service bulletin for Rodeo/Passport lifter trouble

From memory, Honda suggests:

1. Changing the motor oil to a 0W30 grade in an effort to allow air to enter the HLA's. If this does not work in removing the problem...

1. Remove the valve covers, rocker shafts/arms, HLAs from the rocker arms and clean with engine degreaser using a paper clip to push in the bearing at the base of the HLA while pushing on the top to pump degreaser in and out of the HLAs in an effort to clean out the varnish. Reload the HLAs with fresh oil, install into the rocker arms in their same positions, and then put the car back together and away you go. Make sure to reinstall all rockers into their same positions on the rocker shafts.

I just completed this very service on my own car, a 1995 Honda Passport, V6

3.2L engine. It took a VERY CONSIDERABLE amount of time, being that I have NEVER done anything this extensive on my own [almost two months total from time constraints, waiting for parts, and the fact that we had a second car and a loaner to replace our out-of-commission Passport.] If I had to do it again, it would take a MUCH SHORTER amount of time, probably over a weekend with all available parts ordered ahead of time.

This work is not hard, but very straightforward. I used a Haynes Manual as a guide for the work, and a very helpful Honda parts/service department staffer was a plus. I was able to get some pretty detailed schematics for the job from them.

Since then I've found a good site thanks to someone in here:

New rocker shafts (when I got inside, they were thrashed) ran me $75 apiece from the dealer. I replaced all four of them. Unfortunately, I didn't check here first about price on those. Found them later for c. $56 apiece through the above website.

Discovered that someone else tried to come before me to fix the "clicking" on the passenger side but gave up after stripping out all the cam shaft bolts (allen type). Those were damned expensive. But, again, cheaper online, if you do this job and happen to run into the same problem, or end up stripping bolts, which is quite easy to do inside the head. Make sure you dig out all the carbon from inside the tops of the allen bolts before you attempt to untighten them, and you should be okay.

I only had a problem with clicking on one side of the head. Just before I put the car all back together, I decided to tear out the driver's side as well and check those rocker shafts. They were pretty bad as well and, although not clicking, Murphy's Law says they'd have started up after I got it all back together. So I did that side a well.

Replaced all oil seals, timing belt, drive belts, valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gasket, plenum gasket, throttle body gasket, thermostat & gasket, spark plugs.

Used Castrol Super Clean (EXCELLENT STUFF) for a degreaser. Bought a solvent tank. Cleaned all parts to brand new look, using the degreaser and an air compressor for blowing out the carbons.

Had a BAD squeal when I got done with the car which I believed was due to the Hydraulic Timing Belt Tensioner which I ended up reloading the hydraulic fluid. Turns out it was only the drive belts which needed a good adjusting to specs.

So all in all it was a great fix and I have gained major gas mileage and a lot of power to the vehicle now that my valves get to open all the way.

I wholly recommend skipping #1 and going straight to #2.

AJPDLA

Found it.