Tapping valves after doing clearances...

ben · Post by **ben** » Sun May 19, 2013 7:01 am

Had a go at my valves today, just put it back together and started it up but it sounds like i messed it up!?

Seem to remember it making some kind of noise like this before i played with it, maybe all the bodywork is making sound louder? Should there be no noise at all from there?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-UAUMCE ... e=youtu.be

ben · Post by **ben** » Sun May 19, 2013 8:44 am

video of it running, it does sound bad....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-UAUMCEbuY

valuesynthetics · Post by **valuesynthetics** » Sun May 19, 2013 3:29 pm

Ok my quick thoughts, the tapping sound means they are loose. It is VERY easy to use the wrong feeler gauge and throw it out of range. But loose is better then tight when it comes to the valves, if your confident you used the right size feeler gauge then maybe re-assemble and like you said, see if just sounds a little different with the body panels off... Good luck!

rebrab842 · Post by **rebrab842** » Sun May 19, 2013 5:01 pm

mine sounded exactly the same and like you i used the posted revue,i think its mainly due to the body work being off the bike making it a lot louder than it actually is.The valve gasket i found was the hardest to locate and knocked it off the first time i put the valve cover back on the head.If theres no oil on the floor and you used the correct feeler guages then there shouldnt be a problem.I did notice my top speed has dropped from 65mph to about 62mph after the valve check but i can live with that as it didnt cost main dealer servicing prices.

ben · Post by **ben** » Sun May 19, 2013 5:19 pm

I took the head off again and readjusted the valves. Sounded exactly the same so took it for a quick ride, came back to find im smoking like a factory!!!! Looks like i somehow didnt seat the case back right or messed up the liquid gasket because theres oil fired all under the bike!

Really wish i hadnt bothered, the whole thing was a pain in the ass and now im stuck. Do i take it all apart and have another go or just get it picked up buy the dealer and sorted properly? Bet it will cost a fortune to have it picked up...

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Sun May 19, 2013 5:53 pm

Do you have any of the two year breakdown cover left...? AA member...?

rebrab842 · Post by **rebrab842** » Sun May 19, 2013 7:55 pm

you've knocked the valve cover gasket off its seating, take the valve cover off again and see if the ride has chewed the gasket up,if it has buy a new one and replace it and make sure you've got all the bits out from around the valves you might be lucky. Thats why there's oil everywhere.I think you got it right the first time.

GeezyRider · Post by **GeezyRider** » Sun May 19, 2013 10:11 pm

When I took delivery of my PCX, my Honda dealer was quite laid back about valve adjustments. He said unless I'm having problems, don't mess with the valves. BTW, this was not a salesman talking it was the owner of the dealership.

Don

GeezyRider · Post by **GeezyRider** » Sun May 19, 2013 10:39 pm

Oops! I meant to say the Honda dealer said not to fuss with valve adjustments AFTER THE FIRST ADJUSTMENT unless I'm having problems.

Don

ben · Post by **ben** » Mon May 20, 2013 1:59 am

Think im going to have one more go at it and leave the liquid gasket a full 24 hours to set as it looks like the leak came from the area that is applied to.

ben · Post by **ben** » Thu May 23, 2013 2:58 pm

Finally stripped the bike again (only 15min job now i know what to do!) and checked where the leak came from. Seems like the reason you need the sealant is for the 90 degree angle of the gasket round the curved part of the casing, think its the only time ive actually seen a gasket thats not plain flat (2D) to be honest!? As you carnt see the lower part that needs sealing (let alone get the sealant tube in there) i think i either left old sealant causing a breach or missed the very corner which requires the sealant...

Checked the clearances again and found they were bang on so i did get them right first time round, i believe the noise i was hearing was a mix of very old rollers, the bike sipping air and the being no bodywork to muffle the sounds.

I fully cleaned the case surface with contact cleaner, resealed the gasket on the actual rubber gasket to get proper application, left it the 15 mins it needs to skin over and finally gave it a full 24 hours to set. Phew!

One thing that struck me is the sealant that was on the gasket seemed to be the original...slightly off white and impossible to remove from the rubber gasket, which yet again leads me to believe Honda are being massively let down by their dealers servicing. 15000 miles with NO clearance checks and it still ran fine (its a solid bike!), running noticeably better now tho but its the first and last time i buy a new bike and throw cash in the bin for servicing.

If your thinking of doing your valves yourself...its not that bad to be honest! I was unlucky with the leak and paranoid with the noises but looking back now it was scary but quite rewarding and i feel a lot more confident about doing my own servicing. Dont rely on your dealer, check your valves, clean your oil screens and look after your bike like anything else that cost you 2.5k!

ben · Post by **ben** » Thu May 23, 2013 3:02 pm

Overdoing it...but the corners DO need liquid gasket...

ben · Post by **ben** » Thu May 23, 2013 3:06 pm

Next task, new rollers and belt..what could possibly go wrong....

you you · Post by **you you** » Thu May 23, 2013 5:46 pm

ben wrote:Finally stripped the bike again (only 15min job now i know what to do!) and checked where the leak came from. Seems like the reason you need the sealant is for the 90 degree angle of the gasket round the curved part of the casing, think its the only time ive actually seen a gasket thats not plain flat (2D) to be honest!? As you carnt see the lower part that needs sealing (let alone get the sealant tube in there) i think i either left old sealant causing a breach or missed the very corner which requires the sealant...

Checked the clearances again and found they were bang on so i did get them right first time round, i believe the noise i was hearing was a mix of very old rollers, the bike sipping air and the being no bodywork to muffle the sounds.

I fully cleaned the case surface with contact cleaner, resealed the gasket on the actual rubber gasket to get proper application, left it the 15 mins it needs to skin over and finally gave it a full 24 hours to set. Phew!

One thing that struck me is the sealant that was on the gasket seemed to be the original...slightly off white and impossible to remove from the rubber gasket, which yet again leads me to believe Honda are being massively let down by their dealers servicing. 15000 miles with NO clearance checks and it still ran fine (its a solid bike!), running noticeably better now tho but its the first and last time i buy a new bike and throw cash in the bin for servicing.

If your thinking of doing your valves yourself...its not that bad to be honest! I was unlucky with the leak and paranoid with the noises but looking back now it was scary but quite rewarding and i feel a lot more confident about doing my own servicing. Dont rely on your dealer, check your valves, clean your oil screens and look after your bike like anything else that cost you 2.5k!

Good on you mate. Most sensible post for ages

edscoot · Post by **edscoot** » Fri May 24, 2013 1:12 am

Be careful of putting too much liquid gasket on - it gets squeezed when you tighten the cover down and could get pushed into the chain, and then go god knows where and maybe block a tube/hole or something. It really doesn't need much liquid gasket, but you do have to be careful when you reseat the cover that the rubber gasket doesn't get dislodged out of position. Check everything before you tighten the bolts.

My last tube of liquid gasket was the same colour as the original on the engine so it maybe that the dealers have been doing the valves, but probably not.

I did 14,500ish miles on my PCX and checked the valves maybe 4 or 5 times, looking back on it I shouldn't have bothered, they were never an issue. A Honda mechanic in Essex told me that they (his dealership) get PCX's in that have been totally used and abused with no maintenance ever having been done, not even the 1st service in some cases. He said you can just give them an oil change and they're good to go. He had never seen any issues with PCX engines.

ben · Post by **ben** » Fri May 24, 2013 2:37 am

Yeah i did put the gasket on too thick, i plan on taking it for a short run then changing the oil and hopefully any excess that went in will be in the screen.

Its all a learning process, just hope my bike survives all the lessons!

ericpcx · Post by **ericpcx** » Fri May 24, 2013 11:21 am

I agree,if your fuel consumption doesn't get worse and performance is still OK,leave the valves alone,if it aint broke leave it alone

GeezyRider wrote:When I took delivery of my PCX, my Honda dealer was quite laid back about valve adjustments. He said unless I'm having problems, don't mess with the valves. BTW, this was not a salesman talking it was the owner of the dealership.

Don

you you · Post by **you you** » Fri May 24, 2013 5:03 pm

ericpcx wrote:I agree,if your fuel consumption doesn't get worse and performance is still OK,leave the valves alone,if it aint broke leave it alone
GeezyRider wrote:When I took delivery of my PCX, my Honda dealer was quite laid back about valve adjustments. He said unless I'm having problems, don't mess with the valves. BTW, this was not a salesman talking it was the owner of the dealership.

Don

Egsacterferkinly. Spot on post

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