Bert02

hi
my g/f's Honda civic 92 breeze 3door hatch
1.3l carby 16valve eg3

has done a head gasket
thankfully it hasnt done it between the water/oil as theres no milky substance in the oil or radiator
the radiator has bubbles coming up to the top constantly and the overflow starts bubbling when it gets hot

is it an easy job to replace it? or should it be sent to a mechanic?

or should i swap the engine?
anyone know the costs on this?
if i was going to swap the engine is there a newer one that gets better economy/ power that is a straight swap
is the 1.3 carby a straight swap with the 1.5 carby?

the other reasoning behind swapping the engine is the a/c compressor has done a seal and needs to be swapped i have taken it out and found "J097231" written on it but a new a/m is going to cost around $800 and no one can tell me what type it is as theres apparently 3 different types of compressor
the pipes come out from the top with 1 vertical (12 oclock) and one horizontal (3 oclock)

Chickenjoe

To be on the safe side you might wanna send the head to the machine shop and get it resurfaced, and if the engine has never been overheated you should have no problems changing the head gasket yourself! Just make sure you get the torque specs. And there's no need to swap engines to change a/c compressor! You can always find a used 1!

Bert02

im going to say its overheated as there was not much water left when it was bubbling out the overflow took about 3-4L

would anything else need changing like valves etc if it has overheated?

i was thinking an engine swap might cost the same amount of money as it would to send it to a mechanic to get the head done and any other problems they find
and then also source an a/c compressor
because i could do the engine swap myself if its a straight swap over

this is what the a/c compressor looks like if anyone can help identify it

Chickenjoe

Well if u don't wanna go thru the trouble of checking the head or block then I guess go ahead and swap engines!

Texas4door

Grab a used D15 or D16 or B18.
Should fit without much trouble and give ya more power AND gas mileage than a carbed engine.
The real pain is gonna be the electrical crap ya gotta fab up or switch over
XP

ifIexplode

Umm, Its a head gasket. Not a spun bearing. You dont have to pull the motor to do a head gasket. Send it out to see if its warped. How many times and for how long was the motor overheated?

And also if you buy a used motor because of a blown head gasket which is silly in my mind youd want to change the head gasket on the "new" motor anyway.

If you send it to a reputable mechanic youre looking a $600-$800 out the door.

Cap'N Chronic

I would just replace the head gasket. It's a lot easier to do than it seems. Especially on a D-series because you don't have to take the cam out, just make sure you get the timing lined back up to spec before you start the motor, that's about the hardest part.

cafrog

New head studs need to be installed if you take the head off.
Definitely need to have the head re-surfaced if it got really hot.

It takes more "know how" to replace a head gasket (in comparison to throwing a low mileage JDM replacement longblock)

Put it this way.....compare a direct longblock swap (no VTEC and/or B/H/K swap) and doing the head gasket yourself.....Cash + Time + Experience/Comfort Level needs to be weighed accordingly.

I do my own stuff so I have no good advise for you in terms of the cost to have a shop swap a motor versus a shop change a head gasket.

If anyone "needed" to replace a head gasket when/if they swapped......they better of gotten that motor super super cheap lol
Timing belt.....water pump....cap/rotor....plugs.....yes.
Head gasket.....no.

ifIexplode

The only time I wouldnt swap a head gasket from a used motor is if I were getting it from steve at Hmotors. If the motor is used and has XXXXX miles on it and is going to be in the car for a considerable amount of time Id do a head gasket on it. f*** a compression/leakdown test. Fire all new parts on it and slam it in the car. Never have to worry about it.

redm3turbo

swap---couple hundred bucks (and a weekend in the driveway)

headgasket---20 bucks at local parts store. (and 6 hours in the driveway)

Id do the gasket. Its not that bad.