Sorry for huge pic

Be advised that the broken bolt you are attempting to remove is a 6mm bolt
less than 1/4" Easy outs have been known to break. If you get them from Harbor
Freight it probably will break. A broken easy out will multiply your problems. I try
to remove broken bolts with a sharp pointed center punch. It usually works unless
the bolt is rather old or bottomed.

Do you know what the exhaust valve clearance was before you adjusted them?
Obviously you didn't get them adjusted right or the they wouldn't be too noisy.
Yes, they will eventually wear down and maybe make a little less noise. Unless
you have some serious problem it probably will take 100k miles for that to happen.

If you continue to try getting the bolt out and destroy the threads you will need to
use a Helicoil or similar thread repair kit.

How to Repair Threads With A Heli-Coil Insert - YouTube

When you get into that kind of repair you have to insure you aren't drilling into a
water jacket. The You tube will explain the process.

The bolts in the valve cover aren't too soft. You have to use torque based on
several factors, including bolt size, material it's installed in.

Not to be rude, I suggest you take up your dealers offer to fix it. That may turn out
being the least costly way to get out of the hole you are in.

I have been messing around with car repairs over 60 years and sometimes you
have to let someone else get you out of let hole.

In any case, good luck, whatever course you take.

Clifton

a vid of my engine post-valve adjustment
 

Here is a link for a vid I made this morning to record the engine sounds. I've driven it 200 miles since the weekend:

VID-20120321-00026.3GP - YouTube


How does it sound to you? keep in mind my engine has 80150...

also you can see the bolt the broke....I was hoping to extract it at a dealership without them having to take apart everything on top of the Valve cover but no dice....

I am still waiting for my parts to come in but Clifton I wanted to thank you for the advice and for informing me of the bolt size. Bernardi doesnt have its size listed and I need to know this for the thread repair.

I am going helicoil but what size should I use the smallest coils I found at Harbour freight was 13 which I assume are threads for 12mm bolts?!?! I am new to thread tapping...

I saw the video though and it looks straight forward. Definately do not want to drill deep since the threads on the bolt were short. Will practice on some junk at first....

After hearing your video I'm positive your valves are much too loose. That clatter is
not normal and that noise will not clear up. If it's not corrected I believe you will
eventually have excessive wear on the valve components.

You said you set the valves on .18mm and .28mm. I don't know what type feeler
gauge you used, but metric gauges are not too common in the USA, most are
marked thousandths of an inch. Are you in Canada?

The valve cover needs to removed again to fix the problem. I suspect you
actually adjusted your valves to .018 in. not .18 mm. intake and .028 in. not .28
mm. exhaust. That would cause the clatter I heard from your video. The engine
would feel to run a little better in local driving because the increased clearances
make you cam appear to have a smaller duration. Good for low end but bad for
top end.

Clifton

Clifton-

After you last post I went to the basement and confirmed its metric and the sizes I put in were .18mm (intake), .28mm (exhaust).

I believe I may have left the exhaust a bit on the loose side (light drag, little effort to slide it back and forth).

A adjusted two intake valves but perhaps I made these too loose also. My feeler set did not have a .16mm gauge so I'll have to look around for another one or perhaps go tight on the .18mm I have (more effort to slide out).

I'll be taking it apart again this weekend to see.

A lot of people will mince words and not tell you like it is
 

Part of being mechanically inclined suggests that if you find something that far out of adjustment then you need to check your method again! The bolt extraction with r/r of the valve cover should have been a piece of cake. Between the noise and the array of warning lights, I think the car was screaming for you to stay away.

This kind of experience should make you put down the tools and walk away from all things mechanical. :rotfl:

HAAHAHAHA man I'm just keeping it real because everyone it throwing you softballs. I know you can take it like a man. Hurry up and fix it right.
Do you know exactly where you went wrong?

Its all good....I've been on these boards long enough and am surprised it took so long to get toasted a bit....

I ended up taking it to honda, tired of how long and drawn out this is getting plus some other issues I would like to resolve.

I learned some valuable lessons from the experience though...sucks I gotta cough up just under $500 to learn it though....

I adjusted my valves last week and had the same problem. One of the holes where the bolt goes in the head was stripped out and another bolt snapped off on the first turn. I put gasket sealer in the broken one, no problem, but the one that my neighbor made a new bolt for is leaking oil. So now I have to take it apart again as well. So my question is... what’s the best re-thread kit I should buy?

You could always rethread it to a larger bolt or you could put an insert in. I've used timeserts for drain bolts; one of those or a helicoil might be a better option for you than retapping to a larger bolt size.

Thanx so much for the advice, i solved the problem... For now anyway, if it doesn't hold, I'll be back with questions. Lol. Thanx again.

Stick with it, Santiad :D
I'd still like to know what exactly went awry for you with this job. If it was an issue torquing the nuts to secure valve lash, something left disconnected elsewhere, whatever. Don't let it discourage yuh though. I've caused thousands of bucks in damage over the years, broke some bones, lost some meat, and nearly killed a few dudes! It's been a wild ride :popc: