P-M-B,93EXsedan

Then with the exhaust valves excluded, which many people have told me is common with a high strung 1.5-1.6, ill have a good dry compression #.

then I can do a wet compression test with oil on the piston rings to see if they leak.

this would pretty much guarantee if the motor has good rings or not. IMO there's no point rebuilding a 1.5 SOHC block. Someone beat me to it. If they used good rings and pistons, it should actually be a good engine or atleast worth something. Hell this "rebuilt d15b7, 11:1 compression" block could be worth as much as I paid for the car.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Time out, so you're saying if it leaks out the exhaust...you want to fab up a plate to completely block the exhaust? No, that's silly. If it's leaking through the exhaust valves, it's leaking through the exhaust valves, period. When you're doing a leak-down test, no compressed air should get to the exhaust, period. The valves are the sealing part of the system - if they're leaking, they're leaking, and that's all there is to it. The sole purpose of the exhaust manifold and piping is to route the exhaust somewhere other than straight out of the head.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

Its so I dont have to fix the exhaust valves before I get an idea of the condition of the piston rings. If I leak down and it doesn't appear to be leaking from the pistons, I want to be sure the piston rings are good before I buy a reman head.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

Gaping crack in the exhaust valve = easy way to miss a leaking piston ring

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Gotcha, that makes sense. You're still over-thinking it, but your thought process is pretty solid. Regardless of the condition of the rings, if you need to replace your valves, you need to replace your valves. Do the valve job if necessary, torque the head back down, and repeat the test. Quick and easy, and no weird fabrication required.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

U gotta remember I dont know anything about this engine or what has been done to it besides that the compression is significantly higher than it should be. 11:1 instead of 9.2:1

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Nothing wrong with 11:1 CR, as long as the fueling is tuned for it. Start off with a proper leak-down test. If you have ring problems, you'll be able to hear them.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

5$ gasket & metal I already have for free > atleast 25$ for a valve replacement.

to me, its less work to spray over the current exhaust gasket, drill the 12 holes that will be painted on to bolt it up, and put on my compression/leak down exhaust bypass plate with the 5$ manifold gasket.

I dont need to take the head off, 20$ gasket atleast. I dont need to torque down the head and risk buying new bolts, another expense.

I am being incredibly frugal and paranoid here, but I absolutely refuse to waste money fixing a d15b7 head if the short block is bad.

if the short block is good, well, good. I have a fun and competitive SCCA car. All I would need is an ex trans, and a new head.

p.s. This head needs at the least 75$ for a seal overhaul, and 25$ for 1 cheapest I can get valve. I wanna not spend money on it if the seemingly nice short block is actually gonna need a rebuild.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

Oh it does need a tune too. I'm have a feeling a bad tune is what caused the problem in the first place. But I dont mind, I could've potentially gotten a short block that is worth more than i paid for the car.

or it could have bad piston ring.

ima get my hands on a leak down tester tomorrow and further the diagnostics process beyond speculation based on previous owners claim that his mechanic said the valves are bad.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

I mean...a leak-down test will tell you where the leak is, anyway. Done.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

I was thinking that if the valves are bad enough a smaller leak in the pistons would be too easy to miss. If there's a huge hole in a piston this whole thought experiment was in vain.

what I really want is a compression test dry then wet, and I dont wanna waste money on valves before I get my answer. The engine runs, past 4,000rpms it has good power for a 1.5.

if its piston rings, I'm not touching this thing until it stops moving. And that'l be to bring it to a scrap yard.

for all I know this thing is suppose to be 11.5:1, and the one ring is non existent, and the others are going bad equally. If rods can all bend perfectly I wouldn't be surprised.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

Cylinder #1 is good, when I first tried it it was reading really low and coming out the exhaust, so I looked at the pictures, and it looked like it was set at TDC.

anyway I tried turning the camshaft and the bolt broke. But, for the second the piston was at TDC, it read 100% good.

I guess I'm not suppose to turn the engine over while there's 100 psi in the chamber. Live and learn I guess.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

How am I gonna get this cam gear off

thinkin' I'm just gonna get another head at this point.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

I talked to a guy my bro met at our track, he has sum Hondas that he races. I told him about my d1.5b7, and he told me he has built engines just like it. That it prolly is actually 1.7, and that if they didn't get the head built, its most likely the valve, seats, and guides.

so I decided to check If it was built with rods and not just pistons. Sure enough, 1 quart of oil barely fills two spark plug holes.

I got a whole car the price it woulda cost to build the short block.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

What the...you filled the plug holes...with oil?

Just stop now. Take the car to a professional.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

How else am I suppose to measure the displacement

I guess I could have used a ruler once I got my head off. But then I would need to do math.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

you broke off the crank pulley bolt and then filled the plug tubes with oil? this thread makes my head hurt. if you wanted to check for pistons/rods/etc, why not invest a half hour or less and remove the oil pan?

P-M-B,93EXsedan

well really I filled the combustion chamber, but I did it thru the sparkplug tubes. What can I say? IV done it before with Yamaha 100s and dirt bikes and crap. Its a proven method for measuring displacement. Plus the oil pan, and also the head gasket, are like the only things that dont actually leak.

so, ima bring the head to an engine builder. If its all good, I'm gonna get new valves put in cylinder #3. If the head expert says the valve seats, oops wrote seals first time lol. are good, im prolly gonna do the valve job at home.

my only problem is, I dont have any clue what a good brand of valves is for a race engine! I'm planning on doing SCCA this summer with the car. Hell, that's what I got it for. But I was expecting to run in a difficult class, not the entry class. Strict stock block ftw

P-M-B,93EXsedan

my other question is, which I think I may need a different thread for, what larger radiator can I run?

P-M-B,93EXsedan

You guys are talking like I broke the engine by putting oil in it.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

no, but have fun with removing that broken crank pulley bolt. that will not be fun, at all. easily available non ebay radiator, autozone buy a del sol dual core radiator. it is the oe radiator for the b16 equipped del sol.

TomCat39

Don't need to create another thread, this thread is pretty much for your car and is why I added it to the title. 95 EJ2 D15B7. The title can change as needed to better fit your circumstances once they change up, i.e. engine swap etc.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

oh cool, I felt bad for asking before but if its okay ill keep it in mind.
if I get the engine fixed, ill throw the bigger radiator-or-oil cooler idea around.

first I gotta find a machine shop that's close enough. I wanna get this head checked out, it could very well be performance-built, cam etc too.

I gotta find a good brand of valves/seats too.

P-M-B,93EXsedan

pretty much boned

get it? That's what my handle is, except intials.. Can I change my handle? 93exsedan doesn't make sense now that I have ej2 also

P-M-B,93EXsedan

its actually a cam bolt, I was being stupid and lazy and decided to try pushing the engine to TDC with the cam bolt and a breaker bar. IV done it before, but I guess with the 100psi and pushing it past TDC, it was a lot of strain and it flew off and the breaker bar jerked put of my hand.

cyl 1 has 0.1 leakage tho. Good eh?