Allen Erker Jr.

.. I have a 97 se accord 2.2 non vtek, recently the head failed . went to pic n pull, the only descent head they had was off a 92 . it was in mint condition, so I got it. Later I realized that the exhaust manifold was different and the power steering and alternator brackets were different. Fixed all that, but now after putting it all back together,I have a massive coolant leak coming from around my intake manifold. Are the intake manifolds different also, or are the water jackets from head to block diffdrent from 92 to a 97. Looked up the head gaskets seem to be the same, but I think the intake gaskets are different. Anyone else ever ran into this issue ? Any input is much appreciated.

Aradin

The intake manifolds are different.

Allen Erker Jr.

it bolted right up, are the water ports different? If so, the gasket for a 97 , must totally miss one of the ports or something. As I fill the radiator, without the car running, Thr water drains out in the intake area

MAD_MIKE

IIRC the coolant passage on the B engines is oval while the A engines had a round port.
Verify also that your coolant tube(black) O-ring is new or was not damaged, as well as the return port on the side of hte tube is connected to the FITV(IIRC).
Check your old gaskets and see if there is a large enough mismatch. Or gap with the B2 intake on the A# head.

Allen Erker Jr.

Appreciate your input Mad Mike .Ok, I will . I just went and bought a intake gasket for the year the head was made, I'll compare the two. As far as the o rings and hoses, Ive had this intake and head off so many times I've made sure all the hoses and o rings are right . Do u know if the head gaskets will be an issue from that year to the other ?

MAD_MIKE

Don't know if there are differences in cooling or steam ports in the head.
Might want to verify if there is a difference in head gaskets. Fairly sure the B engine head gasket does have the oil port(for VTEC) sealed where the 'A' engines don't have that tab.
Verify the intake gasket first, make sure it is sealed, bleed the system and start it up.
If you are still getting an overheating issue, it could be from incorrect headgasket or the 'new' head is warped and needs to be decked to seal.

Allen Erker Jr.

Heres pics of the gaskets and the head

Heres the head before instillation

Allen Erker Jr.

Now you realize there never was an overheating issue, I havent had the car running more than 5 min since I put the new head on it. I started it up and noticed right away it was leaking like crazy and immediately shut it off. I've been trying to figure out the leak every since. I almost have the intake off, I found out the intake on these accords have a kind of freeze plug. Im wondering if the wrong gasket put pressure on it and it popped out. I'll let you know

jenq payne

Mad Mike great info... glad ive been searching around on here lol... thinking my problem could be with the different head gaskets (94 on 92) maybe the ports are different.... Good luck allen but let me know if you have to check the head gaskets...thanks

Allen Erker Jr.

You are the man mad mike , compared the gasket to the intake the water port is offset. So , what I wound up doing , instead of buying a new intake manifold, is taking some JB steel stick and filling in the open area where the gasket has gaps. There isn't much of an area or I would've got the right intake. All that port is for is to heat the air off your intake , isn't it ?

Allen Erker Jr.

Jenq, if you want to do it like I did, you'll need the gasket for the 94 - 97 , the 91- 93 won't work

Allen Erker Jr.

"UPDATE" everything is running great, no problems. It'll get me where I need to go until I can do the proper repairs. Thanks again Mad mike for all your input, couldnt have figured it out without ya ... I owe u big..

jenq payne

question is about head gaskets...have a 92 accord lx with 94 head gasket. had issues with tight radiator hose on top, think thats fixed. but now it stalls when coming to a stop and oil light flickers and stays on at times.... maybe bad oil pressure(sender) sensor? bled cooling system, cleaned with carb cleaner, change oil, filter. IDEAS???

Allen Erker Jr.

I noticed there were two sensors by where the radiator hose goes into the head on the 92 and only one on the 97. Also theres another sensor back above the oil filter. Check those first. Is your car blowing blue smoke out the exhaust at any time its running ?

Allen Erker Jr.

What year Honda is that head off of ?

jenq payne

hey no blue smoke or knocks at all...everything i put back on car was for the same year except for head gasket which is the 94...and yea about the sensors, think one is for temp? and other cam sensor? but yea head and all other parts, gaskets, are for a 92 only difference is the head gasket? I drove the car around for a few days put 447mi on it and no problems at all other than the oil light flicker and stalls...IDEAS???

jenq payne

and the one above oil filter is i believe the oil sender sensor, or oil pressure sensor i think

Allen Erker Jr.

If its flickering and then goes out when at high rpm, thats possibly a oil pump. If it flickers at random, even if at high rpm, I would check all wire connectios on your plugs that go to any of the oil senders, especially the one obove the oil filter. I personally had to resolder that one because it came off the plug.

MAD_MIKE

Saucy.
If the lowest rpm would be with the car in drive at a stop, if the light is coming on/ or flickering that is fairly low oil pressure.
Check the sensor, if it is leaking then it is most likely bad. But if it is not, you will need to get a proper oil pressure gauge and verify the pressure at idle(10psi) and at 3Krpm(50psi)