Valve lash/clearance adjustment? 3.8l

[username411]

Just bought a v6 sedan and was searching for a few weeks now so see the cost $$ of this adjustment. My car has 76k on it sounds like they need to be adjusted manual states to check and adjust clearance at a 60k. I've been to 2 dealers near me one didn't even know it had solid lifters the other could not even give me an estimate... Does anybody know the cost of getting this done? Any help would awesome.

 

[homeofstone]

My guess is from 200 to 300 dollars. It takes some time to carefully check and adjust each valve (24 valves I think).

 

[username411]

Intake manifold, plugs, valve covers, cams all have to come out I assume it is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 and up. No way it can be done for 200-300. Thanks for the reply though. Anyone else actually have it done?

 

[Mark_888]

Just bought a v6 sedan and was searching for a few weeks now so see the cost $$ of this adjustment. My car has 76k on it sounds like they need to be adjusted manual states to check and adjust clearance at a 60k. I've been to 2 dealers near me one didn't even know it had solid lifters the other could not even give me an estimate... Does anybody know the cost of getting this done? Any help would awesome.

My 2009 Owner's Manual says to "Inspect for excessive tappet noise and/or engine vibration and adjust if necessary." I interrupt that to mean that if there is no excessive tappet noise or engine vibration, then it is OK and does not need to be adjusted.

Maybe the wording for the newer GDI V6 models is different.

 

[homeofstone]

Intake manifold, plugs, valve covers, cams all have to come out I assume it is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 and up. No way it can be done for 200-300. Thanks for the reply though. Anyone else actually have it done?

The v6 is a DOHC engine so only the valve covers need to come off, and the lash is checked at the cam rocker arm. I have done many adjustments on 4cyl engines of similar design, and its not that difficult.

 

[username411]

Thanks for the replies. But still looking to see if anybody has done or had it done to the 09 3.8l.

 

[NJTom]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread. Has there been any updates on this? Has anyone had the valves adjusted?
Over the weekend while the intake manifold was removed (changing the plugs), I looked down at the valves. They looked good. I noticed no carbon build up; they were just a little brown.

 

[balfor]

The reality is very few owners will actually adjust the valves on these solid lifter engines. Most people will keep running it even with a slight tick and by the time it gets really bad the car is propbably ready for the junkyard. These solid bucket-type lifters are pretty robust and can last the life of the car assuming the oil is kept reasonably maintained.

The check is actually fairly easy, the valve covers have to come off but that is about it, you can then get a feeler gauge between each bucket and the cam. Checking alone maybe only $300-500 or so. The cost comes if you actually have to replace a bucket, to get to them the cams have to come out and that means the font cover, timing chain, water pump, and so on need to come off. Figure $1,500 and that assumes they even do the work and do it right.

I have a v6 also and have researched this issue. I plan to leave it alone up to about 100k and then possibly check the valves myself just out of curiosity.

 

[dougmcp]

Considering the valve adjustments for this engine require the use of shims, it's highly unlikely they are too tight, leaving the only alternative... too loose. If you are not having a valve train racket or at least a ticking I wouldn't bother. If I was really curious I would break out the stethoscope and have a good listen.
I did a quick search here and there seems to be no one I could find who has had it done and based on your dealer's comments, not many others have had it done either.

 

[Mark_888]

Figure $1,500 and that assumes they even do the work and do it right.

I would not trust Hyundai dealer mechanics to do this right, and they probably would make it worse.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!