94 honda civic vx issues

[nemo]

I agree with Rusty94cx replace the timing belt. Just not worth the risk.

[RatherDashing]

well right now im just posting on here that i did get a new timing belt today and the tensioner tool. also my iacv gasket came in. new distributor wont be here til next week more than likely. i also ordered a water pump which should come in next week. i dont think the water pump is an issue yet but i am getting the timing belt on and timed today. also to see if the valve adjustment was successful

it felt wierd doing the valve adjustment but im pretty certain i did it right. started out with cyl 1 and cranked with my hand/thumb over the spark plug hole. also removed all the spark plugs too. and when i felt pressure i took a long poker and put it all the way down the hole. slowly cranked til it stopped at its highest point to find TDC for that cyl. i also got another feeler gauge from sears. this one seems more precise and it is angled. i went thru the intake valve and exhaust valve parts for ea cylinder. made sure that there was slight drag while putting the .007 feeler gauge thru the intake ones. and if the .008 one had trouble going thru then i tightned up the lock nut and re checked the gap to make sure it was good. .009 and .010 for the exhaust ones.

i did this to all the cylinders. cranking it to ea one. it was mixed results. some were tighter than others and i had to turn the locknuts quite a bit. and a few others were too loose.most were too tight. espeically cylinder 2. i think almost all the intake and exhaust ones on that was were pretty tight.

correct me please if this all sounds right? i also checked to make sure that the roter on dist was aimed at ea correct plug wire as well.

right now i have splash guard off and am trying to find the alternator adjusting bolt and pivot nut. thats why i got back on here.

the distributor cap connections look kinda corroded. this might have been part of the issue as well.

any other thoughts or tips lemme know please all is appreciated. hopefully i can get this all mechanically working very well after next week especially with new distributor

[RatherDashing]

Originally Posted by some_other_dave

"Lock nut tool"? Not sure what you're talking about there.

For the nut that is on the adjuster (sometimes called a "jam nut" because it is tightened against the rocker arm and keeps the adjuster from turning itself) you just use a regular box-end wrench. You could use a socket, but you can't keep the adjuster from turning if you do that, so a wrench is the recommended tool. You stick a screwdriver in the slot on the end of the adjuster to keep it from turning when you loosen or tighten the jam nut.

Note the torque spec on those nuts is 10 lb-ft, which isn't much! That's if the rocker arms are aluminum like the ones from my 1990 Si were.

I still suggest asking someone who has done a valve adjustment before to come over and at least double-check your first one.

-soD

its an exact mixture of both tools but all in one for the lock nuts. ill post it when i can. i think it was only about 15 bucks and came within a day or two. it was really helpfully in moving the screws very slightly and tightening them right away. i tried without one the first time night i was trying to do the valve clearence and ever so slighlty chipped a very tiny part of one of the screws. i dont think its a biggie

[RatherDashing]

also iv noticed inside the engine not all the oil looks consistant. some areas are darker and older looking oil while most looks like good oil. i understand lucas oil treatment is really good. but i have never used it before. iv used stop leak before.

[RatherDashing]

Had a really touch time getting the engine mount bolts loose.in the manual it doesnt say anything about having a jack under the engine.and im wondering if i shud i took a break from it and headed out for a while

[Rusty94cx]

It sounds like your on the right path. Anytime I do a tbelt if the waterpump is driven by it I put a waterpump on. It's just smart. Good maintenance. I'm not sure off the top of my head what the specks are for valve lash but it sounds as if you are doing it correct. Yes a long rod can be used and is a good trick for tdc on a cylinder. Good luck clean all connections. Bad grounds or dirty connections are nightmares. They can cause all kind if drivability issues.

[some_other_dave]

Originally Posted by RatherDashing

i did this to all the cylinders. cranking it to ea one. it was mixed results. some were tighter than others and i had to turn the locknuts quite a bit. and a few others were too loose.most were too tight.

The first time I adjusted the valves (on my old Accord), I noticed all of them were too tight.

Turns out I was wrong--they were correct or close to it, and my interpretation of how the feeler gauge was supposed to feel in the gap was wrong. The car just barely ran after I was done. A buddy came over and set one valve for me, and I was able to check the gap and get an idea of how the gauge was supposed to feel in the gap. It sounds like you may have done the same thing--it's difficult to say just from reading.

That's why I always recommend that the first time anyone does a valve adjust, that they get someone who has done it before to help out.

No idea on the cam pulley marks. On earlier cars, they used the same pulley on several different motors, and the marks on those are used differently depending on which motor you actually have. Not sure about your year, though.

-soD

[RatherDashing]

Well.thats what i wish they had.like another tool like model that you could slide it thru to know how its supposed to feel.from what i read if.the intake is .007-.009 what i did was made sure the 7 cud fit thru.when the .007 is thru its not it doesnt slide thru really easily.just with enough tension.and i adjusted the nuts little by little to get it to the point where the .008 where the littlest bit of pressure wudnt slide it thru.but the .007 still could.thats what i read from one of the forums.and it makes sence cuz i think thats how that gap situation works.plz anyone correct me if im wrong. after i get the timing belt on im going to try and start it up.before dist comes.see if the valves and the timing belt was the problem.im just worried that i didnt do it right and made things epic worse cuz i dont know anyone else that knows bout valve adjustment around the area.

[RatherDashing]

I think i might practice with it.
The first set of feeler gauges i had had two different numbers on them.and are called go no go feeler gauges

One set of gauges has two different thicknesses on ea blade.
I was having trouble using them so i got a different angled set from sears with one thickness per blade.

Im going to go thru all of them again reread more on the internet as well

[RatherDashing]

I got the new distributor.wuts the new one look like with the end that goes into the crankcase with the twoteeth.it Seems wobbly on the new one.is this normal?