AddiXz

Whats up once again Honda-Tech?

So yesterday i was driving (believe it or not, normal!) and the car started to vibrate pretty badly. After a while it got worse and it would'nt pull up normally anymore (very heavy). Stopped the car, and noticed the temperature being really high.

So i let it sit for a while, bought some coolant (hoping it wasnt that but just in case). And when i got back and took off the radiator cap.. It was quite empty.. So i started to feel it was my head gasket.

Started the car, topped the coolant and wanted to drive away, when the smoke happened. This was the point i was sure. Just drove to a garage, and let them check just in case (about 1.2 miles away). They confirmed my hunch.

Now it's just sitting there waiting for me to help it. But here is the thing.
First of all, i do not have a lot of money. Just moved and that cost us quite some money.
Next i remember the previous owner saying something like the head had allready been resurfaced once.

Now i'm not sure about the resurfacing. So i'm not sure if i should just change the head gasket/studs and try the resurfacing. cause if it has been done before this is just a waste of time and possibly money.

So here are the options i have in mind...

1. Sell the car, trade it, sell it in parts. whatever, just get rid of it.
2. Find another D15b2 and swap that in (plug and play).
3. Found a D16z6 swap including all needed things for 550 euros. Swap that in.

What do you guys think would be my best option?
Thanks in advance!

doctorake

3. Found a D16z6 swap including all needed things for 550 euros. Swap that in.

Although price sounds kind of high, then again I have no clue on the market in the Netherlands.

TripleLude

I'd buy a head rebuild kit and blitz it for 3 days and $165. All new valve stem seals, lapped valves (for $5), new gaskets, etc. Or you can just do the minimum work and buy a head gasket kit for like $70. That will cover the head gasket and a few other gaskets. Oh yes, and a gallon of SuperClean for $8 at Walmart. That's all you need bro.

Anyway, you need to do diagnostics first. Do a compression test and then we will have more info to go on.

AddiXz

Well this garage did a test with this blue stuff turning yellow.. Don't know the details.

I know the prices here are quite high. the 550 is not really a bad deal here considering most b16a1/a2's go for about 1200-1500 euro's. Another D15b2 will cost me around 2-300 euros.

Can't just get a gasket kit. The gasket has allready been changed before so i'm quite sure i'm gonna need new studs and stuff as well

TripleLude

The head gasket kit might come with head bolts. But if you are not up to the job, then spend the money on a used one. Keep in mind used means you should replace the t-belt and water pump and some other things.

AddiXz

Yeah I know the things to do. Sadly enough I could not find this kind of kit. But I have decided to take the d15b2 for 200 euros. Such is cheaper than actually buying the needed parts for the fix.

strategy400

You can resurface a head more than once. Have a machine shop check it for you. Make sure it's not your intake manifold gasket leaking coolant into cylinder 4 (although I'd say no as a block test detected combustion gasses in your radiator). Let us know how it turns out.

AddiXz

A bit late, allready started on swapping the D15's. But i'll check the old engine tomorrow after i'm done. Also i'll go to a machine shop some day next week to ask if they can check it. If it's possible to do another resurface i might just fix it somewhere in the near future. Thanks for the tips btw, did'nt even know this.

Just as extra info, the original engine had 290.xxx kilometers on it. wich is about 180xxx+ miles. The one i got today is 137.xxx kilometers. Doing the math this is about 85xxx miles. Thats more than half less, so i'm still happy with it.

Also i'll post some pictures after i'm done.

TripleLude

Yea, some people can get 350,000 miles out of these little Honda engines. I've got a B-series that is 25 years old and about 280,000 miles. It had a rebuild at ~250,000 miles.