LSteggyguy

I have had 2 d16y8 civic's that pushed coolant out of the reservoir which pointed to a head gasket issue. One was a personal vehicle that never was overheated and the problem just slowly came about over the course of a few months.

I put a new head gasket into it, off ebay (ebay gasket set) and even used new head bolts. But it still pushed coolant into the reservoir. It could be empty when I started a drive and be overflowing about 2 or 3 miles later.

I put a junkyard head and an oem honda head gasket on it and it seems to be holding well for now.

The 2nd civic I tried a head gasket on was a friend's. They said it was puffing white smoke so I thought hey another head gasket issue. So I put in another ebay head gasket and now it's doing the same thing as my civic was. Pushing coolant out into the reservoir really quickly.

What gives? The ebay head gasket and the oem honda head gaskets look pretty much identical. I even used copper spray on the 2nd civic and it didn't care.

civic402lx

Did you even check to see if the head was warp before you slap on the gasket?
so you would compare a no name, no research, no data, no test gasket to a honda oem gasket. Which has been proven to work for decades. Even up to the point of your car failing now.

your money, spend it how you like. If you saw no different between the two and would take the chance of redoing the gasket again down the road. Sure, why not. Good luck with the repair. Head gasket are not fun.

LSteggyguy

I checked with a straight edge. I didn't use a feeler gauge but everything felt straight and the head even had machining marks. I guess someone had done a head gasket on it earlier in it's life.

Yeah, in an ideal world we would all spend the money to get OEM parts for everything. But there's a reason the aftermarket parts market is so large. Because people want parts that work for a cheaper price. Honda has been making D series engines for almost 2 decades. To think that a chinese company can't put 3 pieces of metal together is kind of unbelievable.

Caoboy

Your eyecrometers might not be calibrated correctly. Check it with a feeler gauge next time to verify the amount of head warpage.

JRCivic1

You are zero for two when using Ebay head gaskets... this should answer your own question above. Remember the law of Quality: Good **** ain't cheap... and cheap **** ain't good. China CAN put 3 pieces of metal together and make a good product... but they won't do it for the US market because they want to sell us cheap junk. We as a society are too narcissistic to skip past the lure of a low price... telling ourselves that we can't "afford" the quality product when what we really mean is we CAN afford it if we wait one extra payday... but I have to have it NOW !!! Which brings us to the second phrase of wisdom: If you can afford to do it TWICE, you can afford to do it right the FIRST TIME.

LSteggyguy

So you think the head gaskets are just garbage? And if I got an OEM honda head gasket it would fix all my problems so long as my head is straight?

oneheadlight

I agree with you that good stuff you pay for (within reason, of course).. and cheap stuff isn't good. But I always hear how China intends to sell us junk.. If China loses the United States as a customer they are in trouble! Not only do they hold US debt, but they also rely on the American consumer to support their economy!

Ever stop and think that China will build whatever the buyer wants them to make? Ever think that the company selling the junk was not a chinese company but lot of the time it is an american-based company who tried to save labor costs and go CHEAP! Asking the Chinese to make something of poor quality, cheap cost to make.. But no one ever blames them, no blame the chinese.. yes the chinese can make junk and make really good stuff too. It's all what the buyer wants to pay. I'm not defending the Chinese, but come on.. they're not the only one in this game that deserves the blame!

mk378

The answer seems to be yes. I use the Fel-Pro stock type sold at any parts store for around $30. These come pre-coated with a clear sticky material, and Fel-Pro explicitly says do not apply a sealant to them.

When you remove head, inspect the old gasket, block and head surfaces for signs of where it was leaking. If you don't see any obvious leaks at the gasket, the head or block may be cracked.

f15Civic

To answer your questions there is nothing better like the OEM quality parts specially for something so important like a head gasket..OEM Head gasket only cost $50-60 from the dealer

.You had two different scenarios here 1-Your car was just pushing coolant out of reservoir which is the first indication of a small head gasket leak with no sign of white smoke.(At this point if you manage to replace the head gasket early and avoid overheating the engine you could fine for the most part by just slapping a new head gasket. but you used a low quality head gasket..

2nd scenario - Your friends car was already smoking which means a mayor head gasket leak, head/block warped, or possible crack on the block. At this point before you replace the head gasket you need to confirm that the head or block are not cracked or warped..

I had the same problem you were having with your car, for months it kept blowing coolant off the reservoir and at the end of last summer I decided to change it.. In my case I took the whole engine out since I wanted to replace all the seals and clean the valves and pistons. I talked to enough ppl who are mechanics who told me to only use an OEM Head Gasket and that what I did since I didnt want to do the job twice. Before installing the gasket I decided to use the head gasket copper spray as extra insurance in case the block/head had any imperfections I didnt picked up.and so far the car have been running find since November I have driven the car over 4k miles since I put it back together. with no issues.

LSteggyguy

That's what I'm afraid of. I have never seen any obvious signs of a blown head gasket before on any of my civics despite them showing the symptoms. But there's no way all my civics could have cracked blocks or heads. I ran the correct mixture of coolant, even going with a stronger mix just to be on the safe side. I just don't get how anything could be cracked.

tony_2018

Nobody is going to know whether ebay headgaskets are **** because we don't know what steps you took to re-install the head and what else was done. All thats being done right now is bits and pieces here and there of what you are doing causing the thread to expand to multiple pages for nothing that could've been consolidated into your OP.

TomCat39

x2

Even the "straight edge" bit was glossed over. Was it a precision straight edge?

How was the mating surfaces cleaned up?

Was the block checked for flatness?

What torque sequence was used?

Did you chase the threads of the bolt holes?

What torque stages did you use?

So many questions.... So little answers.

JRCivic1

Now, I never said that EVERYTHING coming out of China is junk... and as you stated, there is plenty of blame to go around if you want to do the finger pointing. However, if we as consumers (individuals) DEMAND quality, DEMAND that the product is made in the USA, and are willing to pay a higher price for this... all of the blame has gone away.

Also, while you are seemingly defending China... don't forget that Manufacturing facilities all over the Country flat dead COPY quality USA and Japanese name brand products and sell them cheap online... breaking all kinds of trade, patent and copyright laws. I wouldn't worry too much about China losing the American consumer market by building junk... because we as consumers do not DEMAND quality !!! We accept lower quality because we know deep down inside our souls that we got it for cheap... and that excuse leads us right back to the low price, low quality well.