This was my 1st time trying to do the necessary valve adjustments. In my repair manual all the torque spec were listed in ft lbs and then they list this one for the valve cover in Inch-pounds Total screwed me up and I snapped 3 bolts and now I have 3 bolts stuck in the head.

Looks like I need new bolts and a way to get the bolts out going to try one of those extraction kits to get them out.


Found the parts # for the head bolts this might help some other people like myself 2nd gen GE8 # 90013-RGA-000.

I also replaced all the spark plugs and engine coils I'm at 120k. I was noticing some vibration while in neutral and at stop lights I was suspecting I had a bad coil after inspecting all the spark plugs. They all look about the same white tips which usually indicate Lean condition or the cylinder was to hot (not enough fuel) hopefully the valve job makes it all right again.. Can someone confirm the decoding of the spark plugs. Is that just because the values were tight and a bad coil.

All of my exhaust valves were super tight most were .005 -.006 intakes vales were tight too. .004 - .005

 

Good luck, I actually had to replace a bad bolt when adjusting the valves too.

 

Sorry to hear! Common mistake with using torque wrenches! Cheap ones are exceptionally worthless! IMO. 🤔
​​​​​​

 

It's also very important to distinguish between inch/pounds and foot/pounds, a common oversight when people start wrenching. Failure to recognize an inch/pound torque spec will snap bolts every time.

 

You seem lucky to have snapped the cheap bolts, rather than damage the thread in the cylinder head.
Experienced mechanics should be able to extract the bolt remains reliably. If you are lacking experience, consider it getting done professionally.
Good luck.
P.S. Low idle shaking can also be caused by a dirty throttle body, or mass air flow sensor... dirty air filter, clogged EGR system, dirty injectors.

 

Does anyone know what the OE Honda bolts are made of? Are they aluminum bolts going into the aluminum head?

 

Pretty sure they're steel. maybe grade/class 5.5.. it's a blind guess though. I'd run steel 5.5 there if I was replacing them. You don't want anything too hard or you'll run the risk of stripping out internal threads if you bungle stuff a little.

 

They seem to be pretty cheaply made overall. I had the same issue, breaking a valve cover bolt in the head on a V6 Ridgeline, and of course it was the rear head. That one was a sweat-inducing extraction. I had to drill it with a right-angle attachment on my Dremel, and use a reverse extractor. It was tedious. Seem to remember the replacement bolt being about $20 from the Honda as well.

 

A reverse/left hand twist drill bit about 50%-60% the diameter of a stuck bolt will often extract the broken piece with little drama.
GO easey take your time, the bit will warm up the broken piece and a little PB blaster helps.