I did not need any special tools for the valve adjustment (or belt tension adjustment). All went pretty much according to the manual. 12-mm socket to loosen the nut, 12-mm wrench to hold it in place while the screw is adjusted using a screwdriver, socket to tighten the nut again, normal straight feeler gauge set (less than $5 at any part store). New gasket set went on very easily, after I finished cleaning all the old crud off the cover and the head.

I assume the B18A1 engine has a different head from the vtec engines, so that probably accounts for the need for a special tool and for angled feeler gauges.

What was interesting was that the exhaust side was in spec, but the intake side was not. Not sure if that is normal for this engine.

Unfortunately it made no difference in the noise... :happysad:

I noticed that the team integra article on valve adjustment does not list the same valve clearance spec for the B18A engine as on page 6-4 of the Honda B18A1 manual, so there is a possibility it does not make as much difference as I thought anyway...

Valve adjustment:



Gasket Replacement: