Outrun

My D16Z6 has about 190,000 miles and is 9 years old. It's had an overheating problem for the past year or so, which first reared its head at a Buttonwillow track day. Only during hard driving did the engine overheat. I'm assuming during the time it overheated at the track the engine may have warped a bit, leading to the head gasket leak.

The head gasket has been replaced but a week after it overheated again because the fan fuse blew. I quickly put the heater to full heat and turned off the car when I got off the road. The car ran fine on the freeway but overheated in traffic because the fan didn't blow.

The fuse was replaced and on subsequent long drives (2 hours or more) the car has not overheated, even in stop and go rush hour.

Now, how would this engine stand up to the rigors of hot lapping? Because the engine had to me machined before the new gasket was put in, does this mean that it's structural integrity is compromised? Is it like a turned brake rotor that becomes more prone to warping the more it's turned?

sleedawg

If you haven't had overheating on a hot day in stop and go, you should be fine.

Machining a head is not something bad. Many race shops mill down heads to get more compression/power/performance out of the engine. The mechanic that worked on your car probably machined the head to make sure the surface was flat and seals perfectly with the new head gasket because the head may have warped a little with the engine overheating. It's routine and you have nothing to worry about. You should be happy he did the machining to make sure your engine is sealed.

There are several things you should probably consider about overheating.

New stock radiators in most Honda cars are barely addequate to run 30 minutes of hard driving at the track. Then when the radiator is 9 years old... forget about it. On a hot day at the track the car will definitely heat up w. an old radiator that isn't as efficient as it was new. You may consider getting a Fluidine as an upgrade, or even get a new OEM radiator for extra protection if you're going to do a lot of track days. Also, for track days you may consider flushing the radiator and putting Redline Water Wetter and mix it with water to have extra overheating protection.

Overheating is also a tell tale sign that something else is wrong. When's the last time you've done a tune up? plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, belts, thermostat, fluids, etc. Make sure your car is in quality condition. Last thing you and everyone on the track behind you wants is for you to have a mechanical failure on track.

Just a few thoughts.

Outrun

The radiator was replaced a year ago after the track event. It overheated again at a second track event. After that, I had the gasket replaced and the engine machined. The thermostat was replaced too. Everything else like plugs, oil, etc are changed at the recommended intervals. Thanks for the reply!


Modified by Outrun at 11:25 PM 11/1/2003