BertDog

Hey guys have a jdm b16. Was wondering if I could get some information on how to replace the head gasket. Im really nervous about taking the cams out. I do have some mechanic knowledge. Is their any minor details that are really crutial. I ordered a video to show me exactly how to do it so hopefully I dont mess up. What do yall think?

redm3turbo

search on here...theres alot of write upss.....





Begin by draining the oil and coolant from your engine. While it is draining, begin disconnecting the hoses.

Remove the bolt on the intake manifold bracket from under the engine.

Pull the intake pipe off the throttle body.

The valve cover should also be removed.

Remove the throttle cable.

Remove the brake booster and fuel return hose.

Remove the timing belt cover.

Remove the upper radiator and heater hoses.

Remove the header.

Note: I left my intake manifold attached to the head...

Disconnect all electrical connectors going to the head (injector connectors, VTEC harness, etc.)

Remove the distributor.

Move the engine wire harness out of the way so you can lift the head out of the car without any trouble. At this time I would recommend setting the engine at TDC, this is not necessarily required but helps put things in perspective. Loosen the tensioning bolt on the side of the engine so that you can slide off the timing belt.

Note: i made marks on the timing belt and aligned them with a spot on the cam gears so that i would be easier. (thats what worked for me)

Remove the camshaft holders. You will want to do this in the correct order. During removal, you work your way from the outside of the block in towards the center. After you have removed the holders, pull of the camshafts. Make sure you know how everything goes. I used a newspaper and laid everything in place as it was in the engine. It helped a lot.

Now remove the headbolts. Be very careful when performing this step. You will want to untorque them a little at a time. Perhaps loosening every headbolt 1/3 of a full turn can prevent damage. Again, make sure you are removing all of this in the correct order as described in the Helms manual. When I removed my headbolts I took about 5 steps to fully untorque them. I set my torque wrench in interviles of 10lbs...ie 10lbs, 20lbs, 30lbs, 40 lbs,50lbs... i took this precaution because i used my stock headbolts again...

There are 10 headbolts, 5 on top 5 on bottom. start by loosening the top right headbolt then go to the bottom left, top left, then bottom right.

Note: remember not to rush this step.

Now for bolts 5-10 start @ the bottom left, top left, "skip the middle row" top right, bottom right ( remember we are working from the outside in). you should have two bolts remaining. #9 is the top middle bolt, #10 is the bottom middle bolt.

This is what your head should look like before you remove it.

Now here is the head. A visual inspection can be made at this point to determine what needs to be done. Here is a picture of what I found under my head:


Now the headgasket can be installed. Make sure it is facing UP and place it flat on the block. It is a good idea to hold this headgasket in place with the 2 dowel pins connecting between the block and the head. I bought some copper spray also and gave it two coats on each side. you can find it @ pep boys.


I had a tony's creole marinade injector (big azz seringe) so i removed the rest of the coolant from the block...

Once i cleaned everything up and inspected the block for cracks and warpage it was time to put everything back together. Once all bolts are snug, follow a 2 step torque procedure. You will be torquing these bolts from the inside outward. First set your torque wrench to 22 lbs. Ft. Make sure you are using an accurate torque wrench because it is important to torque the bolts properly. On the second round you will be setting the torque wrench to 61 lbs. Ft.

Once the head has been torqued into place, you can begin connecting all the hoses to the manifold. Make sure you have the coolant line going to the EACV connected as well. Fill the radiator back up with NEW antifreeze and continue by bolting the header back onto the head. The bolts on the header should be torqued to 23-lbs. ft. Once you've done this, continue with putting the head back together.
Using clean oil, drench the cams so that they remain lubricated during installation. Place the cams in the proper locations in the head with the arrows facing up (shown on cam gear){if you set everything to TDC} Next, put the camshaft holders into place.

You will now place the camshaft holder pipes and screw all the bolts into place. Do not toque the bolts until everything is in place. Again, make sure the cam gears are pointing "UP". Once you have all the bolts in, follow the torque procedure shown below. Pour a little bit of oil into these holes so that the bolts don't get hung up when you are hand tightening them. Be careful not to overtighten the 10mm bolts! The 12 mm bolts will be torqued to 16 lbs. Ft while the 10mm will be torquedd to 8 lbs. Ft:

After you've torqued these down, install the timing belt and adjust the tensioner by tightening it in place while at TDC, then turn the crank 90 degrees, loosen the adjusting bolt and torque to 33 lbs. Ft. Install the timing belt cover. A lot of people spend a good amount of time trying to get this to fit properly. My tip is to aling the screws on each of the holes and tightening them 1 thread at a time until it's in place.

The valve cover can now be placed over the engine and the distributor should be installed at this point. Connect all the wires into their orginal places. Don't forget the wires behind the intake manifold! Also remember to put the 2 bolts back under the intake manifold bracket. Slide the intake pipe onto the throttle body and you should be ready to go after making a few checks:

Make sure everything is connected and in place. Change the oil on your car and replace the filter. Connect the fuel lines. Connect the brake booster vacuum line. Connect all connections that go to the head. Put the throttle cable back where it's supposed to go.


You are almost done. Before starting the engine, MAKE SURE you haven't left anything out.

Turn the key to the ON position and let fuel pressure build. The fuel pump will stop making it's whirring noise. Start the car. If you've followed the directions, everything should be MUCH BETTER than before, but if you hear any abnormal noise, turn the engine off IMMEDIATELY and began searching for the mistake.

The replacement of the headgasket made a huge difference on my engine. The putt putt putt sound went away. Acceleration was smooth. I had steam commming out of my valve cover for the first day or so until all of the condensation got out. Make sure to take it easy for a week or two until everything settles before you go into high rpm's.

The OEM replacement headgasket is superior in quality and switching out the headgaskets is relatively simple as long as you pay attention to what is going on. You will notice that the order in which I've done some of these things isn't exactly how it's described in other manuals. Everybody has different ways of doing things, and this seemed to work for me. Good tools are a mechanics best friend. This procedure will let you know whether you need new tools or not.

Here is the car put back together.


After about a week check to see if you are burning any oil, or if you are low on coolant. If you are, more than likely you head or block was warped. This can only be fixed by doing the headgasket again and getting the warped pieces machined. Good luck, and remember, torquing the bolts to the correct specs is VERY important. Be sure to use accurate measurements when doing this.