johnbhm

Hello everyone. This is my first post here so I'm sorry if I'm doing something wrong.

So we just bought a 2005 Honda Civic for $1000. It only has 158k miles but it had a "radiator problem". We checked the codes and it had 53 of them. Most were due to a bad cam position sensor which we replaced but it was still idling very rough and felt sluggish. It still has 10 codes. All for o2 sensors/heaters and a faulty buckle.

We then proceeded to do a compression test with the results: 100, 95, 50, 100

After that I used the compression tester tube that screws into the sparkplug hole and hooked the compressor up to it after getting cyl #3 to TDC on the compression stroke. I brought the compressor up to 100 psi and the radiator started gurgling aggressively. There wasn't enough antifreeze to see it bubble but that's sure what it sounded like.

So I came to the conclusion after looking at other posts that it sounds like either a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Does that sound right?

Should I just pull the head and see?

Thanks.

prodjay10

Bubbles in coolant while performing leakdown is head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block.

johnbhm

Well then hopefully it's the gasket then.

johnbhm

Head gasket doesn't look that bad. Hopefully there's something wrong with it haha.

We're going to bring the head to a shop to get looked at.

Now my other question is, how bad is 100 psi across the board? This is going to be a DD for college. But if 100 psi is a sign of things to come, soon, then I'll sell it and find something else. I got it cheap enough to still make a good amount even after replacing the head gasket/head.

bbarbulo

100 psi is not acceptable. how sure are you that the gauge is reliable? I break into a sweat if I don't hit 180-190 psi, at 100 psi I'm pretty sure I'd start shopping around for a replacement engine.

how much are you cranking and are you keeping the throttle plate open?

johnbhm

I believe the gauge is reliable. I will use it on our 2012 CRV which should have almost perfect psi and see what it reads sometime.

The one thing we forgot to do was check it at WOT. It was all done with no throttle. But it wouldn't lower it 80+ psi.

When we get it back together if it's still this low I'll be getting rid of it.

Northernlightz

Weren't these 1.7 l engines prone to hg failure?

johnbhm

I heard this somewhere else also. We will be bringing the head and gasket to a shop to get them looked over probably on Monday.

bbarbulo

seems that way; I see a lot of threads related to HG failures around 240K miles. Mine is good at 441000 kms now. *knock on wood*

johnbhm

The head is rebuilt and it's time to reassemble.

While I was looking up the torque specs, I found I needed to know the engine model as these cars had multiple choices. The engine in this car is the D17A2, which after research looks like it was in the higher trim packages. Thing is, this car is about as basic as can be. No power windows, no cruise control, etc.

Could this engine have been chosen with a lower trim or has the engine been swapped?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

If you don't have power windows or cruise, your car is probably DX. The D17A2 only came in EX (Canadian Si) models, and has VTEC. The engine that originally came in that car did not have VTEC.

johnbhm

Just looked up VIN, says it was the "Value Package".

So I guess it had an engine swap?

The head says PMR-HA-12 which I can't seem to find ANYWHERE. We will probably be able to do a compression check tonight or tomorrow.

timeXlost

sometimes it's tough to see the failure point on a used head gasket