Buy a Snap-On or BluePoint 10mm (for B18C1) valve adj tool and youll never have to worry about it again.

Be careful taking the VC off and the gasket should be fine, depending on its condition. You usually wont have to replace it, but scope it out for tears when you take the VC off. Also make sure you put it back on correctly, with dabs of that red grease (the name escapes me right now, maybe hondatech can chime in) only on the flat spots of the gasket.

Adjustments are cake after you give it a couple shots. Definitely worth the price of the tool to be able to do it yourself.

 

it's called Hondabond ht, it's grey though not red. It's kinda expensive, like 20 dollars a tube. it's basically rtv sealant. At the factory Honda school they made us tighten the valves more than the spec and then check the cyl. with a compression gauge to see what happens to the cyl. when the adjustment is too loose or too tight. It's pretty interesting.

 

can you elaborate on it a bit that sounds interesting

 

well try it for yourself, you will learn alot more than me explaining it.just pull off your valve cover and check your compression with a valve too tight or too loose.

 

heh...one day when i get bored