indy90turbocrx

Ok i have a chance to buy a crx with 170,000 miles with what the guy thinks is a blown head gasket and i am pretty sure too. He said that it started smoking so he parked it right away. I checked the plugs no oil in them there clean. The oil looked clean as when your poor it in. I didnt seen any shavings in the radiator fluid. The oil on the engine is all on the bottom end. I was told by a few people i know they think from the signs its a blown head gasket too. It looks like the same thing to me because i had a civic that had the same problem. The guy never tried starting it again he just parked it and left it. I didnt try starting it either. I just made sure the gears shift and the clutch engages good and check the fluids. Anything else i need to look for? I plan on doing this myself but i never worked on cars much. Im going to try to see if it will start up any when i get it. I know how to pull the head off. Do I just take the head off and replace the gasket with a new one? Do you have to tighten the head to a certain amount(torgue) if so how do you measure how much you torque it down? Would the engine fire up if its just the gasket? Also how do I time the engine after i get it fired up? Any other info or guides i could real would be helpful. I want to buy this car its a excellent deal with extra stuff but i want to know what is all involved first. Please help me.

4drEF

You're best guire is a service manual from Honda or Helms. $60 VERY well spent.

There are several ways to check if it's a blown head gasket.
I would suggest you pull all the plugs and start with a compression check.

If you have low compression in any of the cylinders then the head has to come off the engine anyway. This could save you a lot of time just in case it's not a blown head gasket.


IF you tear the head off and replace the gasket, you will need a torque wrench to assemble it properly. Another $60 well spent. You will have to torque the head bolts down in the correct order (starts in the middle and goes outwards in a criss-cross pattern). Do not over torque these bolts and also do not over torque the nuts that hold the valve cover on. The valve cover ones like to break.

If you do take the head off, you might as well change out the water pump and timing belt while you are at it.

<u>Timing</u>
You will need to put the timing belt back on CORRECTLY so the cam and crank are in time properly.
you should check your ignition timing as well when you are all done.

GET A BOOK (not a stupid HAYNES one either).

indy90turbocrx

I bought a chilton one. It looks like its a good book. Im going to buy a timing gun. How do I check the compression? Is there a special tool? Im getting ready to start reading a bunch but any extra help is appreciated. Im sure I can find the compression for the engine in the book somewhere. Thanks for the help