So got the cam in today! then after i got everything checked and drove off into the sunset, i got in it and hit 2nd(first pulled great!) engine lost all power and i pull over. check a few things blah blah blah, a hour and a half later, i pull the valve cover off and then find half of my valve keeper floating in the oil.
soo now i dono wut to do, this was my only car and i have no job... fucking super.
Ill have pics of said keeper that i pulled out...
what happened? maby someone on here is near you and can help you,i hate this for you,after being so careful. are you talking about the valve retainers? did they all come off? what did you adjust or remove?
yea the valve retainers, just one intake on #1.
im pissed and sad... and dono wut to do...
I only touched things involved with the new camshaft, via haynes manual. I read over it 5 times and had it next to me the whole time, then even had a teacher watch over my shoulder the whole time, and if i wasnt working on it the car was locked up.
is the valve ok? or is it bent? if it's not bent, turn the crank until the valve is most of the way up and use a valve spring compressor and put on a new retainer. if you get it most of the way on on that cyl, use a rubber band to hold the valve all the way up,lower the piston some,now feed some nylon rope into that cyl ,leave the end hanging out, now bring the piston up a little more until you feel some pressure on the rope, this will hold up the valve while you compress the spring and install a new retainer. see if someone on here will send you a spare retainer from an extra bad cyl head or something.Originally Posted by TheDarkRacer
^^ yea ill bet taking it to the shop tomorrow and hope it isnt bent. It really doesn't look bent.
how much do u think a new valve retainer is? Id just be happy getting a new one.
oh man dark. that sucks. not much at all.
200+ ALL MOTOR LS VTEC
yup, it blows monkey dick.
What cam profile was that you wound up getting?
valve retainer came off, well to be honest it would be impossible to do this unless you have a broken spring, the only scenario i can think off is that you revved it so high and hard that the valves floated for a split second and the valve spanked a piston the shock of which caused the collet in the retainer to come off. Is the rocker tappet still the same clearance if it is the valve isn't bent then what you need is a compressor and then a tool to fit into the spark plug hole, this will compress the piston and valve allowing you to push down on the retainer with a socket and try and pop the other retainer that came out back in.
But if the clearance of the tappet on the rocker has increased compared to the others then the valve is definately bent may only be a little bit but you'll loose compression and the head will need to come off and new valve put in. I'm sure someone will have a spare you can have. If you decide to stick with that cam i would suggest getting some carbed 2nd gen prelude valve springs from a non CVCC head 85-87 are good with them in there instead they are great for high revving will take 8k rpm no problems. Some A20 engines have quite weak springs fine for stock engine but anything more higher or quicker revving valve float is pretty easy to occur especially with a 272 degree cam or higher.
Another thing maybe you had your valve timing off a little and thats whats made things worse by the sound of you saying you had very little low end power with your cam and rest of the engine staying stock should be ok low end i know my prelude is and thats only a 1.8 not 2.0 very driveable low end and just goes mad when you hit 3.5k to 7.5k rpm.
Damn Tim sorry man, I know youve been waiting for this for a while....best of luck to getting it fixed and if you need any of my help let me know.
1986 Honda Accord Lx-i
~~NGK~~Silvania~~MSD~~Pioneer~~MSW~~Bosch~~DC Sports~~115WHP 116WTQ
hmm just had a thought maybe if you get a big enough metal bar through the plug hole and get it underneath the valve you could use that to hold it in place enough so that you can push down on the valve spring and try and pop the retainer back in place. I find it very hard to believe it just came out by itself something must have happened to it for it to come out it's just not possible i've used these honda retainers on all my builds and they have all done 8k rpm and even 10k rpm when my mate miss shifted a few times by accident and never had any pop off or anything else break the springs were beefed up a little but with stock retainers and collets.
^ I wouldnt use a metal bar....I would just use some rope. Ive used rope before when i was replacing my valve stem seals and it works fine.
1986 Honda Accord Lx-i
~~NGK~~Silvania~~MSD~~Pioneer~~MSW~~Bosch~~DC Sports~~115WHP 116WTQ
were the tappet clearances readjusted after the cam was installed? If so what were they set at? any rockers damaged
easiest way that ive done valve seals on a car without a special retainer tool, i made a air line piece that i put in place of the spark plug, although i do also use rubber bands and twine so that the valve doesn't drop
The rocker may have wondered off of the valve stem, either from a missing or misplaced spring/spacer on the rocker arm shaft, or it got pushed off to the side during reassembly. Check that everything is in its proper place.
If this is the case, I highly doubt you bent a valve.
Last edited by LX-incredible; 01-14-2009 at 04:47 PM.
88 LX-i coupe auto (241K DD), 88 LX-i coupe 5-speed, 89 SE-i coupe auto.
CARDONE SUCKS.
if you don't want to use air the rope trick works like a charm. you put it in with the piston just below tdc then bring the piston up until it puts pressure on the rope, the rope won't hurt anything in there or cause any scratches,
Blah, ill have to look to see if the spring broke, it was dark when i found the retainer and i was pissed so i just closed the hood and pushed it in a gas station parking lot. But yea i had a 272 cam i just put in. I readjusted the valves my self, checked 3 times, and once i started it up, i had a teacher listen to the car and he gave me the okay.
I would guess i was at 6.5 6.8k somewhere in that range, ive done it before, no prob with the stock cam. I really dono how this happened.
If worse comes to worse, and the valve is bent and piston is fine, I might go to the JY, pull a head, get a few valves and prelude springs. Hopefully ill be selling some more tools this week to get some cash and ill spend all day monday working on it. I really need a car...
Luke u have a phone?
Thanks for all the words ppl.. I'm still hoping for the best.
Edit: To lxi, im pretty sure a rocker arm didnt wander, i saw them shift when i had the whole assembly off and made sure they were on point. Im ocd when it comes to working on parts of cars you cant fuck up. If i dont like it i wont do it at all.
Edit #2: So i checked Rock auto for prices and a valve and new springs is like 20 bucks before shipping, wut a bitch if 20bucks is wuts fucked up...
Last edited by Tdurr; 01-14-2009 at 08:23 PM.
Thought I gave you my card lol. Anyway I pmed you my number. I have a feeling you wont find the prelude springs....Ive looked. XD Youll find plenty of a20s though if you need a valve.
1986 Honda Accord Lx-i
~~NGK~~Silvania~~MSD~~Pioneer~~MSW~~Bosch~~DC Sports~~115WHP 116WTQ
just sayin its easy to use and it worked great for me
it is possible some of the keepers moved a bit during the assembly and adjusting process.
Another way of saying what happened could be "dropped a valve" (?) which is a result of a high rev & valve float.
I hope you dont have too much damage.
there are plenty of A18 here for those springs....
exactly which prelude springs are those? what year? are they oem? we have a great engine building shop here that can get most anything, i'm going to check into a set of those.
sooo i looked today, was quick cuz i had to sell some more tools, and it looked like the valve is still all the way up.... so I'm assuming its either slightly bent or full blown fucked. Ill find out tomorrow for sure. A small mirror + flash light will let me know wuts up....
Good deal. Hopefully nothing major happened.
1986 Honda Accord Lx-i
~~NGK~~Silvania~~MSD~~Pioneer~~MSW~~Bosch~~DC Sports~~115WHP 116WTQ
How things coming bro. you get it torn apart again.
200+ ALL MOTOR LS VTEC
Didnt get anything torn apart, just got it pulled to the shop. Sat at a gas station for 2 days lol.
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