Eilrahc83

First I want to thank this forum for all the help it's provided me with so far. I'm a huge fan of forums, I like getting help and advice from the people who actually own and work on their cars.

My sister inlaw has a 95 Civic, D15B7 5 Speed that she overheated a few months ago and actually ended up snapping the #2 connecting rod in the process. Trying to be a good brother inlaw, I volunteered to fix it for her after the second dude working on it bailed out... So I found her a used short block that was worth buying, cleaned everything up and installed it with a new gasket set (that she purchased previously, Fel-pro) using the exsisting head and intake manifold.

Well the car runs great. Problem is that once the thermostat opens it starts blowing white smoke (smells like coolant) out the exhaust. I've been searching the last few days as to why.. It doesn't change the way it runs when it happens, there isn't any coolant in the oil and the spark plugs are dry. Last night I was looking at the top of cylinder 3 and it looked like it might of been wet but couldn't tell for sure. I've bleed the radiator, I've ran the car with the cap off to see if it was bubbling and it wasn't but what I did find odd was when the car was at operating temp the coolant level never went down? It doesn't appear to be using coolant either???

I have not done a compression test or a leak down test yet as I don't have the tools but I'm thinking that might be the next step?? Could it be a bad seal on the headgasket or worse.... cracked/warped head?

She is broke like most 22 year olds so were trying to keep this on the cheap but on the same note, want to make sure the money put into it is actually necessary in repairing her ride.

At this point I'm out of ideas? Please help!

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Warped head.

Eilrahc83

Why is it only when the t-stat opens though?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

My guess? Operating temp. Metal expands...
Just a guess if she overheated the previous block to the point it broke a rod.

Compression and leakdown tests will tell you for sure.
Any CELs?

94EG8

Yep. I had one years ago that did that same thing, would run perfect when cold, after it warmed up it would blow smoke and in my case barely run.

I'd really recommend buying a low mileage JDM replacment engine (either a D15B non vtec or a 1.6L non vtec ZC) and put that in. I've never had any luck doing headgaskets on D15B7s, they either immediately burn oil or they run good for 6 months to a year and blow again.

If you really want to try it again though buy a 3 layer steel headgasket for a '96 - '00 Civic EX from Honda (IIRC they're around $35), a set of ARP headstuds and a good used head.

Eilrahc83

No CEL's. I kinda figured it was going to come down to the head but a part of me wanted to deny that because I don't want to spend much more time on this damn car! But I also won't be satisfied until the job is done.

Eilrahc83

Would that be the Y8 gasket I've been reading about? Just curious but why new head studs?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Old ones stretch. ARP are stronger than stock.

ReElay_

Thnks @grumblemarc if I ever run into tht problem ill keep tht in mind

94EG8

Yes. The composite gaskets basically rot, 3 layer steel don't suffer from this problem. Sorry for the delayed response, I'd sort of forgotten about this thread.

Like marc said, they stretch, especially on something that that's been overheated, ARP headstuds are far superior to the original headbolts in any case, and they can be reused several times. The fact they cost about the same as a new set of OEM headbolts makes them an easy choice.

Eilrahc83

So over the last few days I have made some progress thanks to this forum however I fear I'm far from done...

After deciding the original head was most likely the culprit for burning coolant out the exhaust due to warpage I removed it and took it to a machine shop.. The head was warped so bad he told me it wasn't worth the time and money to bring it back and suggested I find one at a junkyard or something.

I went on craigslist and found a D15B7 head that was freshly rebuilt with a little port and polish work done as well and for $100. It's not my car but even so I'm all about performance so I jumped on this, mostly for the fact it was fresh but the port and polish was a bonus.

Went and purchased the Y8 head gasket and now I see why you guys recommend that over the B7 one, it's like a night and day difference! The only thing I didn't do was get an OEM one because the Honda dealer was gonna have to order it and I'm fairly impatient... So I picked up a Fel-Pro and was on my way to completion..

I made sure to take my time, and do everything right meaning no half assed efforts or "time saving" short cuts that ultimately end up costing me more time later down the road.. Get it all put back together, fire it up, it's running pretty good but seems to have a little mis when warming up but nothing significant. Take it for a drive and it really seems like it's running well and I've successfully resurrected a once dead 95 Civic..

Nope!.... My new issue... I thought it was still burning coolant on my intial test drive at 2am, was so pissed when I pulled back into the garage I went straight to bed. Next morning I notice a blue tint to the smoke and the smell was different, more like burning plastic if I could describe it. Wasn't sure what to do so I went and rented a "block tester" and compression tester, and I figured I would post the results here and hopefully receive some guidance.

When I used Autozones block tester the result was negative for any exhaust gasses entering the cooling system. I let a few hours pass then I did the compression test on a cold motor to sort of get the "worst case scenario" results. From the research I've done on this forum and through google I feel the results were pretty good considering 170k on the block. In order of 1,2,3,4, results were 190,175,175,190.

Help! I'm not sure what to do but it smokes significantly and I can't give the car back to her like this with my name on it as the one who "fixed it".

Eilrahc83

Any thoughts on those compression results?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Rings? What did you use for headbolts? Tell me you didn't re use the stock ones already in it.

Eilrahc83

I wish I could tell you I didn't, but I was a dumbass and didn't listen... My experience on Honda's is limited but I didn't think the headbolts would really make a difference? Do they become weakened from the one time she overheated the car to the point they then stretch everytime it gets up to operating temp?

94EG8

They really shouldn't be reused even if the car wasn't overheated, they're only meant to be torqued once. That's one of the nice things about ARP headstuds, you can reuse them and they torque more accurately to start with. Btw, the numbers don't matter all that much when doing a compression test (within reason of course) what matters is how close to one another they are. 15 psi is a little on the high side, especially where two adjacent cylinders are low.

Eilrahc83

That makes sense, I wasn't aware of the headstuds being designed for a one time use only, thank you. With that being said, do you think that's why its burning oil now because the headstuds aren't torquing down enough for the gasket to seal properly?

shawnlee250

I think the best choice is to buy a low miles jdm swaps and call it a day.

Former User

Redo the cylinder compression test with the engine hot.

kyden

oem headbolts can be reused, per service manual.

sde780

I would get a set of ARP headstuds and new headgasket. If it didn't burn oil before, it's probably your new headgasket/head.

Also were the valve seals replaced on the D15B7 head? That's another variable that's changed since the old setup

Eilrahc83

Wish that was an option but financially it is not

I will do that later today and repost the results

It didn't burn any before. If I pull the head off to replace the gasket should I replace the seals or anything else while I'm at it? I'm trying to find out if the seals were done on the head when it was rebuilt, I assume they were since it was "rebuilt" but assuming isn't the best method to use when trying to diagnose and fix a car.

Throughout this process I have learned a lot!

94EG8

how much have you spent on trying to fix it at this point? I haven't checked prices in a little while, but it used to be that you could get a nice complete non vtec D15B or SOHC non Vtec ZC for about $500.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

$500 is about right. Got one sitting in the hatch riiiiight now.

Eilrahc83

Well best deal I could find around my parts was $750 for a JDM motor. I've got about $350 into her car trying to piece the piece together but where the JDM replacemenet kicks my *** is the amount of time I would have saved!

I still need to check the comp with the motor warm but at this point it sounds like you guys recommend getting an OEM Y8 headgasket and a set of ARP head studs?

Eilrahc83

Tested the compression with the motor warm and got 180, 170, 180, and 175 starting with cylinder #1...