DIY Valve Adjustment Experience and Tool List
03-14-2005, 02:39 AM
#1
Burning Brakes
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DIY Valve Adjustment Experience and Tool List
Just finished my first DIY valve adjustment and I feel "tighter" with my car. 
The whole process took about 16 hours to complete, most of the time was spent removing stuff (exhaust, heat shields). The actual adjustment/checking of all the valves could've been done within 1.5 hours but it took me 4 hrs. cuz I "screwed" it up the first time (adjusted to wrong firing order). Overall, this was not as difficult as I had imagined, all that is required is lots of patience and time.
While preparing for this job, I could not find a list of tools needed so I'm listing them below for those who may want to attempt this DIY.
Creeper - (You'll be spending a lot of time on your back.)
Jack
Stands (3) - (2 for the car, and 1 for holding up the secondary muffler or the Cat while taking off or putting them back on)
Pen size flashlight - (Very helpful when trying to feed the feeler gauge inbetween tight spaces)
Work light (2) - (I used one shining through the engine bay and one from the wheel arch)
Feeler Gauge with extra replacement blades(0.1 mm). (I destroyed 3 blades in the process)
3/8" Torque wrench (very important!!! Get a good quality one, my cheap torque wrench broke off one of the studs!
)
3/8" Ratchet
10mm - socket (std.) - (For valve covers, heat shields)
13mm - socket (std.) - (For exhaust bolts/nuts, valve tightening nut)
Spark plug socket (deep)
3" extensions (I used 2 of them to get plugs in/out of the dreaded #6 cylinder)
6" extension
1/2" Ratchet
19mm - socket (deep) - (For removing wheels)
24mm - socket (std) - (For turning the Fan Pulley or you could also use the star wrench included in the factory tool set)
10mm - Combo wrench
13mm - Combo wrench
Flat screw driver (short) - (Adjusting screw)
Phillips screw drivers - (For removing secondary distributor cap)
PS. Thanks to Arjan and all that have contributed to the famous 100,000 service thread, it really helped!
The whole process took about 16 hours to complete, most of the time was spent removing stuff (exhaust, heat shields). The actual adjustment/checking of all the valves could've been done within 1.5 hours but it took me 4 hrs. cuz I "screwed" it up the first time (adjusted to wrong firing order). Overall, this was not as difficult as I had imagined, all that is required is lots of patience and time.While preparing for this job, I could not find a list of tools needed so I'm listing them below for those who may want to attempt this DIY.
Creeper - (You'll be spending a lot of time on your back.)
Jack
Stands (3) - (2 for the car, and 1 for holding up the secondary muffler or the Cat while taking off or putting them back on)
Pen size flashlight - (Very helpful when trying to feed the feeler gauge inbetween tight spaces)
Work light (2) - (I used one shining through the engine bay and one from the wheel arch)
Feeler Gauge with extra replacement blades(0.1 mm). (I destroyed 3 blades in the process)
3/8" Torque wrench (very important!!! Get a good quality one, my cheap torque wrench broke off one of the studs!
)3/8" Ratchet
10mm - socket (std.) - (For valve covers, heat shields)
13mm - socket (std.) - (For exhaust bolts/nuts, valve tightening nut)
Spark plug socket (deep)
3" extensions (I used 2 of them to get plugs in/out of the dreaded #6 cylinder)
6" extension
1/2" Ratchet
19mm - socket (deep) - (For removing wheels)
24mm - socket (std) - (For turning the Fan Pulley or you could also use the star wrench included in the factory tool set)
10mm - Combo wrench
13mm - Combo wrench
Flat screw driver (short) - (Adjusting screw)
Phillips screw drivers - (For removing secondary distributor cap)
PS. Thanks to Arjan and all that have contributed to the famous 100,000 service thread, it really helped!
03-16-2005, 04:39 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
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Join Date: May 2003
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Tony,
Valve adjustment might sound and look intimidating but it really wasn't that hard, just time consuming (you really don't want to rush any part of this, don't ask me why). Having the right tools and knowing how to use them properly and following the DIY instructions in Adrian's book and Arjan's service thread helped tremendously. Having said all that, if you do decide to tackle this yourself, I'll be more than happy to walk you through the steps. Just let me know when and where and I'll see if I can get away from the kids for an hour or so. My 2 kids own me on the weekends.
Valve adjustment might sound and look intimidating but it really wasn't that hard, just time consuming (you really don't want to rush any part of this, don't ask me why). Having the right tools and knowing how to use them properly and following the DIY instructions in Adrian's book and Arjan's service thread helped tremendously. Having said all that, if you do decide to tackle this yourself, I'll be more than happy to walk you through the steps. Just let me know when and where and I'll see if I can get away from the kids for an hour or so. My 2 kids own me on the weekends.
