Valve Stem Seals

[Howlinator]

I'm about to tackle a change of valve stem seals on my '09 2.2 i-dtec. Anybody have tips, photos, videos or write-ups? Looking to do it without removing the head, if possible.

 

[Richard B]

I have not done this on a diesel, but on one of my petrol motors I inserted a length of clean rope into the cylinder via the spark plug hole, in order to press the valves into the valve seats at near TDC. The alternative I read was using compressed air, again via the spark plug hole. You could possibly rig something up to insert air via the injector hole?

I constructed a jig (a bent steel plate with some slots cut in) that would compress the valve springs by screwing the plate down using a camshaft retention stud. The collar retainers jumped loose onto 2 neodymium magnets positioned on both sides of the slots, to catch and especially not lose, these rather small bits of metal. This worked really well.

It was a lot of mucking about, but it made a hell of a difference to the motor. I read later that there are valve spring compressors that work on non-removed heads. I have no idea how they keep the valves from falling into cylinder though.

 

[Howlinator]

I can't seem to get the cam shaft that is connected directly to the timing chain off. I removed the tensioner, but it doesn't allow enough slack to slip the chain off. Is it possible to do without removing the whole engine?

 

[Richard B]

Are you using the workshop manual for the iDTEC engine? The camshaft removal procedure should be in there. Perhaps one of the cam drivewheels has to come off (guessing).

Accord VIII Service Manual / Workshop Manual / ESM on Windows 11

Hi all. Quick tip to get the Electronic Service Manual (ESM) working on windows 11. Link to the ESM - this will not work on anything other than Edge browser or Internet Explorer Windows 10 or earlier. To get it working on Edge browser on Windows 11 (or earlier) do the following steps. 1. Open...

typeaccord.co.uk

 

[Howlinator]

Are you using the workshop manual for the iDTEC engine? The camshaft removal procedure should be in there. Perhaps one of the cam drivewheels has to come off (guessing).

Accord VIII Service Manual / Workshop Manual / ESM on Windows 11

Hi all. Quick tip to get the Electronic Service Manual (ESM) working on windows 11. Link to the ESM - this will not work on anything other than Edge browser or Internet Explorer Windows 10 or earlier. To get it working on Edge browser on Windows 11 (or earlier) do the following steps. 1. Open...

typeaccord.co.uk

So, I finally got everything back together yesterday and after a bit of bleeding airlocks and some persuasion, I got the car started and it's running smoother and quieter than before and no white smoke on start-up.

I managed to tackle the job without removing the head or the timing chain. I did have to detach the timing chain sprocket from the camshaft, in order to remove that camshaft. I kept the timing chain and sprocket tensions with some cable ties.

I used the rope method to fill the cylinders and fashion spring compressors by drilling holes at several different distances on 2 spanners, to line up with the cam cap bolt holes. I used a nice big magnet to float over the spanner head as I ratcheted down the valve springs, so as not to lose the keepers and a small flathead screwdriver to carefully put them back in place after the seal was changed on each valve.

Replacing the seals was actually the quick part (about 5 minutes per valve). Stripping everything down to get at the valve springs took much longer than it should, as everything is just a little awkward to get at (eg. Removing the rocker cover is a little impeded by the air con hose, the bottom bolt on the brake vacuum pump is buried, etc).

I'm glad I tackled the job myself, as the seals only cost me around €20 and I'm sure if I took it to a mechanic they would have insisted on dropping the engine out to do the job and charged me over €1000. I also leaned a lot about the engine by having to figure it all out myself.

Why is there so little info or photo online of this engine? I tried to Google every combination of "8th Gen Accord", "2.2 i-dtec", "n22b", etc. I ended up doing everything with no user manual and zero help from YouTube or any forum pages.

 

[F6HAD]

I think you genuinely might be the first to ever tackle this. Well done.

 

[Richard B]

The lack of info is probably due to the quality of the engine. It has only been in the past year or so that this forum has started to accumulate a fair amount of questions about the iDTEC engine. I guess that up to now they have been fairly trouble free for most people, the exception being DPF issues.

For the internet in general, compared to the K series petrol engine, the generation equivalent Honda diesels were sold in low numbers only. They were UK/EU market focused cars (later also India), at first because Honda didn't have an automatic gearbox for it (complete non-starter for the US), and later because the engine was never adapted to the very popular Honda Odyssey.

 

[Howlinator]

So, since doing the valve stem seals, I'm occasionally getting an engine warning light along with the car going into limp mode, usually while cruising above 100kmph. When I connect the ODB2 reader, I'm getting P00AF, which is a faulty turbo actuator reading, I believe.

I hit erase, turn the car off and on again, the warning disappears and no more limp mode. It is happening quite frequently though. Am I looking at a sticky wastegate or what and is it just a coincidence that it's happening just after doing the valve stem seals? Is it a result of the car having been of the road for over a month?

Anybody who has had any experience with this fault code your input would be very welcome.

 

[F6HAD]

common issue normally tied to blocked vanes caused by dpf blockages. I have however seen a split vac line cause it so check your vac lines from the actuator carefully to make sure they’re not pinched or split especially if it’s only happened after reassembly.

 

[Howlinator]

common issue normally tied to blocked vanes caused by dpf blockages. I have however seen a split vac line cause it so check your vac lines from the actuator carefully to make sure they’re not pinched or split especially if it’s only happened after reassembly.

I resolved this issue with a Turbo Cleaner Spray. I don't think it was directly related to the valve stem seal job, but possibly became an issue as the car was sitting up for a while when I was doing the seals. Maybe just coincidence though.