valve adjustment for my civic was about $150 canadian. the v6 is probably a little bit more.

 

Actual valve adjustment on our car should cost around $1,200 or so, depending on the hourly rate. The reason for this is the shim and bucket arrangement on our valves. True service where each valve is inspected and correct shims added in place, requires removal of the cams on both cylinder banks, which is why the labor cost is so high.

I would be willing to bet money that the dealerships charging $75 to $200 for this service are only pulling the vehicle into the bay and listening to the engine running to determine if the valves are running quiet or there are any noises and calling that an adjustment.

 

I would think if a quality oil is being used, real valve adjustment won't be needed until 100,000 miles or more, and by then if your going to the trouble of pulling the cams, you better do new timing chains/gears and a water pump while your in there.

 

$1200 is steep! guess i'll have the sell the genny by then and be thankful that i got lucky with the civic.

i had new cams and springs installed and the valves were super loud. they had my car overnight to have a cool engine, and then they would insert the valve adjustment tool into each valve to correct the clearance, turn the engine over for the other 2 cylinders.

long story short, they did an actual adjustment. but i am lucky to have a great mechanic & service adviser

 

$1200 to adjust your valves??Most 4 cylinder motorcycles use a shim and bucket design. And i can guarantee they are more complex to work on than a genesis coupe. Your talking $150-$200 to do a bike. So perhaps at the most $400 to do the Genesis. If you pay $1200 to get your valves done......i have some swamp land to sell you cheap.:grin:

 

To reiterate - I'm talking about checking the valve clearances, not adjusting them.

That entails removing the engine cover, the engine side cover, the air cleaner assembly, the surge tank, the cylinder head cover, and sliding a feeler gauge between the valve & seat 24 times.

I just hope the dealer doesn't just open the hood and listen to the valve train and charge me for it, but I wouldn't put it past them.

I know the valve design requires removing the cams & timing chains and is big bucks, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I really don't think there's a problem with the valves, I just want to prevent the dealer from denying a power train warranty claim later based on a failure to maintain the car.

I'm just trying to do the 60k maintenance items (including replacing the antifreeze, manual tranny & differential fluid [I live in the mountains so its on the severe service schedule] and inspecting the valves) as cheaply as possible.

Surely some of you '10,'11, & '12 owners have had this done?

 

I had my 60,000 miler done about a month ago. No problems and I had just had the oil changed a week earlier so I could make a long weekend trip, so I passed on the OC at the insp. After a 10% veteran's discount they charged me a grand total of $326.42 USD. I have the ZF trans, and they said to wait on that and the coolant flush till 100,000 miles. They changed the diff. oil, but not sure if they checked the valves, though now at 64,000 miles, they are quiet. So not worried here. I have had numerous OH cam engines, that went well over 100,000 miles with no valve adjustments. Keeping the oil changed regularly helps that to be the case.

 

again, did the exact thing with the civic, at 100k miles, and then when i installed my cams...only $150 each time.

wish i asked my service manager when i saw him today, he would've given me an honest price and i would've passed along the info to ya

 

This isn't a Civic or a Corolla. Checking the clearances is quite doable though a bit of a pain. Unlike Honda and Toyota you pretty much have to take apart the top of the engine to change the shims inside the buckets. And re-check...and maybe do it all over again.

Is your engine running smoothly and fairly quiet? Do you keep up with your oil changes? I had over 170k miles on my Stealth and it ran great...and I never did a valve clearance check on it. So the risk paid off in that case. I am at nearly 68k miles on my Theta and it runs and sounds good. At around 100k miles I may consider checking the clearances myself to see where the engine is at. I am not hard on the engine so the odds likely favor me.

 

We need to be careful when thinking that just because valves are nice and quiet that all is well. When using shim under bucket valve clearance the valves tend to get pounded into the head more because of heavy valve springs. This causes the clearance to disappear and keeps valves from closing all the way and in turn causes part of the valve to burn, but they run nice and quiet. My experience has been mostly with high performance motorcycle engines but the GC cams run right over the top of the valves without using rockers just like high performance MC engines but maybe the GC doesn't use as heavy valve springs.

Hyundai recommends 60,000 mile valve checks but the longest I have seen in MC engine is 26,500 and most MC engines need to be checked at about half of that mileage. On some BMW bikes the computer keeps track of your driving habits and then tells you when you need to have your valves checked, maybe Hyundai could do something like that and then we wouldn't have to worry about how many miles before a valve check.

 

Interesting. Thanks for the information. The question is has anybody on this forum actually done the clearance check?

 

Doesn't the factory service manual mention that the check at 60,000 miles is simply listening for valve train noise and / or vibration? and if noted then proceed with adjustment if needed?

in other words, they are listening for it.

On most vehicles with mechanical lifter buckets that are available in various sizes for valve adjustment, it is primarily wear that leads to the need to perform adjustments, which leads me to believe if you are very good with your oil changes and use quality oil this will not be something that is needed until well past 100,000 miles.

There are several site members with well over 100k miles on their 3.8 without any valve adjustments performed. Their cars are still running just fine.

Just to clear up any misconceptions people have in comparing this engine to previous vehicles, here is a picture of what our lifters look like pulled from a Hyundai animation of the 3.8 GDi engine, known as Lambda.

The lifter bucket IS the adjustment shim, this bucket rides directly on the camshaft, and drives the valve and spring up and down directly from the cam lobe. These surfaces are liberally lubricated from the oil being pumped and sprayed throughout the valve cover area as well as passages in the camshafts. There is no adjusting these without removing the camshafts which is why the cost is much higher than regular shim and bucket or lock nut configurations. That being said, they don't get out of adjustment other than by wear, and looking at the design I highly doubt they would get tighter at all, only looser through wear.

All this being said, I am not an automotive engineer, but this is my take on it through logic and reason. I am not worried about my valve lash at all, considering I run full synthetic oil according to the factory service interval of 7,500 miles without exception and have done so since vehicle was brand new.

 

The bucket is not the shim, there is a shim that sits between the bucket and the valve stem and that is what you change to adjust the valve, this is called a shim under bucket system. There is also a system called shim over bucket system not used much because of problems with shims slipping out of place at high RPM's but I believe you don't have to remove the cams just depress the valve a little to change shims, the other common system is of course screw adjuster in the rocker arms. Most heads now are aluminum with steel valve seats, what happens is the valve with a heavy spring slams shut and after a time the steel seats tend to be pressed deeper into the soft aluminum head. They don't get pressed in very much but you don't have a lot of clearance to begin with specially on the intake valve, when this happens the clearance tightens up and could eventually become critical. I don't think you have a lot of wear in the valve train system we have either but in my opinion the problem is the valve seats being pounded deeper in to the soft head and decreasing valve clearance.

 

Sokay......This thread is a surprise to me, with the advent of hi performance hydraulic lifters I had been seeing far fewer of the shim on top or bottom of the bucket and the bucket became in essence a hydraulic lifter. I built, repaired, adjusted many of these engines of other makes and is Not a job for the any less than maticulate. You make your measurements carefully and then you also measure your shim as just because it has a value printed on it does not mean it is Exactly that size. This is not so bad if your shim is on top of the bucket but you pull it back apart if it is under..
Put this job back together even one tooth off may be more trouble than it's worth.
Yes depending on the engine you can hear a bucket ticking or an engine running rough.

TJ

 

The manual says listen at 60k for excessive valve noise. There are no shims. You must buy the proper sized bucket for valve adjustment.

I wouldn't worry about it until somewhere around 150k miles.

 

Are you sure? I recall looking into this using the factory manual. I might be confusing this with other DSM engines, btw since I watched some YouTube videos on all this. I thought there were shims that went inside the buckets and I seem to recall the factory manual referencing shims. You can remove and replace or add shims. When I saw the whole timing chain had to be removed to pull the two cams out I thought....nah.....

 

Yes look up the part. The buckets are ~$17 each and come in different sizes.

T= thickness

Part 22226C

22226C 2222625046 TAPPET
(2000 CC - THETA FR, AUTO - 5 SPEED 2WD, DOHC - TCI/MPI). T=3.675 $16.94 2222625046

22226C 2222625203 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.030
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.030 $16.94 2222625203

22226C 2222625204 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.045
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.045 $16.94 2222625204

22226C 2222625205 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.060
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.060 $16.94 2222625205

22226C 2222625206 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.075
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.075 $16.94 2222625206

22226C 2222625212 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.165
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.165 $16.94 2222625212

22226C 2222625213 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.180
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.180 $16.94 2222625213

22226C 2222625214 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.195
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.195 $16.94 2222625214

22226C 2222625215 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.210
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.210 $16.94 2222625215

22226C 2222625224 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.345
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.345 $16.94 2222625224

22226C 2222625226 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.375
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.375 $16.94 2222625226

22226C 2222625228 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.405
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.405 $16.94 2222625228

22226C 2222625230 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.435
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.435 $16.94 2222625230

22226C 2222625234 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.495
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.495 $16.94 2222625234

22226C 2222625238 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.555
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.555 $16.94 2222625238

22226C 2222625239 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.570
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.570 $16.94 2222625239

22226C 2222625242 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.615
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.615 $16.94 2222625242

22226C 2222625243 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.630
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.630 $16.94 2222625243

22226C 2222625244 TAPPET
2.0L-THETA FR, 5AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.645
2.0L-THETA FR, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI-TCI . T=3.645 $16.94 2222625244

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe CAMSHAFT & VALVE (2.0L-THETA FR)

V6 part numbers.....

22226C 222263C030 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.030
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.030 $18.27 222263C030

22226C 222263CAA2 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.030
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.030 $18.27 222263CAA2

22226C 222263CAA3 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.045
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.045 $18.27 222263CAA3

22226C 222263C060 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.060
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.060 $18.27 222263C060

22226C 222263CAA4 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.060
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.060 $18.27 222263CAA4

22226C 222263C075 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.075
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.075 $18.27 222263C075
22226C 222263CAA5 TAPPET

3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.075
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.075 $18.27 222263CAA5

22226C 222263C090 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.090
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.090 $18.27 222263C090

22226C 222263CAA6 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.090
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.090 $18.27 222263CAA6

22226C 222263CAA7 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.105
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.105 $18.27 222263CAA7

22226C 222263C120 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.120
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.120 $18.27 222263C120

22226C 222263CAA8 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.120
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.120 $18.27 222263CAA8

22226C 222263CAA9 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.135
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.135 $18.27 222263CAA9

22226C 222263CAB0 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.150
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.150 $18.27 222263CAB0

22226C 222263CAB1 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.165
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.165 $18.27 222263CAB1

22226C 222263CAB2 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.180
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.180 $18.27 222263CAB2

22226C 222263CAB3 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.195
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.195 $18.27 222263CAB3

22226C 222263CAB4 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.210
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.210 $18.27 222263CAB4

22226C 222263CAB5 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.225
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.225 $18.27 222263CAB5

22226C 222263CAB6 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.240
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.240 $18.27 222263CAB6

22226C 222263CAB7 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.255
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.255 $18.27 222263CAB7

22226C 222263CAB8 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.270
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.270 $18.27 222263CAB8

22226C 222263CAB9 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.285
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.285 $18.27 222263CAB9

22226C 222263CAC0 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.300
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.300 $18.27 222263CAC0

22226C 222263CAC1 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.315
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.315 $18.27 222263CAC1

22226C 222263CAC3 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.345
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.345 $18.27 222263CAC3

22226C 222263CAC4 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.360
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.360 $18.27 222263CAC4

22226C 222263CAC6 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.390
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.390 $18.27 222263CAC6

22226C 222263CAC7 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.405
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.405 $18.27 222263CAC7

22226C 222263CAC8 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.420
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.420 $18.27 222263CAC8

22226C 222263CAC9 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.435
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.435 $18.27 222263CAC9

22226C 222263CAD1 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.465
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.465 $18.27 222263CAD1

22226C 222263CAD2 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.480
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.480 $18.27 222263CAD2

22226C 222263CAD3 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.495
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.495 $18.27 222263CAD3

22226C 222263CAD5 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.525
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.525 $18.27 222263CAD5

22226C 222263CAD6 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.540
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.540 $18.27 222263CAD6

22226C 222263CAD7 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.555
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.555 $18.27 222263CAD7

22226C 222263C570 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.570
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.570 $18.27 222263C570

22226C 222263CAD8 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.570
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.570 $18.27 222263CAD8

22226C 222263CAD9 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.585
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.585 $18.27 222263CAD9

22226C 222263CAE0 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.600
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.600 $18.27 222263CAE0

22226C 222263C015 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.015
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.015 $30.81 222263C015

22226C 222263CAA1 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.015
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.015 $30.81 222263CAA1

22226C 222263CAC2 TAPPET
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6AT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.330
3.8L-LAMBDA, 6MT 2WD, DOHC-MPI . T=3.330 $30.81 222263CAC2

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe CAMSHAFT & VALVE (3.8L-LAMBDA)

 

I seem to recall an engine with differently size buckets but cannot remember for sure,
The plus side would never have to worry about a spit shim but would be more expensive.
Also what ever you do NEVER stack or grind on a shim. Have seen too many problems with people trying to get by and then wanting to hot rod it.

TJ

 

Wow, ouch!... thankx Red....
Std practice is to never swap buckets on lobes so think about a valve job where u have to replace more than a few..... yes u can measure and try to put everything back into the same place, sometimes it's just not possible...
Actually surprised the parts are not more expensive..

TJ

 

The hassle is you have to tear everything down and then measure what you have and then do the math then get the buckets. On the Taurus SHOs I had they had the shim on top but then you needed special tools to get the shim out without taking the cam off.

But you can still check the clearance with just taking the valve covers off.

 

i had a dealership tell me that our valves were "self adjusting"

 

Thanks Red. I stand corrected and that's good. Good input from the others too. It looks like... you might be able to unbolt the cams from the gear/timing assembly and pull them back out. I think if I have the engine that long I won't mind a rebuild. Until then I am not going to worry about this.

 

I think my '08 Accent has the same setup with the buckets. Would not surprise me to see the same part numbers for them too.

It looks to be pretty involved to measure the buckets so hopefully when you check the clearance they are all in spec.

Spec for the 2L and 3.8L are Cold 20C, Intake 0.17-0.23 mm, Exhaust 027.-0.33 mm.

 

It was good to find out about the buckets. I am old school and have and still only deal with rockers. Aside from that I am not to worried about needing an adjustment considering I only run pure Syn and at every 5k. Plus I already calculated it would take me 7 years of routine driving to reach 60k, and my car will be traded before then.

 

WMUNN, I stand corrected, you are right about the bucket being the adjustment part of a GC valve system. I have never seen that before but like I said my experience has been mostly with motorcycle engines. It sure would be cheaper to replace shims instead of a bucket if you needed adjustment.

 

Just to jump in with info to back up @Red Raspberry

Each valve can and likely from the factory has a different size bucket, during normal wear the inside of the bucket can get worn down and new buckets need to be put in to make up for the clearance difference, or the opposite from the valve seat and margin getting worn, which you would do the opposite of my instruction below

NOTE the 2.0 does not come with shims the only adjustment you have is cutting new valves or buying different size buckets

tools needed
rachet
breaker bar or torque wrench
10mm socket
12mm socket
14mm socket (only if the head is not attached/on engine, as you'll turn the cam over by the main crank not the cam bolt)
22mm socket (for the damper bolt on the 2.0)

valve clearances
2.0 allowed lash is 0.10~0.30mm on intake and 0.20~0.40mm on exhaust and the green zone/spec is 0.17-0.23mm intake, 027.-0.33mm exhaust
3.8 i have no idea but if you have the shop manual it will tell you

The procedure for checking this clearance begins by exposing the cams/buckets and then using a feeler gauge normally around $10 at ace

checking each valve while turning over the cam/engine so the valve is in the fully up position, i should mention you can turn over your engine without fear of damage as long as the transmission is in neutral and the battery is disconnected and the e-brake is on

Then by attaching a large socket to the main damper bolt(not sure of size for 3.8 but 2.0 is 22mm) with a long handled ratchet/breaker bar then slowly turn the engine over until each cam is in the collapsed state(valve up) then you slide the gauge using a 0.30 on the intake and 0.40 on the exhaust between the top of the bucket and cam until you reach one that the gauge will slide in between the cam and bucket, this means the valve lash for this valve is at the max allowed 0.30 intake and 0.40 exhaust.

ideally you would want to check total clearance which requires a bit more work per each valve as you would need to find the largest gauge you can fit between the cam and bucket for each valve and write that down so at some point later in time you can use that as a reference point to the next time you check the clearances.

If you find one that has a clearance greater than the allowed lash then you need to figured out what size bucket you need to buy, do this by taking the max gauge size for that valve and add that to the size stamped on the inside of the bucket then minus the minimum lash 0.10 on intake and 0.20 on exhaust and that will give you the size bucket you need, now if that size is say 3.440 then you would need to get the next size smaller(3.43) as not to exceed the minimum and maximum recommend lash clearances but be as low as possible but within range, next purchase the correct buckets and make sure you write down which buckets you will be replacing with what size new bucket when the parts arrive so when you take the cams off you know which ones you are working on so you don't have to do all the measurements again.

once the parts arrive the process is the same to expose the cams however you will also need to drain your oil and remove the front cover and everything along with it so belts, pulleys likely some coolant stuff and you will have to redo the timing chain(pretty simple as everything is marked with dots), but it's a pretty intense amount of work which is why some dealers will charge you $2500-4k to replace and cheapest i've seen them do the "check" is around $500-1000 as i believe the book calls for 4 hours on 2.0 and 8 hours on 3.8

Photos with explanations

This bucket needs to be replaced NOTE: (it doesn't really need to be replaced on this head as this head was already fully built and checked, i just used a smaller gauge to show you in a photo what a bucket that needs to be replaced looks like when the gauge slides all the way between the cam and bucket)

this one is fine, however it could be getting close so make sure you check it with a gauge smaller than the maximum as if it's within say .05(0.25) then i would go ahead and replace this bucket as well.

pull the 10 bolts (BTW the cam tower bolts are single use bolts as they stretch so i highly recommend you get ARP part#128-1001, otherwise you will likely shear a head off when torquing the bolts back down to factory specs)

now the buckets are exposed

pull the bucket that needs to be replaced (it slides right off the valve/retainer cap), you may have to use a pair of channellocks as these little guys get slipper from the oil in the head, but be very careful not to score or bend the bucket if it's to be reused and you just felt like taking some of the others off. If you do this be sure to keep track of which bucket goes to which valve as it MUST be replaced back on that specific valve!!!!

The bucket size is on the inside of the bucket this one is 3.240 and say we added 0.30 = 3.540 - 0.10 = 3.44 the size closest to our needed size is 3.43 which will give us a lash of 0.11

complete shop book specs and instructions(except it doesn't say how to check the lash on the cam/bucket)
http://www.williamworley.com/genesis/head/2.3 Engine Mechanical System - Cylinder Head Assembly.pdf

I hope this helps someone who may not understand all the clearances and measurements, and sorry if i goofed any numbers as always refer to the shop manual as the exact specs are always there and with minimal tools and measuring devices you can figure out how to do almost anything on your engine given the right understanding.

 

Nice job Badboy Bill, much appreciated.

 

As Kyle from South Park would say, "I learned something today."

Thanks BadBoyBill.

 

Now we have some good information on this

I would also feel confident betting that 95% of these cars will never see an actual valve adjustment during their service lifetime, needed or not. This will in turn lead to a lot of engine failures between 100k and 200k miles.

This will lead to the car being in the junkyard, or rebuilt heads, depending on how badly the owner wants to return the car to service with high miles on it.

 

True, but it depends on the life the engine led. As I said earlier, my Stealth had over 170k miles on the clock and I used to see it while commuting to and from work once in a while after I traded it so it was a local sale. I am sure that car hit over 200k. To your point if you get to the point of replacing the timing chain then this is not a lot of additional work since you are there already. Not going to worry about it.

 

If doing this int he car Hyundai has a special bolt to lock the timing chain in place. Then you take the chains off the cams.

 

You have any more info on that, as i know on the 2.0 this is not the case as you have to remove the entire chain and mainly the chain tensioner guides and tensioner and reset the tensioner after the timing marks are matched and the guides are back in place as the tensioner has a pushback stop which keeps the tensioner at a constant pressure/point as the guides wear down and are required to be at a certain point

2.0 timing chain tensioner

 

It's in the Hyundai Service manual under

2.0 Engine Mechanical System - General Information.

Right after the compression test specifics.

 

if your referring to "Insert the SST(A) (09240-2G000) in the service hole of the timing chain cover and release the ratchet." then thats not going to keep anything from moving, that simply allows the tensioner stop to float forward and backward as opposed to normal operation where it only moves outward, but if you have remove the cams you will have to remove the entire front cover to redo the timing, theres no other way to get the timing correct as the cams and the sprockets on the cams are very tight fit and you would be risking a whole lots of parts getting messed up if you did it any other way.

I've built 26 of these engines so i have a pretty good understanding of how it goes together, but if i've over looked a process i'd surely love to know about it.

 

I have had customers bring back cylinder heads of these types with bent valves telling me I screwed up the valve job, when they had assembled the heads on the block, installed the cams and then turned the cams to get it into time!!!! They did not understand that every thing had to be in time and stay that way. Some of the valves were bent enough to Crack the guides.
All of these type engines are a fine little instrument and one must be meticulous.

Thanks for the pics BadBoy!

TJ