Just got done tearing my head off of the block to replace the head gasket and this is what I found. Is this bad or good, the cylinder walls are smooth with no gouges or wear marks.
I’ll be finishing up this project tomorrow with reassembly, valve adjustment, adjusting the timing, and regapping my spark plugs.
Is there anything in particular that i should do while i have the head off?
looks like it was burning oil by the oil residue on the pistons… The carbon buildup however is normal. The oil burning is probably from bad valve seals, but it could be a few things
i think my headgasket has been qoing for quite some time, could that cause the burning of oil and the drinking of antifreeze?
shoot man, good job! if i were you, id do the rear motor mount while its that easy to get to!!! ASAP
i also have another question, those metal cylinders, you know the ones that go between the head and the block, where can i get some of those? My engine only had two of them.
Dealership, auto parts store?
Those “metal cylinders” you are referring to are actually called dowels. You are only supposed to have two, but if they were damaged you can get them from the dealer or any shop that works on hondas. Shit we have a bucketfull of them thangs…
you should probably cover the space around the cylinders where the coolant is… you wouldnt want to drop anything in there and clog a passage. when i did the HG on my bro’s civic, i shoved some rolled up paper in there around the cylinders. i also had to scrape burnt gasket off the block and head with a razor so i would have got tons of shit in there… just a precaution, i dont know if you’re supposed to do that. :think:
I knew they were dowels but i couldn’t think of the name this morning.
Yeah Burnt gasket is yummy. I’ve already put some rolled up shop towels down in there. I plan on flushing the engine block while it’s torn apart. I checked all the valves seals and they’re all sealing perfectly, I think the oil on the pistons was from removal and the leaky HG. Unfortunately i can’t put everything back together today, cause work won’t let me off. I won’t be able to do reassembly until friday. I’ll make a run to the parts store tomorrow. Where is the suggested placement for the two dowels?
sorry so many questions this is my first engine HG.
If you DO stuff things like paper to avoid things from falling in – remember to pull them out before reassembly… 
My co-worker did some head work on his SHO and forgot to pull out the towel he used for the oil pick-up hole… The motor definitely did not like not having oil! :uhoh:
lol, it’s kinda hard to miss all this white shop towels stuffed inside the block. another question. As i was removing the injector plugs, they started leaking gas, do i just retighten or do i need to get new seals and seats?
get new washer from the dealer. i had same issue and tried to reuse. bad mistake. leaking fuel like crazy. they’re one time use crushed washer.
Ditto on new injector seals, good investment.
So far it looks allright. You might as well use some parts cleaner on a rag and try to wipe away most of the carbon on the pistons. I also reccomend a new timin belt. Good luck!
yeah i plan on getting some cleaner and a scotch pad and seeing what i can get off of the pistons. The timing belt was replaced by the car dealer that i bought the car from, it’s practically brand new with only 20,000 mi on it. Hmm…what else?? :think: i think that’s all for now.
looks like ur gonna need a new pcv hose too
yeah that’s one of the hoses that i plan on replacing
somethings wrong with my piston rod. pistons fine tho.
haha
hmmm…looks ok to me