I have an 89 accord LX, the guy said he blew the head gasket......I checked the miles on the car and it has 236k miles, which is a ton! First I want to know if i should even bother with it....the body and everything is in ok condition...but the engine has so many miles, im not sure if i should even fix it...I know hondas drive for a good while, and if the car will last me another 20kmiles Its worth it to me, since I am currently saving up for a new car (hopefully summer) I just need a car to last me until then!

and second...Can anyone write me up a guide to change the head gasket for this 89 LX, I have heard its not that hard, and a good days work, for around a hundred bucks if you do it yourself. So that is what I am going to attempt, I would just really appreciate it if someone could write me up a guide and tell me everything I will need, should buy ect. Thank you very much!

 

my two cents: go to auto zone, get you a haynes manual, and it will tell you exactly how to do it.

 

The headgasket isn't the hardest thing to replace but chances are if the car overheated, the head may have a slight warp in it. Which means the head may need milled to ensure a good seal on the new HG. I don't think it's worth the trouble unless the car is dirt cheap. The mileage is ok for a car that old and the old carbed honda 2.0s are extremely reliable even at high mileage. Check out http://3geez.com for more info on 3rd gen accords.

 

I would pick up the car if the price was very low. Headgaskets on those is really simple and the cars last forever.

 

I would think to have a machine shop mill bottom of the cylinder head would cost about $150, but not sure. Gasket would cost about $50? Make sure piston 1 and cam are at TDC before taking off the head. you will want to tie and secure the timing belt with a string or long strong twister onto the cam pulley before doing anything so that you would not be off by one tooth (or many) when you put them back together. A good manual will help. Good luck.

 

I just rebuilt the cylinder head on my 88 Accord LX (carb). Here's all the stuff I did and what it cost me:

1. Machine Shop - cleaning, milled the surface, valve job, pressure test - $150
2. Head Gasket Set - all the gaskets needed for this job - $42 (ebay)
3. Timing Belt - $18
4. AC, power steering pump, water pump and alternator belts - $12
5. Air Filter $5
6. Oil and Filter $12
7. PCV valve $3
8. Coolant $4

I did all this extra stuff just because there was no more effort involved and these items were due.

I was able to save a little effort by not completely removing the intake manifold. I unbolted the intake manifold from the head and unbolted the intake manifold brackets. Then I pushed it off studs. There was enough clearance to remove the head.

 

the car is free if i fix it...I am just unsure if i want to fix this car or replace the tranny in my other car (87 nissan pulsar) only 98kmiles on it.....so if for the accord itll be around 200, itll be around 250 to have my tranny replaced...so i suppose its almost even..

 

Then go with the Accord...

 

I had a machine shop mill a head and it only cost $45. didn't have all that other stuff done to it though.

My father-in-laws 89 lx-i had 450k miles on it and was running strong when a deer ran into it. Especially if the car is free, it's worth it. it's definately got 20k in it. might have 200k left in it

 

The hardest part will be breaking the crank bolt free if it hasn't been loosened in a while. Car is definitely worth saving if its a stick shift.