Smityro

Hello forum,

First, I would like to say that I have been frequenting on the boards but have not registered until now. I have been doing a lot of research on my issue, however, I am not asking you all to help me diagnose the issue. I am fairly certain that I have a cracked head or blown gasket, however, I have not done all of the troubleshooting to determine that is the case.

The reason I am here is, in case it is a blown gasket, I need some guidance as to what gasket set I will need. I know that these engines are commonly associated with blown head gaskets from the searches that I have performed and have read into an engine swap vs. replacing the gaskets (set). Right now, I can only afford to replace the gaskets as I do all of my own work.

I purchased the '93 Civic half a year ago. The person (Shop owner) told me that he had done a mini me swap, since the person that brought it in blew the engine. He says that it has a 1.5 lower and 1.6 upper (I could have these reversed). The block is a D15B7. I am not sure how to determine the other half, but from what I have read, it is either a D16Z6 or a D16Y8 head. How exactly would I determine which of these heads were used? Can a D16Y8 head even fit on a D15B7 block? This is my primary question.

Also, if I have provided enough information, could someone help point me in the right direction of what gasket set to use? I have heard to re-gasket it with a MLS gasket and not the OEM composite. Any information or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for reading!

strykr89

If you do have a Mini-me swap that has a z6 headgasket I could use the y8 headgasket as it will give you more a bit more compression. I would use the factory headgasket out of my own choice. But first thing is the check the head for any markings saying P2P (D16Y8 head) or P08 (D16Z6 head), that will help us know if you actually do have a minime swap.

What issues are you having to assume its a headgasket or cracked head? Blowing smoke, idle issues etc?

B_Swapped93

x2 except the y8 head is P2J. P2P is the y7

Here OP:https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/d16z6-d16y8-head-2607507/


Is you'r car doing any of the following: overheating,white smoke out of exhaust,milky residue around the oil cap,thick sludge in the over flow tank,eating threw coolant.

Smityro

The head is stamped with P08-6, which I didn't see it on the list of head codes, so can only speculate that its a D16Z6.

As far as the issues, I have been losing coolant like crazy. I cannot find any sort of leak, so I am assuming that I'm burning it. Also, I have noticed that the coolant is dumping into the reservoir (near full - close to opening). There is no water in the oil, nor white smoke.

It will overheat when the coolant is dumped into the reservoir, but as soon as I empty the coolant back out (to the full mark at OT), it will cool as it should. Another thing that I had noticed is , the higher the RPM's, the quicker the temperature rises. I know that this is supposed to happen due to there being much more friction, but it is very noticeable. I just know that it isn't supposed to function the way it is.

Another thing that I have noticed is that the idle is horrible. When coming to a stop, it damn near wants to cut off on me, but after a couple of seconds, it goes back up to normal idle. But to be honest, I have had an idle problem the entire time that I have had the car (roughly 6 months), so it could be something unrelated. There are no CEL codes.

I had purchased a block tester to check to see if there is any exhaust gasses in the cooling system, but I have not tested yet.

B_Swapped93

That's a usdm z6 head. 2 things, replace you'r thermostat i had an over heating issue replaced stat stuff was good same thing temp went up at higher rpms. 2nd insted of a block tester get a leakdown tester can tell you if it's the HG or not sounds like it to me tho. as for the shitty idle any time you introduce air into the coolant sys you're supposed to bleed it.

92lxsleeper

honestly, try a new oem honda radiator cap first. but when my y7 gasket went, it slowly built pressure and pushed it into the overflow, and then it would spill over when i took turns while driving lol.

Smityro

Thanks for the replies. About the gasket, I have done some research on pricing/reviews and for the most part, know which ones to stay away from. Do any of you have any recommendations? I have always used Felpro in the past, but all of the vehicles that I had to re-gasket have all been american cars. Sort of new to the import world and I've see a lot more companies.

Also, as far as bleeding the coolant system, I have always done that. I had left out some information when I was giving my troubleshooting earlier. There are nonstop bubbles when bleeding the system. I always let the car warm up to OT, cool, then warm up again. So I have went a few cycles trying to bleed the system, however it constantly bubbles. That is why I am leading to believe that it's a head issue.

As much as I want to 'try' out the most inexpensive parts first, I fear that it is a head issue and I would just be wasting my money. I really do appreciate all of the pointers and I will take all of them into consideration, but at this time, I really do not have any money to waste. I know that you take the cheapest way out when troubleshooting, but I have a very strong urge to stick with my gut feeling. That is one of the reasons why I was trying to stay away from this specific topic in this post. But regardless, I am glad that there are users that will push the boundaries to help out, and that is something that any forum can benefit from.

B_Swapped93

I would stick to a OEM honda gasket somethings i just feel better with going to the dealership for. a leakdown test should tell you 100% if it's the HG or not

Smityro

Would you also recommend using the D16Y8 gasket instead of the Z6? Again, thanks for all of your help. One day I will contribute back to the forum.

I will see about renting a leakdown tester to confirm for sure.

B_Swapped93

Afaik the z6 one will yeild a slightly higher comp ratio. But it's not a big deal y8 or z6 it's up to you in the end.

sleepyaccord96

lisle tool part number 75500

Smityro

Hey guys, I am just now able to work on the civic. I went to the local auto parts store to get the parts. The only D16Y8 head gasket sets available were on a 1997 civic, which mine is a 1993. I am just curious if all D16Y8s are the same. I would think since that is the model of a specific head and if it varied slightly, I would think it would have a different model. I am just wanting to make sure that I am ok with getting any D16Y8 head gasket set for my D16z6 head. Thanks.

Bones0nfire

It being a 1993 with a 1996+ engine in it. The HG will be for a 1996-2000 SOHC Vtec engine. IE the Y8.
No need to worry about the year of the chasis in this case.
Maybe I over looked in the comments above. Did you check the Thermostat to rule that out?

Smityro

Well, the block is a D15B7 with a D16z6 head (mini me setup). I was going to go with the D16Y8 head gasket, as that has been suggested to me several times, both on these forums and in person.

As far as the thermostat goes, it seems to be working as normal, which I will replace it after I do the tear down tomorrow morning. The car does not overheat, but it does get a tad hotter than normal when the coolant is dumped into the reservoir. When I empty the reservoir to the amount that it is supposed to have and top off the cooling system, the car runs normal, as far as temperature is concerned.

The car definitely has something going on with the head or head gasket, which I am really hoping that it is not a cracked or warped head, but to be honest, I have already prepared for the worst case scenario. I really don't have the funds for a new head, but I will have to buy one if I need to. I am hoping that I tear it all down and take the head to the shop and they say that it is good and that its not warped.

I didn't mean for this to be a diagnoses thread to be honest, but I do not want to offend anyone by not taking their advice, so I will take what I can get.

I know that head gaskets do not just go bad, something has to happen for them to go bad, ie. overheating, etc. Which I do have thoery of what happened, which I hope that it holds up. A while back, one of the hoses sprung a leak while I was driving. As soon as I noticed the steam coming from under the hood and the temperature of my car rising at a steady pace, I pulled over to the side of the road and found the hose that was split. The hose was pretty much dry rotted. I noticed this before the car actually overheated I believe, as I was able to replace the hose, add more coolant, bleed the system and it ran just like it did before.

After about a month of this happening is when I started to notice the car running a tad hotter than normal. I am hoping that when the hose broke, it caused stress on the gasket because of the metals expanding and what not, and over time it finally gave out.

The car has not ran hot since. I do have to add coolant anytime that the car is driven, as it will fill the reservoir up and burn some of the coolant. There have been times that I can empty the reservoir back into the radiator, and not have to add any coolant, but other times I will add the coolant back and also have to add some coolant. There is no coolant in the oil, but the is constant bubbling out of the radiator when I bleed the system, which tells me that air is being sucked in.

I am really hoping that it is the head gasket, as I have already purchased a fel pro, just need to pick it up in the morning. I am planning on replacing a lot of stuff while I have her torn down to make my life easier. But I was just wanting to make sure that the gasket that I purchased will in fact fit the z6 head that I have on my mini me setup. Again, thank you for your time and feedback.

I just looked at your location Bones. I will be moving up to Asheville as soon as I have her back together. As soon as I get situated there, I will more than likely buy a shell or a decent CRX and start up a real project. I'd like to keep in touch with you in case you run across anything your way.

94EG8

The split hose didn't cause the blown headgasket, the blown headgasket caused the split hose. Generally the way they blow on these engines exhaust gas will over pressurize the cooling system and push coolant back into the overflow. Any weak components tend to blow out (sometimes old cracked rad tanks will explode, sometimes heater hoses will split or blow right off)

I wouldn't really recommend the FelPro gasket either. OEM with ARP headstuds would be best. Make sure you check out the head to see if it's warped (honda heads for the most part never crack) Resurface the head and put it back on. If you happened to get oil in the coolant replace the rad cap any other rubber part of the cooling system.

fragmare

I would disagree with some of the other posters on here and say to go ahead and get a Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS line head gasket. They're a little more expensive, but worth it. That particular line of head gaskets is reinforced between cylinders 2 and 3, where the HG blows most of the time on D15B7 engines. OEM head gaskets are not reinforced.

That's just my personal opinion. You're free to choose whatever head gasket you'd like to install, obviously. But keep in mind that the area between cylinders 2 and 3 tends to get excessively hot due to a missing coolant vein.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

I saw your other post about that issue. That would explain why once a headgasket goes on these engines they never seem to hold up once replaced.

fragmare

Yea, grumblemarc, I've heard the same thing. Just seems to me like you're better off spending a few extra bucks and getting a HG that was designed with that engineering flaw in mind. Couple that with brand new head bolts and a good resurface job, and it should last for quite a while.

I used a Fel-Pro HG last summer when I replaced mine and it's still holding up, 40k miles and four 1000 mile trips later... and I even reused the head bolts (i was nearly broke at the time, but the HG needed replaced desperately). I plan on using another Fel-Pro HG this summer when I re-ring the pistons.

One of the rare instances where an aftermarket part *might* be a better idea to use than a genuine Honda one.

Smityro

So I ended up getting the Felpro Permatorque head gasket set, which I should have done a bit of research prior to the purchase. This specific head gasket set (part number Hs9915Pt1) comes with other gaskets, of course. I have a feeling that the other gaskets in this set will not fit my D16z6. I have looked up the valve cover gasket in this kit, and could not find where it says that it would fit a z6. I apologize for being so new to Honda's and the whole minime setup, but the car was set up like this when I purchased it. Can any of you confirm that the head gasket set that I purchased (Hs9915Pt1) will not fit? I know that the head gasket and some of the other seals will fit, but was not able to find information for the other gaskets.

I will probably take the set back to the local parts store and get a a head gasket set for the D16z6 and a D16y8 head gasket. I hate doing that because I really cannot afford to purchase extra stuff, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I appreciate everyone's answers and opinions. If anyone can shine light on this issue, I would very much appreciate it.

fragmare

Almost all the gaskets in that set are head centric, so as long as you got the right set for your head, you should be ok. It comes with the hg, intake manifold gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, valve seals, dizzy o-ring, cam gasket, coolant port gasket, egr gasket, exhaust flange gasket, cam holder gaskets, injector o-rings, spark plug seals, valve cover gaskets and grommets (and maybe a few I left out)