I am getting ready to service my 06 rancher and I am going to adjust my valves myself, I have a servicemanual, a torque wrench, and some feeler gauges. I have done alot of engine work but I have never worked on a small four stroke. I have some questions and also I would appreciate any tips or advice.

When I line up TDC how will I know if the valves are for sure open or closed and if I should turn the engine one complete turn, I know it says to to see if the rockers have slack in them but I dont want to screw this part up. Will the rockers be rock solid (no movement) if the valves are closed?

Should I leeve the feeler gauge inserted while tightning to make sure I dont get them overtightened?

Should all the oil be drained before doing this? Or will it not come out when I remove the plug for TDC, and the cylinder head cover?

Will I need a new gasket?

Should I let the dealer do this or learn to service my own bike?

Could me doing my own adjustment give me problems down the road if I ever need warranty work done (I have a 3 yr warranty)?

 

You are on the right track. I did my own adjustment and it is very easy. The longest part will be taking the plastic and gas tank off. I reused the large o ring type gasket on the valve cover and haven't had problems. The oil doesn't need to be drained to do this. When you hit top dead center the valves will have considerable play in them compared to when the valves are open. The dealer told me i should have had them do the service since I too have the extended warranty but if you carefully read the warranty book it says that it is not required to have a Honda certified shop service the quad as long as the service is documented. Just be careful not to overtighten the valve cover!!! It might be taking a risk but I try to do all my own servicing and just get the parts from the dealer so i have a receipt with a date. Saves a lot of money!!! I called to check on the first service and for a few simple checks and an oil change it was around $200.

 

You have all the right tools.

You need to find the TDC after the exhaust valves close while turning the engine in the direction it rotates. There are 2 TDC's with a 4 stroke.

I usually slip the feeler gauge in and out as I tighten the nut. You will have to start it a little loose to get it where you want it when the nut is tight. The reason for that is as you tighten the lock nut you tighten the valve clearance a little too.

I would check for that info in your manual. the head wont leak but the TDC plug might.

You may but it could have a o-ring.

I would do it yourself. If you have any trouble you can come here for more tips, or. You can always take the quad to the dealer taken apart. It would probubly be cheaper with the plastics removed anyway.

I would just keep a record of the date, and clearance before and after the adjustments. (if you need to make adjustments)

 

Do it yourself. (you probly already did).

And yes the rockers will move considerably. If you are in opposite TDC they will be rock solid and won't wiggle at all.

Done mine twice so far (04 rancher)

My dealer charges over 200 dollars for a basic service that includes Valve Adjustments. When I bought my 2004 I got the extended to with two free services. The first time they serviced my ATV they didn't put the thing back together right. one of the bolts that hold the gas tank in was only screwed in half way, they didn't tighten the Intake Tube to the AirBox right. And they did a crappy valve job. When I checked the valves (cause they were loud) I could Almost stick TWO .006 Gauges on top of each other into the valves.

Crappy job. The second time they did alright though. Still ended up doing valves again half way through Last summer though.

 

Nope havent done it yet, my torque wrench is to big and I have to get one that will go down to a smaller torque. Also my feeler gauges dont go down to .006 inch have to try find some that will but I am having a hard time locally. Auto tool don't work on atv's[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I will be getting them in the next week or so when I am in a bigger city.

 

I have a shorter model, and maybe there is one listed else where, but the following is a good quality (not professional grade) torque wrench from SK. It will go down to as low as just over 2 ft. lb.s and up to just over 20 ft. lbs. That price with shipping is about 55% of retail price.


SK Torque wrench 25-250 in.lbs.

I have one, bought just for working on my ATV's and mini bikes. Works very well.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...BSAA%3AUS%3A11

Just purchased this for 39.99 and from what I have looked it cost 69.99 at home depot and Husky looks to be a pretty good tool with a lifetime warranty. It goes 25-250 in lbs and will cover about any application on my rancher exept for the big nuts which my other torque wrench will. Anyone have opinions or use Husky tools.

 

Yeah Inch Pound is the Best for ATV all you have to do is know how to convert it. I believe its X12 what ever the inch pound number is.

Inch pound goes down real far, even for that Pesky 7 FTLB Oil Filter Cover LOL.

 

Dont really need to convert my chilton manual list about everything in in lbs.

 

If anyone above mentioned it, I missed it. But, there is a window for locating TDC. If you look over in the area where your right foot would normally rest, near where the pull rope is, you will see a chrome plug with an Allen wrench fitting. Remove this plug (and the spark plug so the engine is easy to turn). You can turn the engine with the pull cord to locate the "T" mark. I think you hit the T mark twice - once with the valves closed and one with them open. When they're closed, you should be able to wiggle both rockers.

At least two chain auto parts stores had feeler gauges with .006 locally - O'Reilly's and Autozone.

The valve adjustment itself is very simple. Removing the tank, etc is a PITA, as it's time consuming.

I reused the gasket - will probably change them next time just for peace of mind.

Rodney