lingerbw

Well guys, I'm coming to the pros for some advice. I just discovered that I blew a head gasket on my 95 Accord EX. My question: is this a do-able repair in my driveway, or is it a MUST to have a lift and air tools? I just changed thermostat, upper, lower hoses, flushed coolant and refilled (and purged at thermostat). That's when the white smoke appeared accompanied by white gunk on the oil fill cap, and a rough running motor. Drove it home and there it sits. Any thoughts?

Also, should I install a higher compression gasket or just stick with OEM? Any other internal parts that I should upgrade while I have this thing torn apart? I plan to stay N/A, but will eventually have fuel, air, and exhaust mods. What internal mods would be worth my time and money and what would be a waste?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or thoughts on my situation. Have a nice day.

AwwsChwA

Head gasket is a very doable job. You won't need air tools, just a good set of metric sockets, a breaker bar, torque wrench and the standard assortment of other tools. Oh, and the service manual. Definitely gotta have that.

Just stick with an OEM head gasket. An aftermarket gasket won't raise compression enough to make a difference. You'll want to do another coolant flush when it's all done of course. If you've already replaced the thermostat and hoses, you should be pretty much set.

I'd highly recommend taking the cylinder head to a machinist to have the valve seats ground and everything checked out. When my CRX blew its head gasket, I took the head in, and for 200 bucks the machinist did a 3-angle valve job, replaced all 8 exhaust valve guides, checked for cracks and inspected the entire rocker arm train. For another 50 bucks he would have given me a complete gasket set, but it was a generic gasket kit, and I've been bitten in the arse by cheap parts, so I spent the extra dough and bought a Honda head gasket kit.

powrtrippin

Could he use a MLS (Multi-Layer Steel) gasket? I know Mr. Gasket and Felpro both make one and I have heard good things about them. i.e. their ability to flex under high temps without cracking and leaking. Is there anyone who has some experience with them that could provide some feedback?

lingerbw

Well, I have the Helms and have looked through the procedure. Seems pretty cut and dry, I just haven't ever done any in-depth engin work like this. I do the work on my car.... just not like this. So, follow the Helms, use hand tools, and bring the head to a machine shop.

Also, what is a 3-angle valve job? I don't want to look like an idiot, or get taken for a ride at the machine shop.

Thanks.

AwwsChwA

haha...don't worry, the only people who look like idiots are the ones who don't ask questions, and try to do stuff purely by guessing their way through it. No one learns anything without questioning, right?

Ok, to answer all the questions:

A FelPro or MrGasket multi-layer steel gasket will work just fine for a stock to mildly-built engine. It's probably cheaper than a factory gasket, too. But, also keep in mind that Honda sells their cylinder head gasket kits with a head gasket, so if you just get that kit from Honda, that will include every seal needed to overhaul and reinstall your cylinder head.

A 3-angle valve job refers to the angles on the valve face edges and inside the valve seats. You'll see what I mean when you get the head off the engine. Look at the valves that are open (at least 2 will be, cuz the cam will hold them open), and look at how both the valves and the circles that they sit in have angles cut into them. Those are the angles that a machinist will recut, and there are 3 of them. The valve face and valve sealing seat have a 45-degree cut, and there are two other angles cut into the valve and throat to allow for good air flow. The angles vary, your machinist will know what's intended for the head.

The Helm book is the Honda bible, so you'll be fine with that. You seem to know your car already, so this won't be any problem. Just take your time, and if necessary, draw diagrams or take pictures of how stuff fits together. I've done that before, it makes reassembly lots easier if I get bolts mixed up or something like that.

Hope this helps, let us know if you have more questions :thumbup:

lingerbw

Thanks a lot, you are being a big help. I plan to take video of the tear down as it looks like you have to take a lot of stuff out. I will "go to the video" for the reassembly. I will attempt to keep all the bolts organized as I pull them off. I'll look into the head gasket kits from Honda, too. I'll post back when I get started and probably ask a few more questions too! Thanks.

sphinx054

your getting great advice on your head gasket problem. just be very careful with torque specs. be sure to torque your head evenly and correctly when puting it back on. as for mods to do im tired of seeing all of these little riceboys adding all of these performance parts on their cars without reenforcing anything. i plan on using nitrous on the motor(H22A1) im putting in a 1986 honda prelude and i have been critisized by a member of my auto class claiming that no honda motor can take nitrous. you have to reenforce alot of stuff before doing major mods like that. nitrous is great for that sudden boost without having all of that boost all of the time even when you dont need it. plus nitrous is much cheaper than supercharging or turbocharging.

lingerbw

I am resurrecting this post. :thumbup: I am about to get started and I have another question on the machine work. Is it worth the money to have the head ported, polished, or both? Intake ports, or exhaust ports, or both? I have Greddy 4-2-1 ceramic coated headers which will be installed on reassembly. AEM cold air intake is in place and will stay in place. Any comments are welcome. Thanks.