The valve train on your Honda equipped with the 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine is an overhead cam design. As the lobe on the camshaft rotates, it moves the rocker arm and opens the valve. In this design there are no lifters or push-rods to dampen movement or flex. This is a much more efficient and durable design compared to an overhead valve design like the ones used in many V-6 and V-8 engines.
Start the engine and let it run until normal operating temperature is shown on the temperature gauge on the instrument cluster. Turn the engine off.
Remove the 10 mm valve cover nuts using a wrench and lift the valve cover from the engine. Remove the 10 mm bolts that attach the upper timing cover to the front of the engine using a socket and ratchet.
Remove all four spark plugs using a 5/8-inch spark plug socket, ratchet and extension. Lay the spark plug wires out of the way so they won't get oil on them during the adjustment.
Turn the engine counterclockwise, until it is at top dead center (TDC) on the number one cylinder compression stroke, using a socket and ratchet to turn the crankshaft bolt on the front of the engine. When the timing marks on the front of the camshaft sprocket are lined up with the edge of the cylinder head and the "UP" arrow is pointing up, number one cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke.
Slip an .008-inch feeler gauge between the valve stem and the rocker arm. Loosen the 10 mm adjusting screw lock nut on the number one intake valve rocker arm using a wrench. Tighten the adjusting screw with a small screwdriver until there is a slight drag on the feeler gauge and tighten the lock nut while holding the adjuster screw still. Repeat the process on the number one cylinder exhaust valve using a .010-inch feeler gauge.
Rotate the crankshaft 180 degrees counterclockwise until the timing marks on the camshaft sprocket line up with the cylinder head again. Adjust the valves on number three cylinder in the same manner as number one cylinder. Rotate the crankshaft 180 degrees and adjust the number four cylinder valves. Rotate the crankshaft 180 degrees one final time and adjust the valves on the number two cylinder.
Reinstall the front timing cover. Reinstall the valve cover using a new gasket. Start the engine and test-drive the car.
