Honda Prelude Forum - PreludeDriver.com

I am having a random misfire on my 98 prelude. so far i have changed plug wires, plugs, distributor cap, cleaned erg valve, changed fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator and still get a misfire. After finally admitting to myself that i am defeated, i took to honda and paid $98 to get a diagnosis. They determined that i probably need to do a valve adjustment because it sounds loud, if that does fix it i would have to do a leak down test. A total of $481. I was watching a you tube video by preludedriver on adjusting the valves but i couldnt tell if the smaller end of the valves were pointed upwards when he got to the 3rd valve. could anyone confirm for me if the valves should only be adjusted with the smaller portion turned up. The valve is kind of a tear drop shape. I just want to make sure before i attempt this.

The youtube video from PreludeDriver about valve adjustment shows how to adjust the valves on a 3rd generation Prelude (1988-1991). Your Prelude is equipped with VTEC, so the procedure will be different, but similar.

When you say "tear drop shape", I wonder if you're referring to the lobes on the camshaft. In which case, the hump of the lobe should be pointed away from the rocker slider when you perform the adjustment.

Also, before you go tearing the engine down to find the source of the misfire, I would double check to see if you get an error codes from the ECU. Instructions are here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=318