Grif

My Civic seems to be having some issues. It's spark plug tubes are full of oil (bad tube gaskets, will replace soon), it seems to have valve clatter (will adjust the valves soon), when it idles it sounds like "putt putt putt putt putt putt putt…" (idles rough too, no check engine light so it's not a misfire) and I'm not sure if this is normal. It gives off white smoke when revved however there is no oil in the coolant nor coolant in the oil. I seem to be losing a lot of coolant but retaining all of the oil. I'm not sure what to do so I will be having the car checked out by a local Honda dealership when I have time. Any recommendations? I will be doing a compression test when I have time as well. Do you guys think that this car has a lot of life left in it? I know that some local Honda drivers have old Civics that just spew smoke and sound awful but still seem to run to run fine. To my knowledge it has been maintained well. It's frustrating because I don't have money to spend on a new engine nor do I have time to rebuild the engine myself. Hopefully this car isn't completely gone and I made the right choice buying a Civic over an E30.

Former User

What year Civic and how many miles on the engine? Bone stock?

Why take it to the Honda dealership and pay a lot of money for what?

Is the exhaust smoke white or bluish?

Grif

It's a 1993 with 212k. And yes, 100% stock. I'm not sure of any other reputable places to take my car to be inspected and I'm just tired and frustrated with the engine, though it hasn't given me any issues, it seems to be showing signs of possible failure in the near future. The exhaust is white and it loses a considerable amount of coolant. I can't stand to see a car I care about so much silently dying. I'll post what the Honda technician tells me, I should be able to get the car in this Saturday.

White_EG1

With that $99 diagnostic fee, you could have already got a compression tester and diagnosed this issue yourself. You already know what the problem is, loses coolant, smokes white(due to the lost coolant) All tall tail symptoms of bad head gasket, shouldnt take $99 to figure that out. Post compression test results.

nickeynick

Got to agree with White_EG1 - all signs point to head gasket.

Grif

I'm betting my head gasket is blown inbetween cylinders causing rough idling, coolant into the cylinders, giving a good compression test, and no sign of oil in the coolant nor coolant in the oil. Alright, I'll do some research when I get home a little later. What do you guys recommend I do now? Any idea of how long it will take me to replace the head gasket? I don't believe that the head nor block is damaged at all because the fluids are not mixing. Could I be wrong? How much am I looking to spend on this nightmare (I have tools, don't have any power tools though)?

mithious

Head gasket replacement is not that difficult... But if you haven't done it before you're in for a bit of a learning curve.

The problem really is that headgaskets can blow because your head is warped. So you take it all apart and check that the head is properly flat (you need a machinists edge and feeler gauges), but if you find the head is out of spec you'll need to get it planed.

If your head is warped and you don't get it fixed (or even checked), the problem just happen again and relatively soon.

That said I still personally suggest doing it yourself. Parts are not expensive if you look around a bit, and it doesn't take much in the way of hand tools to do. Just get your hands on the factory service manual (easily available on line), do some reading, and follow the steps.

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

Can you verify that your check engine light comes on for a few seconds every time you turn on the car? I'd hate for a bad bulb to be hiding symptoms.

A head gasket job is very doable if you have the correct manual, patience, a few tools, and preferably an extra set of hands. It is critical to get he head checked at a machine shop, and milled if necessary... trust me.

You can do it!

Grif

I'll check the bulb a little later tonight. Does anyone know a good place to buy OEM head gaskets, valve cover gaskets and rear trail arm bushings?

Jimi Hondrix

When (maybe not now) time comes to put it down...take it out of it's misery Old Yeller style.

White_EG1

Fixed

Former User

In advance of car wake, alert local fire department of planned bonfire within city limits so that residents can be evacuated.

tony_2018

If you care so much than its time you learn to rebuild it, to breath new life.

Grif

Is this a good place to buy head gaskets?
http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...ad_gasket.html
Are the Ishino head gaskets sold at the above link good? Should I buy the head gasket that is advised for use when the old one blew or should I get the regular one? I know that the head gasket has been replaced so it may be a warped head causing the failure.

I will when I have more time and money. Any recommendations on things I should replace while doing the head gasket?

mithious

you might want to call around first and see who can mill it for cheap... that may be more expensive than your parts. and if you add up the parts and machining... depending on your budget you might not be willing to take that plunge?

I like Fel-Pro gaskets, not top of the line, but close. They are reliable and somewhat cost effective. If I were doing a head gasket job, I'd personally order one of their kits off RockAuto that includes all the seals and gaskets for the head. (intake and exhaust, cam seals, valve stem seals etc...), and the price is rather reasonable IMO.

This is a good time for the timing belt since you have to take it off anyway, (depending on how many miles you've got on the belt) and normally you'll change the timing belt tensioner and water pump at the same time.

And then since the head will be off you could think about doing the valve stem seals. They are not really difficult either, and can be had for cheap.

One major thing to consider is that you won't want to reuse your head bolts. This can be a hit to the wallet, but if you reuse them they could be stretched and won't hold sufficient torque. This is another reason headgaskets fail very quickly is whoever did the repair just reused the bolts.

While you can find a set of bolts for $25ish (RockAuto again is my source usually) this is a time to consider an upgrade - and I really prefer ARP head studs, mainly because they can be reused, and you won't have to buy head bolts again further down the road. I actually scored a set on Amazon.com recently for only $80.

Grif

I can comfortably spend $300 right now, hopefully this will be enought. I'll look into all the things you have mentioned.

TomCat39

Ishino is the OEM gaskets.

Now that you have had a gasket leak you need the leak gasket and new head bolts.

The 88-95 non vtec gaskets are known to leak and there is a Technical Service Bulletin for them.



Head bolts:
1995 Honda Civic Engine Cylinder Head Bolt - AutoPartsWay.com

First head gasket in the list is the leak gasket:
1995 Honda Civic Engine Cylinder Head Gasket - AutoPartsWay.com

CX-Adam

4 STEP TORQUE SEQUENCE?!

Helms manual for the long block I just put together was only two steps.

Grif

Ordered head gasket, valve cover gasket set and head bolts. Can anyone recommend an oil filter and coolant to use in the d15b8? Also any suggestions for a particular brand of trail arm bushings?

TomCat39

Has the car overheated?

Oil Filter I like is AC Delco. Someone ripped open all different brands of oil filters and AC Delco had the best construction and would not let any dirty oil back flow into the crank case.

Coolant, you need asian specific formula. So Honda OEM of asian specific formulated coolant if you want to keep to the best for the car.