part to lock the vtec buckets (there just small dowel pins), make sure you have a good work space to lay things out in order you remove them just like any valve clearance inspection & you will be fine. I tend to mark the cam chain linkage that corresponds to the cam gear with marker paint, that just saves me having to look real hard at the alinement points on the cam gears. The only difference to normal is removing vtec buckets straight up & fitting service tool locking pins & also removing vtec bucket springs & then putting it all back together so you can inspect all valve clearances, a normal bike you don't have to pull anything apart within motor to inspect clearances.

The trick the first time is take your time & double check everything.

measure twice, cut once

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I know you don't want to hear this, but my valves were perfect at 20,000 miles. I paid the $450 shop time, but that's pretty cheap for peace of mind. Checking the valves is a PITA - at least according to the manual. If you have the money, spend the money. My time is worth more than the 5 hours of shop time. YMMV.

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To answer your first question, I see the valve adjustment no more difficult than other similar bikes. The thing is, it is definitely more time consuming. I don't have much time, but I do have more time than money, so I opt to do it myself. Personally, I like doing my own work. Must have the OEM service manual and the Honda tools (aka dowel pins). If you have a regular valve out of spec, most bike shops have the shims in stock, common item. But when you have a VTEC valve out of spec, you must order from Honda, so you could be waiting a few days to finish it if you need one. The shim is the bucket and vice-versa.

I checked at 53K, all within spec.

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I know you don't want to hear this, but my valves were perfect at 20,000 miles. I paid the $450 shop time, but that's pretty cheap for peace of mind. Checking the valves is a PITA - at least according to the manual. If you have the money, spend the money. My time is worth more than the 5 hours of shop time. YMMV.

Don't want to hear it? That's still helpful info. Thanks. $450 is a smokin' deal...your shop gets +/- $50 per hour up there on bikes? I bet snow mobiles are a different rate...

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5 hours at $89.50 per hour. If a valve is out of spec, it would take another 1 to 2 hours on top of that.

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I've not done the valves on my bike, but I do have a vtec car. It's a busy head with the extra rocker arms, but no more difficult to check than a non-vtec head. I can see the bike being the same. The tough part is getting it all apart, and then if you find one out of spec.

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  • 7 months later...
  • Member Contributer

With my bike at 45,000 km, and some of the sputtering issues I had the last summer, I went to my local dealer and inquired on the price. With the removal of all the plastic to the point the mechanic just jumps into it, it will be a $500.00 / 600.00 bill. This also includes a starter valve sync.

I checked EBAY with prices ranging from $700 - $1000.00 and I know where there is a 2004 that's sitting collecting dust with a motor / 19,000km for $700.00.

But I will do the plugs and the pair and flapper mod and see what that does. Not to sure about the snorkle mod, I have ridden many miles in rain storms from Edmonton to Vernon BC / Victoria BC and I dont really want a fish bowl in my air cleaner.

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I do my own & have also done a few friends bikes & if you have done valve clearances on any other bike then it isn't that hard. The hard part if you wish to call it that simply it is a time consuming pain & only because you actually have to remove the cams a number of times there is a higher change to make a mistake if your not careful. But if you can do normal valve clearances & have pulled cams out before then you will be fine it is just with the vtec you have to do it a number of times to do the complete set of valves.

Firstly you need the Honda service tool part to lock the vtec buckets (there just small dowel pins), make sure you have a good work space to lay things out in order you remove them just like any valve clearance inspection & you will be fine. I tend to mark the cam chain linkage that corresponds to the cam gear with marker paint, that just saves me having to look real hard at the alinement points on the cam gears. The only difference to normal is removing vtec buckets straight up & fitting service tool locking pins & also removing vtec bucket springs & then putting it all back together so you can inspect all valve clearances, a normal bike you don't have to pull anything apart within motor to inspect clearances.

The trick the first time is take your time & double check everything.

I did my valve clearances at 16000 myself a couple of months ago and agree with everything zROYz has said.

PS Mine were all within spec!

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Mine over 100,000 miles, I'll never check them, don't care. I wouldnt adjust the vtecs, as the gap tighten vtec is very smooth, or atleast Id think twice about it before adjusting them unless the valve was about to not close. I do run a cup or two of leaded race fuel every tank or so, done so since new. bike has been flawless other than a stator at 56,000 miles

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  • Member Contributer

BR, be excellent for a review if you indeed do them! :-) You are a legend with this, we need to know! :goofy:


Btw, I have zero skill in doing same. Hoping for other vfr heroes to slay the beast. (Vtec valve adjustment, if indeed needed) :biggrin:

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I did my own valve check at 24k miles and then paid to have it done at 55k. No adjustment needed. It is not technically difficult. It is just much more time consuming. Many more steps. Not hard but tedious. If I was to do it again I would do it myself just to make sure the bike is reassembled property. No one will take the care I do. I have always been disappointed when I have work done by others.

After nearly 90k miles on that bike I am now on my second VTEC VFR. I have confidence in the engine so like others no more valve checks. It is a peace of mind thing but too much work for me. The VTEC valves are the time consuming ones. When riding, 90% of the time they sit idle so when you have 16k on the motor the VTEC valves have less than 2k miles. The VTEC valves are set with wider gaps and as they wear the gap gets smaller. Would the gaps ever get to zero? So what is the point of checking them.

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  • 1 year later...

Hey i am new to this site but i am not new to fixing bikes. im a factory honda tech cirtified by mmi and i have over 14 years of experiance working in the field after graduating. Well i found this page when i was looking for tips on vtec valve inspection but i noticed alot of confusion and i thought i would clear some up by making a video of how to McGyver the vtec assembly, and properly check or adjust your own valves... its not too hard just time comsuming. good luck my fellow riders. i re-eddited this for the best audio.https://youtu.be/XEimE9DptP4

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I have never done a valve adjustment before and I was able to do it with a Honda VFR shop manual. Like others have said, it's not really difficult to do just more time consuming . The one thing I did was use a zip tie to hold the cam chain to the cam gear when I removed the cams. This way I knew the timing would not be wrong. But then I goofed, turned the engine over forgetting to release the cam chain tensioner. I felt the chain slip and had to time the engine anyway. I turned the engine over by hand when I was finished to make sure everything was right. In the 2 times I have checked the valves I think 3 non-vtec were barely out and 1 vtec valve. The bike now has 68,000 miles on it.

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  • Member Contributer

Hey i am new to this site but i am not new to fixing bikes. im a factory honda tech cirtified by mmi and i have over 14 years of experiance working in the field after graduating. Well i found this page when i was looking for tips on vtec valve inspection but i noticed alot of confusion and i thought i would clear some up by making a video of how to McGyver the vtec assembly, and properly check or adjust your own valves... its not too hard just time comsuming. good luck my fellow riders.

Thanks for posting this. Although there was a point in there where the music was a bit too loud to hear what you were saying but the gist of what you're doing is pretty clear.

Cheers!

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  • 2 years later...

Can someone help me please.

 

So it seems that my valve clearances are super way off, my gut's telling me that I might be doing something way off. I'm on a 2011 VFR800X with 38,000km's on it. I'm trying to skip the part where I have to drop the entire engine. I have managed to get to #2 and #4, the non-VTEC clearances are like way off.

 

#2

Intake: 0.6mm feeler gauge gets snagged

Exhaust: 0.8mm

#4

Intake: .55mm

Exhaust: 0.7mm

 

Seems a bit extreme from the 0.2 and 0.35mm clearances stated in the service manual. Any chance that I have been shoving the gauges wrong or is it really that bonged out? I watched the video by Mantis Garage, and I seem to not have mucked up but I'm freaked at the clearances. I haven't taken out the cam shafts to block off the VTEC side lest I've been doing something wrong.

 

I decided to embark on this project because the valves were clacking like a chicken in heat and I've got 4 more days of downtime before I should be needing my bike in running order.

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