JDM_SOHC

New radiator
New radiator cap
New thermostat
Bypassed heater core
Bled system about 5 times all for about an hour

Symptoms:
smell coolant while driving sometimes
bit of white smoke @ high rpms...
never fully get all the bubbles out when bleeding, they just never cease even when they're very small an minimal, they're still bubbles coming to the top of radiator, and still bubbles comin from bleeder...
coolant looks like it has a rainbow film in it...
car occasionally bogs while accelerating, new 02 sensor, new plugs, cap, rotor, wires, ect...
inside of my intake pipe going to my T/B theres a dark grey/black type of grease all smeared around in there, WTF..!!
inside my overflow theres dark brown/black burnt residue all over..???

so do these all sound like signs of a bad head gasket..?? if so ill just go change the P.O.S. I just have no 100% way of being sure only from takin in what i hear...

pkjie108

"inside my overflow theres dark brown/black burnt residue all over..???"

That's what happened to me, changed headgasket and the problem was solved.

TravisCadello

ya, all those are problems with a head gasket. and if you really wanna know if its the head gasket check you're compression and do a leak down test. but ya, those are all syptoms of a blown head gasket.


It is really easy to change it so don't pay noone 800 to do it. pay 120 for parts and put a new head gasket,Timing belt,timing belt tensioner and all that!


Head gasket is like $45 Timing belt $45 and timing belt tensioner$30!

JDM_SOHC

good ****..

also i just checked, an that black canister right next to the oil filter, was drippin coolant onto my exhaust, creating a faint smoke + burning coolant smell = which i believe was the burning coolant i was smelling... i'm thinkin maybe the coolant transfer pipe from thermostat to water pump might have a crack or something, creating all this nonsense... so its either that or the head gasket i just gotta let the car cool down so i can get down there an start wrenchin...

5 hondas, 3 boosted, for almost 10 years total, and never had a HG go bad on me so i'm not to much a head gasket whiz like i am at swappin motors lol...

thanx guys... any more info would be appreciated also...

tx_ej8_49

Its is almost 100% the headgasket. When you take the head off, check the cylinder walls to see if you can find any cracked cylinders. Also, run your finger against the top of the sleeves and see if the sleeves are pertuding(sp?). Besides that, it is pretty straight forward. Get the head resurfaced, make sure you put the dowels back in, Check, check and re-check you timing marks.

JDM_SOHC

yeah since i live by myself & work by myself it sometimes can be a bitch to check timing and all that, but i'll do it to the best of my nature...

its just so ironic that the same exact problem is happening to the 2nd motor i've swapped.. a single cam head gasket i hear is only about a 2-3 hour job though..

sxyalexxx

I'm in the process of replacing my head gasket and found some chunks missing off the sleeves, it doesn't looked cracked and don't look like they're compromising the cylinder walls. Would it be okay to just slap on a new head gasket or is there no hope.

Sorry for the revive.

94EG8

pics would really help here.

EL Vap133

Has to be a leaky head gasket, I had a similar problem and once I got it replaced the problem went away. Good luck!

96honda_EK

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but you said inside my overflow? What is that? Where is that at?

JDM_SOHC

The container next to the radiator that holds the overflow of coolant..

96honda_EK

Oh ok cuz i came i across this post because this is kinda happening to my car too. Idk about the white smoke but for i know for sure i smell coolant. Do you smell coolant when you drive normally or is it just on the highway or up hills? Cuz thats what happens to my car

sxyalexxx

First Cylinder:

Second Cylinder:

Third Cylinder:

Fourth Cylinder:

sxyalexxx

Wow, sorry about the pictures

94EG8

That thing is done. Besides the messed up block it looks like its ready to be honed and re-ringed. Buy yourself a low mileage JDM engine and put a new OEM honda timing belt, water pump, thermostat and PCV valve on it and be done with it.

Jimster480

yes it sounds like your headgasket is leaking. I just went through a similar problem and I fought with it for months like that until it finally just blew into pieces after a retune on 22PSI of boost.

Edit: holy fk i just saw the pictures. How the hell did you manage to do that? I've never seen a block literally fall apart like that before. My block was perfectly fine after i changed the headgasket. But ya that block is completely gone. The metal that holds the sleeves is gone so you cant even put new sleeves in it. Start looking for a new block, if you could get a bare one you could swap over all the internals.

94EG8

OP figured this out a long time ago, then someone else just posted in an old thread instead of starting a new one, pics are of his engine not the OPs.

Jimster480

oh alright lol. I just assumed it was the OP's since that would def cause that problem lol