Originally Posted by kirko (Post 985070)

The cowl absolutely has to be removed, including the wiper arms, wiper motor, and steel cowl cover. Its the only way to remove the intake manifold and valve cover. You would never be able to "tell" I removed the cowl because I know how these come apart and I even bought a special plastic clip popper from snapon specifically for this recall to make the job more efficient and less likely to break anything (im flat rate here). :)

Upon removing the valve cover, you need to read the stamping on the rocker arm assembly, and if it falls under the known recall dates, all of the loss motion springs need replaced. I have done about 30 of these so far at my dealership, and I have it down to about a science. Valve clearance needs to be checked/corrected upon reinstallation of rocker arm assembly. I know that the washer fluid tube runs under the cowl, and can be easily overlooked if you have only done 1 or 2. If your engine is noisy after the recall, ask for a competent mechanic to re-lash the valves. If I have a "waiter" LMA recall, I let the car sit on my rack for about an hour to let the engine cool first before lashing the valves to make a more accurate valve adjustment.

Replacing loss motion springs in D or B series honda engines should never change valve lash, unfortunately, in the L series, the rocker assembly in bolted using 8mm thread bolts @ 11ft/lbs, and when reinstalling, changes the lash ever so slightly. I found that using a snap-on digital torque wrench vs. a clicker type makes valve lash far more accurate when reinstalling the rocker assembly. If I use a digital torque wrench, I may have to adjust 3 or 4 valves, and if I use a less accurate clicker type, I may have to adjust every single one. Just some food for thought.