Civic-EG.com Forum 3.3.1

- Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:07 pm #302025 ok so i just did a tune up about two months ago. changed the spark plugs, wires, dizzy cap, rotor.( new dizzy housing would not sit in my car, did not mark the RPM's ether, kept the old one.) and just this weekend it started to misfire and overheat. just yesterday i looked into it and found this in cylinder 1
any ideas as to what could cause this much damage in under 2 months?
also i burn coolant if i drive for more than 10 mins and i let the car sit at idle after for 2 mins or more and then the white smoke comes out the exhaust. could this have caused the spark plug to bad after 2 months? its my DD so i would be helpfull in trying to fix it right the first time

[teal_dx]

- Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:02 pm #302036 Sounds like you have a leaking head gasket and/or a warped head.

Do Not PM me your technical questions. Post them in the forum!
My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage

- Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:01 pm #302051 What he said ^^

- Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:41 am #302070 yeah thats what i was afraid of... its been with us in the family since 2000 or before. we bought it when it salvaged(t-boned on the driver side) we fixed it ourselves or at least my dad did. i was only like 7 haha. since thin it has been in at least 3 other wrecks, mother ran off the road in to a sign, rear ended again and impact was strong enough to cause the car to hit the one in front of it. then recently my dad backed up in to a shell gas sign and f***** up the left rear bumper and some of the tail lights(he was a lil drunk). after the last wreck i became the very proud owner. now im just trying to keep her alive at least. she has been over heated before(stuck open thermo) was the worst of it all. now thought im not sure why she overheated again. i do think the head is warped cuz i tried Autozone and O'Reilly and nether dizzy have worked so far. but of course they are rebuilt and not brand new. still im not sure what caused it to leave cylinder 1 spark plug like this in such short amount of time. it was in warranty so i got "better" plugs, iridium plugs. im going to see how they look this weekend and hope for the best. i will post pics of the plugs once i have them out. its odd though that just cylinder 1 is having the issue. all the other plugs were normal, no abnormal wear, pitting, anything!

original motor/tranny(auto)
has about 230k miles(speedo gave out on me early last year , stayed at 207k)

- Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:46 am #302478 ok well as Teal had said i do have leaking head gasket...just gave out on me today it was fine on the way back from school(30 min drive) but then i went to pick up my check and thats when she blew. went back home and she staled on me and didnt want to start on the first crank.

so not i have to ether rebuild the motor or find another d series and put that in. whats my best bet? would it depend on how the condition of the block if its worth the rebuild or swap? this is the first time ive done anything this so it would be helpful if i could get some input before i go out and start buying parts, or looking for an engine.

- Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:45 am #302479 Head gaskets are easy to swap, I did mine in a little under 4 hours and it was my first time, cost about $150 idr exactly. Just remember to change the Thermostat as they get stuck open. There's a lot of little things to remember to do and not to do other then that the work itself is easy.

My Phantom Hatchyy Build

- Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:14 pm #302495 how many miles did your engine have Wicked? mine has about 225k to 230k miles on it, no motor rebuilt ever that i know of since we have had it. i know im going to find more than a head gasket broken seeing as to how old it is. for one too i have to put premium unleaded fuel to stop this pinging noise, ive been told the pistons could have some carbon buildup which would cause the pre-detonation. plus i havent been able to find a dizzy that would seat properly so im going to have the head rebuilt. plus im going to need new plugs too, but thats going to be free seeing that they are only a week old and still under warranty. ill post pics up later today of how those plugs look like. hopefully not anywhere near as how bad the ones before look like.

- Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:59 pm #302497 had around 160-180 when it popped, Couldn't say exactly as it was under the previous owner and the speedo had already stopped working.

My Phantom Hatchyy Build

- Sat Apr 21, 2012 3:27 pm #302502 yeah my speedo gave out last year so i can only estimate how many miles i have put into her. ether way i know im in for a surprise or two if i replace the head gasket.

- Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:19 pm #303133 By your description of the engine, I would think maybe a new engine wouldnt be a bad idea. I picked up a used d15 where I live for $300, it ran strong for years of abuse I put on it. If it were only a head gasket I would just pull the head and replace the gasket. You could send the head to a shop while its off to get it checked out, then replace the water pump and thermostat too along with a new timing belt.. I'm not sure about costs in your area but here you'd spend almost the same amount of money replacing everything than you would replacing the whole engine. But then again the used engine could fail as well.. at least it'd have a warranty.

Also a good time for a swap. But I know that's a probably a little unrealistic for your situation. Personally I find dropping out an engine/trans easier than pulling the head/changing headgasket. If youre interested, Teal does a good DIY on removing your engine out the bottom so you don't need an engine lift. Its in the DIY list on here

My EG Hatch Build
http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=22106

1993 Civic SI Hatch - project!
1999 Acura EL - winter beater!

- Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:18 pm #303288 well a swap would be great if i could afford it. as for the car well i didnt pull the engine out. i know i know it would have been better but i only had a week to do it all( like 3 days cuz of work and school) i still managed to get the head out with no prob. cylinder 1 was full of coolant and the intake was drenched in oil as well.
all the seals are getting replaced. i tried looking for a low and i mean low mileage d15 and just my luck i could not find one below 200k miles. plus most parts were ether broken or missing. trust me i looked at like 10 different junkyards. most only had one or two on site if that with the shell but i could tell most were front end collisions. one or two had the engines out but how to know the mileage on those so i didn't risk it. like u said eg love they only cost 300 for those engines but thats all i had for the rebuild. luckily that i have a friend in O'reillys that new a guy who rebuilds heads. he should be done today with my head so it should be in by tonite. while i was waiting i had time to paint the valve cover. its a non v-tec but shes all i got so might as well make it look nice right


i wanted to paint the honda emblem red but i dont have the paint yet. plus i srcached the black paint as you guys can tell so yeah its just for now.

- Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:24 pm #303289 i was also tring to find a shop that sells ARP head bolts for the D series but man no one has them. so i had to buy the OEM ones at the Honda dealership right behind my yard i could have walked there in like 5 mins. got those and the intake and exhaust valve guide seals for $115. idk how much for the head to rebuilt but my buddy at O'reillys got his V8 mustang GT heads rebuilt for 120 i think(both heads) so i dont think ill pay more than 100 for my lil SOHC

- Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:18 pm #303370 sounds like youre on the right track valve cover looks good yup make what you've got nice

My EG Hatch Build
http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=22106

1993 Civic SI Hatch - project!
1999 Acura EL - winter beater!

- Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:24 pm #303395 yeah as of now shes put back together. i post a pic later but i need to redo the timing. i tried to jump start it last night and it just cranked but didnt start so i double checked everything and it was all good. did it again and it still didnt start. so i thought i might have put the dizzy in 180* forward. i pulled it off and advanced it and tried again and it coughed to life! but it was way off in the timing so i shut it off. idle was about in the 200 rpm zone. now i got to time her again. here are some pics that i managed to snag.
you can see the carbon buildup from years of driving










no more carbon!



Just one thing... what are the torque specs for the rocker are assembly? i did 27 ft lb in the center 4 bolts and 17 on the outer ones.

- Tue May 01, 2012 1:55 am #303429 also how would re time the motor with the new head? i seem to have it a lil far to advanced or retarded. not far enough to damage it but just enough to have the engine idle rough. i dont want to have to take the whole motor out seening as i dont have the proper tools so yeah im going to take the more difficult path haha