Honda Car Forum

M.Paul wrote:
> Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve adjustment
> on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that I'm
> having done today. The odometer reads 88K miles. Is the valve adjustment
> really worth $250? Is it something I should attempt myself? (I have always
> adjusted the valves myself on my old Toyota 4cyl pickup). I told them to
> hold off on the valve adjustment for now.
> TIA,
> M.Paul
>

as others have said, beware the dealer fleecing you. the timing belt
replacement mileage for your vehicle is 105k miles iirc, not 88k - that
should give you a clue.

otoh, i personally believe valve adjustment to be a good thing -
depending on how you drive. i get my civic good and hot with prolonged
high speed freeway stuff, and the valves benefit from being checked
every year. if you just potter about town and cruise legally, you'll
not be too worried, but again, if the motor gets a workout, be prepared
to check the valve lash regularly. if it's neglected, valves can burn
and cause you a lot of grief.

Thanks for all of the replies! I paid the $779 (minus 15% from coupon) for
the timing belt job and skipped the valve adjustment for now as there is no
detectable valve noise and I think that the mileage is just too low for a
valve adjustment on this engine. The reason for changing it at 88k miles is
because the car is over 7 years old and the manual states 105k or 7 years -
which ever comes first - and many believe that time is a factor for the
timing belt. I am aware of dealer service fleecing so I am skeptical of
anything they recommend, but their price with the coupon was on par with the
independant shops in my area - plus the dealer provided some extras like
shuttle service, a lame attempt at a car wash, etc. The dealer service
folks had three chances to change the motor oil for me (I provide my own -
synthetic) and they have proven to me that they cannot measure the proper
amount - each time they put in approx 1 quart too much! I will now only use
them for work I don't feel comfortable doing myself.
Thanks again for all the replies!
M.Paul

"jim beam" <spamvortex@bad.example.net> wrote in message
news:L9adnRKhRedReuXYnZ2dnUVZ_uqdnZ2d@speakeasy.ne t...
> M.Paul wrote:
> > Honda is telling me that I should have them perform a $250 valve
adjustment
> > on my 99 Accord V6 in addition to the $780 timing belt replacement that
I'm
> > having done today. The odometer reads 88K miles. Is the valve
adjustment
> > really worth $250? Is it something I should attempt myself? (I have
always
> > adjusted the valves myself on my old Toyota 4cyl pickup). I told them
to
> > hold off on the valve adjustment for now.
> > TIA,
> > M.Paul
> >
>
> as others have said, beware the dealer fleecing you. the timing belt
> replacement mileage for your vehicle is 105k miles iirc, not 88k - that
> should give you a clue.
>
> otoh, i personally believe valve adjustment to be a good thing -
> depending on how you drive. i get my civic good and hot with prolonged
> high speed freeway stuff, and the valves benefit from being checked
> every year. if you just potter about town and cruise legally, you'll
> not be too worried, but again, if the motor gets a workout, be prepared
> to check the valve lash regularly. if it's neglected, valves can burn
> and cause you a lot of grief.