ENG: F22 Spark Plug Tube Seal Replacement

[xtr91accord]

i just had to have new spark plug tube seals and some other thing, dont remember what he said! but yeh, with the new ignition system it works pretty well, and now i dont have oil all in my new msd wires and ngk plugs

[FishyMan]

u guys think i can get by with just using a ft/lb torque wrench? verus an in/lb?

i can't seem to find the in/lb ones..

[FishyMan]

i went ahead and removed the valve cover, really dirty, i am wanting to clean it w/ castrol super degreaser (purple bottle) ?? good idea?? then clean the grommets and stuff.

meanwhile, i am not sure how to rotate the camshaft? my t-belt is still on.do i need to remove the dizzy cap as well? sorry noob questions, but finally getting my feet wet. boy were the gaskets brittle..

[Backfire32]

ok if you want to replace the lower tube seals and you leave your t belt on the car, have any of you had problems with the timing trying to go off when you remove the rocker assembly with someone else holding the cam down? just curious cause i want to change the lower seals but i don't want to go through with the pain of removing the tbelt and readjusting the timing on the car.

[FishyMan]

i dont think u need to remove tbelt.

my problem is trying to ROTATE it to TDC. i dont have a 19 MM for th PS. and the cam pulley has 2 - 10mm things holding it down. i can't get the one near the ATF stick GRR... i guess i'd have to take the side motor mount..

anybody can suggest or hint me how to get the 2-10mms out? one of them sucks.

[wed3k]

i dont think u need to remove tbelt.

my problem is trying to ROTATE it to TDC. i dont have a 19 MM for th PS. and the cam pulley has 2 - 10mm things holding it down. i can't get the one near the ATF stick GRR... i guess i'd have to take the side motor mount..

anybody can suggest or hint me how to get the 2-10mms out? one of them sucks.

umm, just buy a 19mm socket?

it was hella easy for me when i did it and no you dont have to take out the timing belt nor does it fuck up the timing because you take the cap off not the whole dizzy.

oh and you just convert the in to ft-lbs for the torque wrench, kinda forgot which way though, lol.

[FishyMan]

ya i gotta pick up the wrench..
cam is blocked off w/ stupid cover. one of the bolts locking me in.

someone told me that i dont need to even touch the dizzy at all..??

socket won't fit..i got some but oddly they too big.. 19 mm wrench should be cool

thanks..

[FishyMan]

edit.. i finally got the thing off. i guess the unexpected stuffs get to you..
anyhow. i'm going to torque it down tomorrow and adjust the valves...

[supernoob]

I love this thread. Thanks to the OP for putting on here.

I have just finished doing this procedure, but I think I have screwed it up. My car started right up and proceeded to warm up to idle speed, then OIL light comes on! I shut it down, check the oil...good level, check leaks...nothing obvious, check torques on the valve cover...good. So I restart and the oil light comes on then the car shuts down. Sh*t. I did not replace the spark plugs though, I hope this the reason, but oil light? No oil in the spark plugs anymore.

Recap, set engine TDC, removed rocker arm assy, replaced lower seals, re-installed rocker, adjusted valves, replaced valve cover spark plug seals and gasket, replaced cover nuts and new seals and torqued. I feel I did this right, but I am perplexed by the oil light and stalling out.

I am going to change the spark plugs and wires tomorrow, let's see what happens. Any ideas as to what is wrong?

[supernoob]

Update:

I didn't have much time to mess with it today, but I drained the oil, topped it up, changed the plugs and cranked it up. Still getting an oil light, flashing at first, then solid. I shut it down, then looked for leaks. I think the valve cover is not sealed right. Might be the gasket, the acorn nut washers? I removed the cover and checked the valve clearances, all off! Regapped and left the cover for tomorrow.

I think oil is still leaking into one of the plugs (#3). I am not sure if the seals under the rocker arm have had the chance to warm up yet because of the oil light leading to precautionary shut down by me. I am going to reseal the cover tomorrow and cross my fingers. Last thing, I did find a good amount of sludge in the engine which I cleaned out carefully. I am thinking about flushing the oil from the car a couple of more times. I never had oil light problems before sludge or not, just the no start and plenty of oil in the plug wells.

Later.

[FishyMan]

this is wierd.. doesn't oil light coming on mean something like NOT enough oil pressure? or not enough oil?? i had low oil b4 but light didn't come on?

i don't think the tube seals will or should affect much, the fact is, the OTHER seals are the ones leaking?? it took me 2-3 tries or so for the valve adjustment, but i don't think this will cause the light, if anything the TICK is VERY noticeable, though a tad looser is better than tightening over board.

i had choke sludge and carbon but i did what i can, didn't wanna have free floating carbon and etc. im gonna change my oil too since i just did this job 1-2 months ago. haven't changed it yet.

good luck.

[supernoob]

Hey thanks Fishy for the reply.

I readjusted the valves checked the seals on the valve cover and resealed the valve cover. Cranked up the engine, oil light came on after 3 or 4 minutes accompanied by a drop in rpm and near stall. I shut down and checked the valve cover, the gasket had blown out in the front corner near the distributor! What is causing this? HELP gurus.

Tomorrow or Sunday, I will redo the entire job. I am going to remove the oil pan and check the screen too. Can you check the oil pump somehow without removal?

Help me guys, I need a happier ending to a terrific auto that I have lovingly enjoyed for 12 years.

Thanks.

[HondaFan81]

Just wanted to clarify to everyone that you do NOT need to put Hondabond or any RTV/silicone sealant on the spark plug tube O-rings for them to seal better. They do a fine job just putting a light coat of oil on the O-rings and installing them. I just checked the 90 Accord EX that I did this job on for this DIY & photos and it's been 25,000 miles since then and there is NO oil leaks. My previous statement was a false alarm, it must have been residue oil left over from when the seals were leakin before this job was done.

Anyhow, I edited all my posts and the DIY to take this into account.

[edge130]

BOLT removal sequence should be opposite of install sequence?

By reading this wonderfull POST here, I think something needs to be clarified (atleast for me)

To me, it seems the instructions tell you the opposite of what should be done.
I'm talking about the bolt removal sequence vs. the bolt install sequence.

I'm a little confused by what is suggested and what is actually shown here.

In POST #1:

"Step 3: Rocker arm removal and seal replacement

1- Have an assistant hold down the transaxle end of the camshaft, then loosen the camshaft bearing cap bolts 1/4 turn at at a time. Starting with the #3 cylinder loosen the two exhaust side camshaft bearing cap bolts. Loosen the bolt on the intake side of the assembly behind the spark plug tube. Repeat for #2 cylinder, #4, #1, and then loosen the cam bearing caps at the end #1 cylinder end of the head behind the cam gear. Finally loosen the 2 bolts at the #4 end that are closest to the distributor. DO NOT REMOVE THE BOLTS COMPLETELY FROM ROCKER ASSEMBLY."


STEP 4: Rocker arm assembly reassembly

1- Replace rocker assembly.
2- In the reverse order of loosening, tighten rocker assembly bolts. The smaller 6.0 x 1.0 mm bolts need to be torqued to 108 in-lbs, and the larger 8.0 x 1.25mm bolts to 16 ft-lbs.

But in POST #43, "Rocker Arm Assembly Torque Sequence Diagram",Note: Thanks to wb7h - Mike for scanning this for me, I didn't have my Helms manual on-hand";
The diagram shown, is titled 5.9- TIGHTENING sequence for the rocker arm assembly bolts", is just about the same sequence as described for the bolt remolal sequence! Yet it step 4, it says "IN THE REVERSE ORDER OF LOOSENING"

Can anyone oplease clarify!

Other than that, a truley helpfull POST!, great pictures to go along with everything!

I need to perform this procedure on my 92 Accord.

[HondaFan81]

By reading this wonderfull POST here, I think something needs to be clarified (atleast for me)

To me, it seems the instructions tell you the opposite of what should be done.
I'm talking about the bolt removal sequence vs. the bolt install sequence.

I'm a little confused by what is suggested and what is actually shown here.

In POST #1:

"Step 3: Rocker arm removal and seal replacement

1- Have an assistant hold down the transaxle end of the camshaft, then loosen the camshaft bearing cap bolts 1/4 turn at at a time. Starting with the #3 cylinder loosen the two exhaust side camshaft bearing cap bolts. Loosen the bolt on the intake side of the assembly behind the spark plug tube. Repeat for #2 cylinder, #4, #1, and then loosen the cam bearing caps at the end #1 cylinder end of the head behind the cam gear. Finally loosen the 2 bolts at the #4 end that are closest to the distributor. DO NOT REMOVE THE BOLTS COMPLETELY FROM ROCKER ASSEMBLY."


STEP 4: Rocker arm assembly reassembly

1- Replace rocker assembly.
2- In the reverse order of loosening, tighten rocker assembly bolts. The smaller 6.0 x 1.0 mm bolts need to be torqued to 108 in-lbs, and the larger 8.0 x 1.25mm bolts to 16 ft-lbs.

But in POST #43, "Rocker Arm Assembly Torque Sequence Diagram",Note: Thanks to wb7h - Mike for scanning this for me, I didn't have my Helms manual on-hand";
The diagram shown, is titled 5.9- TIGHTENING sequence for the rocker arm assembly bolts", is just about the same sequence as described for the bolt remolal sequence! Yet it step 4, it says "IN THE REVERSE ORDER OF LOOSENING"

Can anyone oplease clarify!

Other than that, a truley helpfull POST!, great pictures to go along with everything!

I need to perform this procedure on my 92 Accord.

Follow the diagram....do exact directions to tighten...then reverse that order to loosen.

Again, follow the diagram.

I also went back and updated all my posts, changed some things and was more detailed. So read back if you haven't lately.