In this episode of Inside the Brands, we share a tip that could save you money when repairing Honda VTEC solenoids.

If you work on Honda vehicles, you’re no doubt familiar with Honda’s VTEC variable valve timing technology. It’s a great system and very reliable, but on poorly maintained or high-mileage vehicles, the VTEC system can sometimes get gummed up and start to malfunction or leak.

One cause is that the mating gasket for the solenoid has a screen that gets clogged and needs replacement. This is a readily available gasket and a common repair.

Unfortunately, this does not always fix the problem since there is a second gasket inside the VTEC solenoid. If this gasket fails, you may or may not see the leak as it could be leaking internally. To correct the issue, the only alternative from the dealer is to replace the entire solenoid because the internal gasket was not widely available until now.

Now, instead of having to buy a complete solenoid for around $400, you can just get an AJUSA-brand gasket set — which includes the mating gasket as well as the internal replacement gasket — saving you time and money on the repair.

The AJUSA part number is #01156005 and it’s for the 3.0 and 3.5 liter V6 engines found in 2005 to 2007 Accords, 2005 to 2007 Odysseys, and 2006 to 2008 Pilots.