My 1999 Civic si rebuild story
05-27-2013, 07:47 AM
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My 1999 Civic si rebuild story
First let me say, as of a couple months ago, all I ever did on a car was change oil and brake pads. I am not a mechanic and never wanted to work on cars.
In January, my son's 99 si, with 200K miles on it, started to develop overheating issues. Since I never drove the car I was unaware of the problem until I followed him home one night and noticed white smoke from the exhaust. We talked to a mechanic friend and decided to get the head gasket replaced. We took it to his shop (yes a real mechanic's shop) and he installed a non-OEM head gasket. He said the head was not warped and he decided not to have it machined. Long story short, the car was still burning antifreeze. Over a few weeks I monitored the coolant levels until late one rainy night while my son was about 45 miles from home, the bypass hose exploded. This time the car would not start and blasted coolant out the radiator about a foot high when you tried to start it. We got the car towed home thanks to my son's girlfriend's grandparents who have been members of AAA since the 50's and get 100 miles per tow! I digress...
Rather than take it back to my mechanic friend and having to pay for yet another botched job, I decided to handle the project myself. I studied how to diagnose a bad head gasket, and decided to first do a leak down test. I borrowed a compression tester from Autozone (they didn't have a leak down test kit) and bought a $1.49 5 in 1 valve tool to remove the one way valve in the compression hose. There was huge warpage this time. The leak down test confirmed leaks to the coolant, out the exhaust, and a small amount from the crank case
I took it apart, got the head machined, bought all new gaskets, new OEM head gasket. I debated about changing the rings, but at the last minute, I took the chance that they were still ok and just replaced the head gasket. Bad move. I put the thing all back together only to find I was getting a lot of blow by and the compression (dry) was low at 140psi on #1 and 160psi on #2-4. The car ran, but had little power, and I could smell exhaust coming from the oil filler cap. I have to get the car smogged in two months and knew it would never pass.
Soooo, after more study, I took it all apart again. Bought yet another OEM head gasket, OEM rings, a 320 grit 3 1/4" Flex-Hone, and a Wiseco 81mm ring compressor. This time I honed the cylinders and changed out the rings. I researched every step and followed the service manual to the T including all torque settings. I just took one step at a time with a lot of study time in between. I probably watched a 100 YouTube videos and read dozens of threads in this forum and others. I would estimate that I spent 3 times the amount of time studying than I did actually working on the car.
As a side note, when I pulled the oil pan and baffle off, I found what appeared to be cracks in the engine block. I thought that was the end of the engine and I was ready to scrap the project and the car. I posted photos on Honda-tech.com and posed the question: are they cracks or casting flaws? Call it good fortune or whatever, I noticed that one of the responders lived in the same city as I do. In fact, it turns out, he lives about 2 miles from me! Tim was kind enough to come over and check out the the engine and encourage me to continue and not give up. He suggested I buy new head bolts, which I did and of course they were OEM.
Yesterday I finished putting it back together and the compression is now at 180psi over all four cylinders!!!!!!! The car started instantly. Just to think that only a few days ago I could see the floor through the cylinders.
Moral to the story? Anyone can fix a Honda. All you need is a few tools (torque wrench is an absolute must), an internet connection, a Honda service manual, and perseverance. Also, don't cheap out on vital engine parts like head gaskets and rings, BUY OEM ONLY it's well worth it in the long run. If you have time to have your parts shipped, look up your local Honda dealer's website, they most likely have an online parts store. Parts will be at least 20% cheaper than buying them at the parts counter.
In January, my son's 99 si, with 200K miles on it, started to develop overheating issues. Since I never drove the car I was unaware of the problem until I followed him home one night and noticed white smoke from the exhaust. We talked to a mechanic friend and decided to get the head gasket replaced. We took it to his shop (yes a real mechanic's shop) and he installed a non-OEM head gasket. He said the head was not warped and he decided not to have it machined. Long story short, the car was still burning antifreeze. Over a few weeks I monitored the coolant levels until late one rainy night while my son was about 45 miles from home, the bypass hose exploded. This time the car would not start and blasted coolant out the radiator about a foot high when you tried to start it. We got the car towed home thanks to my son's girlfriend's grandparents who have been members of AAA since the 50's and get 100 miles per tow! I digress...
Rather than take it back to my mechanic friend and having to pay for yet another botched job, I decided to handle the project myself. I studied how to diagnose a bad head gasket, and decided to first do a leak down test. I borrowed a compression tester from Autozone (they didn't have a leak down test kit) and bought a $1.49 5 in 1 valve tool to remove the one way valve in the compression hose. There was huge warpage this time. The leak down test confirmed leaks to the coolant, out the exhaust, and a small amount from the crank case
I took it apart, got the head machined, bought all new gaskets, new OEM head gasket. I debated about changing the rings, but at the last minute, I took the chance that they were still ok and just replaced the head gasket. Bad move. I put the thing all back together only to find I was getting a lot of blow by and the compression (dry) was low at 140psi on #1 and 160psi on #2-4. The car ran, but had little power, and I could smell exhaust coming from the oil filler cap. I have to get the car smogged in two months and knew it would never pass.
Soooo, after more study, I took it all apart again. Bought yet another OEM head gasket, OEM rings, a 320 grit 3 1/4" Flex-Hone, and a Wiseco 81mm ring compressor. This time I honed the cylinders and changed out the rings. I researched every step and followed the service manual to the T including all torque settings. I just took one step at a time with a lot of study time in between. I probably watched a 100 YouTube videos and read dozens of threads in this forum and others. I would estimate that I spent 3 times the amount of time studying than I did actually working on the car.
As a side note, when I pulled the oil pan and baffle off, I found what appeared to be cracks in the engine block. I thought that was the end of the engine and I was ready to scrap the project and the car. I posted photos on Honda-tech.com and posed the question: are they cracks or casting flaws? Call it good fortune or whatever, I noticed that one of the responders lived in the same city as I do. In fact, it turns out, he lives about 2 miles from me! Tim was kind enough to come over and check out the the engine and encourage me to continue and not give up. He suggested I buy new head bolts, which I did and of course they were OEM.
Yesterday I finished putting it back together and the compression is now at 180psi over all four cylinders!!!!!!! The car started instantly. Just to think that only a few days ago I could see the floor through the cylinders.
Moral to the story? Anyone can fix a Honda. All you need is a few tools (torque wrench is an absolute must), an internet connection, a Honda service manual, and perseverance. Also, don't cheap out on vital engine parts like head gaskets and rings, BUY OEM ONLY it's well worth it in the long run. If you have time to have your parts shipped, look up your local Honda dealer's website, they most likely have an online parts store. Parts will be at least 20% cheaper than buying them at the parts counter.
05-27-2013, 09:26 AM
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Re: My 1999 Civic si rebuild story
AWESOME STORY BRO!!!
glad everything worked out for you in the long run and it sounds like u did a great and thorough job on everything.
glad everything worked out for you in the long run and it sounds like u did a great and thorough job on everything.
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