I was perusing the owners manual for the 96 I just bought and in the service intervals page it says to inspect valve clearance every 60 k miles. At first I was astonished that it doesn't have hydraulic lifters but I guess its not unheard of. Has anyone here had to adjust the valves on a 1.5L?

 

98 used adjustment shims on top of a solid lifter. I doubt they need adjusting but if they do the procedure is pretty time consuming. Check them with a feeler gauge and write down each one. Remove the cams,measure each adjustment shim and use a thicker shim to get the correct clearance. Reassemble and recheck clearance. A good decarbon like Techron in the gas tank once every 2 months should be all it needs though. The Millenia required a valve adjustment every 60k too but paid 24 hours to do it so nobody every adjusted the valves on them either,they had no issues from lack of a periodic valve adjustment. Keep it decarboned and forget it.