civicxxman

I just purchased a 1989 crx hf with a blown head gasket. the car has 123,000 miles on it and still started when I bought it. The strange thing is when I pulled the head off it appeared to me that the gasket had already been replaced. The reason for the failure was over heating so I suspected the head was warped but after checking it with a straight edge and feeler gauges the head was not warped.

I am going with a head gasket from honda for the new one and I hope it does not leak. has any one had problems with cheap head gaskets failing on them? I also am replacing the water pump and timing belt even though the belt looks brand new.

and my second question is to change the head out on the 8v head to a 16v head I would have to change the pistons as well. I noticed only 2 relief cuts on the pistons. some one correct me if I am wrong....

thank you for all of your help

bagpipe goatee

Get the gasket for a d16z6 (92-95 civic ex) or a d16y8 (96-99 civic ex), whichever one is cheaper. The dealership by my house uses the z6 one on all 88-91's. It will slightly bump compression, but more importantly, it's the all metal type. This type is more reliable, however, you have to clean the mating surfaces better.

Also make sure you replace your head bolts with new ones.

Edit: also, check your block with the straightedge/feeler gauge. Blocks (sleeves) can also crack supposedly through simple overheating, but I've never seen it.

civicxxman

thank you how about the head swap?

crxricer66

you will have to change the pistons to componsate for the extra valves. also wouldnt be a bad idea to hook up a better intake manifold becasue the hf one is small and restricts flow. gl

asiandude15

yup (above)

bagpipe goatee

If you're looking for performance, you should just change out the whole motor. There's no performance potential in an hf motor.

If you're looking for fuel economy, you should keep the motor all stock (except the different headgasket I mentioned, but that's different.

civicxxman

I am not looking for performance. I am looking for options in case the head ends up being bad. for the time being this is my wifes daily driver. I plan on changing the motor to a turbo charges d16 when she finishes college.

civicxxman

thank you for your help I am headed to the dealer on monday and picking up the gasket

bagpipe goatee

let us know

civicxxman

here are some pics of the head and block all cleaned up they just need to be blown out wiped down and bolted down.

StorminMatt

Those pictures bring up a good point. Something like a Scotch-Brite disk it quite capable of grinding away aluminum. If you (or someone before you) used something like this to clean away the old gasket, it is VERY possible that those surfaces are no longer flat enough to seal properly. This is why I always say to take the time to properly clean the surface with a scraper and gasket remover spray. At this point in time, your best bet is to just get another stock head gasket and slap everything together. Given the fact that the surfaces could be bad, I would not go with a Z6 head gasket at this time. If this problem occurs again, then junk the engine. Used D-series engines are just WAYYY too cheap to deal with this kind of crap on an ongoing basis. If you get a new engine, AND you want better fuel economy, this might be a good time for a D15Z1 swap. The D15Z1 came in the 1992-1995 VX, and can be gotten quite cheap. Otherwise, if you are looking for performance, there are a world of possibilities. And let's face it. Pretty much ANYTHING you might swap in there will be faster than a stock HF motor (D15Z1 included).

civicxxman

good point but I have worked in a machine shop most of my adult life. I have to proper tools for checking the surface. I actually checked the head and at the worst point it was out .0025". this is just a motor I am using until I get a d15b. I realize that this is not the correct way to clean a head but since it was done by the previous owner there is no harm in doing it again. the reason the head blew was over heating. the guy I bought the car from changed the head gasket and didn't realize that the water pump was bad surprisingly the head was not burnt up and I am trying to salvage this motor for the time being. it only has 123,000.


Modified by civicxxman at 6:27 PM 2/12/2008