VTECwalka

About 4-5 months ago i had a stuck thermostat that just so happened to stick on the way back from a place i was going. the heat gauge would get too the top and id quickly get the car shut off and wait an hour to let the engine cool down. did this about 3-4 times until i made it home. Took the thermostat out, new coolent, new radiator hose. and everything was fine. engine never once gave me a problem and 4-5 months later still starts up and runs as good as it did when i got it rebuilt. The only problem is i have a oil leak and its no where up top. not the valve cover, or anything uptop that i see SO FAR i have replaced the oil pan gasket my self and the leak is still going. Now i hear allot of people saying "bad head gasket scrap the motor" Umm the motor still runs good and gives me no problems. never had milky oil. i do put new oil in from time to time. but i see the color of it almost everday as it drips on my drive way and its still a darkish color. maybe dirty but not milky so. Would this be a head gasket? and if so would it be cheaper to buy a new motor than replace the bad gasket? a gasket costs very little with my knowledge. and the job in a 4 cylinder doesn't sound that hard...

VTECwalka

Also the engine is a D16Z6 with less than 100k miles on it.

strategy400

Have you done any tests besides looking at oil spots in your driveway? Have you found the actual source of the oil leak? Why do you suspect you have a bad headgasket?
Running the car without a thermostat will cause a constant rich fuel mixture condition.

D-Vice

If your oil isnt milky, and your not blowing air bubbles into your over flow i doubt its a head gasket. You said you did the oil pan gasket yourself. Did you do a 2 stage torque and did you put sealant on both sides of the gasket. honda oil pan gaskets can be a lil tricky. And with a little less then 100k I wouldnt scrap that motor at all. I doubt it is a head gasket, but to answer your question you could do it yourself within a few hours if you have some basic tools, torque wrench and basic mechanical knowledge. The d16z6 is actually a pretty easy engine to work on.

If you don't see the oil coming from the top, check the bottom. Make sure it isnt the oil pan or coming from between the engine and transmission (rear main seal) If there isnt oil leaking from there check the obvious like maybe a loose oil filter or loose drain plug. If still no oil is found, take off your timing cover and check your upper camshaft seal, and your lower crankshaft seal. Dist. o-ring still good?

There isn't too many places you could be leaking from.

10psiLsEf2

Like stated above it could be leaking oil from rear main seal,camshaft seal.

As for the headgasket is it over heating? or why do you ask?

also a engine with no thermostat will run in a rich state at all times,and will eventually over heat.

A thermostat is designed to let the engine get ''hot'' and then cools when it opens. if its constantly open it builds pressure causing a ''overheating condition''

A simple compression test and leak down test can tell you if your HG is leaky.

If that doesnt work a hydro carbon tester CAN also tell you.http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/pr...N-LEAK-TESTER/

although these testers have gave me FALSE results.


Sniffing your radiator once at operating temperature with a smoge machine exhaust probe will give almost 100 percent accurate results.

GOOD LUCK

10psiLsEf2

SMOG

VTECwalka

I have not done any tests other than looking at where the oil is dripping from. For the most part it drips off the oil pan( i did not torque the nuts for the oil pan but i did put a fair amount of sealant on both sides) and it also drips off of the timing belt cover. The oil likes to sit in thos ridges where the header is bolted onto the head. And its running down all over where the name of the engine is. I don't have the required tools to figure out where the leak is so i just sent it too a shop last night. and he was just about to take off the head as i was leaving. I was told by a couple people that sense i live in Florida a thermostat was not really needed. But if that's going to make my car run weird and in the long run do damage i'm deff going to go spend 10 bucks on a new one. the dizzy was replaced when i got my engine rebuilt about 8-9 months ago. So i think it should be alright. Over all this car has gave me problems sense the day i bought it. I just can't seem to give it up after i put more money into it than what i bought it for.