2007 Santa Fe Maintenance

I have a 2007 Santa Fe 3.3L. One of the items in the glove box was a
booklet called Maintenance Log. Several of the items listed aroused my
attention. The first is Valve Clearance, which is supposed to be
inspected at 60,000 miles. Since a lot of parts have to be removed from
the top of the engine to actually "inspect" this item, I would expect
the cost to be considerable. I asked the service manager at the dealer
what this inspection involved and his reply was, essentially, "these
things last a long time and may never need service, so all we do at 60K
is listen to the engine running and if we don't hear anything, it's ok."
I hope he's right.

The second item is "Fuel Tank Air Filter", which is supposed to be
inspected at 15,000 and replaced at 30,000 miles. If this refers to the
fuel filter which is located on top of the fuel tank, I think it might
be rather expensive to replace, since access requires removal of the
second row of seats, which is attached with a lot of bolts, etc.
Otherwise, what the heck is a fuel tank air filter?

Am I being overly nervous, or are we in for a serious monetary shock
when we take these vehicles in for routine maintenance in a few years?

 

Normally if the valve clearance changes, it will increase due to wear
and you wind up with a valve tap. Most newer engines have hydraulic
lifters that don't require periodic adjustment -- if something gets
out of spec you wind up with the aforementioned tapping sound.

You've got me there -- possibly a filter on a vent line?

I think you'll find that the 30,000 and 60,000 mile service tends to
be expensive on most late-model cars, particularly at dealer service
departments. You can save some money if you have a good independent
shop available. Just be sure to document everything for warranty
purposes.

 

I hope he is right also. Here is a partial prodedure from the
HMAservice.com site

VALVE CLEARANCE INSPECTION AND ADJUSTMENT


NOTE
Inspect and adjust the valve clearance when the engine is cold (Engine
coolant temperature : 20°C) and cylinder head is installed on the cylinder
block.
1.. Remove the engine cover.
2.. Remove air cleaner assembly.
3.. Remove the surge tank.
4.. Remove the cylinder head cover.
a.. Disconnect the ignition coil connector and remove the ignition
coil.
a.. Disconnect the breather hose(A) from the cylinder head cover.
Loosen the cylinder head cover bolts and then remove the cover(A) and
gasket.
b.. Set No.1 cylinder to TDC/compression.
a.. Turn the crankshaft pulley and align its groove with the
timing mark "T" of the lower timing chain cover.
Check that the mark(A) of the camshaft timing sprockets are in straight line
on the cylinder head surface as shown in the illustration.
If not, turn the crankshaft one revolution (360°)


NOTE
Do not rotate engine counterclockwise

· Using a thickness gauge, measure the clearance between the tappet and the
base circle of camshaft.
· Record the out-of-specification valve clearance measurements. They will be
used later to determine the required replacement adjusting tappet.
Valve clearance
Specification
Engine coolant temperature : 20°C [68°F]
Limit
Intake : 0.10 ~ 0.30mm (0.0039 ~ 0.0118in.)
Exhaust : 0.20 ~ 0.40mm (0.0079 ~ 0.0157in.)
a.. Turn the crankshaft pulley one revolution (360°) and align the groove
with timing mark "T" of the lower timing chain cover.


NOTE
Do not rotate engine counterclockwise
a.. Check only valves indicated as shown. [NO. 4 cylinder :
TDC/compression]. Measure the valve clearance.

I see the air filter at the top of the filler neck on the Sonata, but I
don't see it listed on the Santa Fe component blowup. The tank air filter
is different from the fuel filter. I've not looked at mine yet and it is
too damned cold to run out tonight to check.

If you don't have one yet, sign up for a free account at www.hmaservice.com
Lots of good information there. Be sure to check the Site Requirements and
get the SVG viewer from Adobe (also free) so you can see the photos and
drawings.

 

The valve lash system in use on your Santa Fe is little different from
that which Hyundai has been using on many of their engines for some
time now. I cannot recall a case when I’ve seen one of these engines
require a valve adjustment due to normal wear.

I believe they’re talking about the canister filter. If I recall
correctly, it must be accessed from under the vehicle and requires a
significant amount of time and effort. I doubt any service
department’s maintenance schedule will include this. Nothing serious
will happen if the filter gets clogged. Your check engine lamp will
turn on, and you may have difficulty fueling your vehicle. I say have
it diagnosed and repaired at that time. It’ll probably wind up saving
you money in the long run.

My guess is that this item is included in the maintenance schedule to
remove any doubt as to whether it’s considered a maintenance item.
That way, if you have a problem because of the filter, it’s clear that
it’s your responsibility after 15K miles.