i just pick up a 1990 civic dx, the body is in good condition for $100

its was an elderly persons car and it has been parked for over 2 years, its been started up regularly.

whenever i start it up, it smokes up the entire area with white smoke. i know this might be the head gasket but i spoke with my teacher,who is an engine builder/auto teacher, and he said that because it was sitting, the oil has condensates, so it has sludge buildup in it..... one of my classmates suggest that i change the oil with some cheap oil, and run it for a while then change the oil again


so am just wondering if anyone else has any other suggestions
thanks

 

Drain the gas tank and refill it with 93, also change the oil.

 

ok ill do that, .any more suggestions?

 

Check your axles/regreese.

 

fuel system cleaner and fuel filter.

 

tanx again for the replies, i did all the above and i let it idle and ran it for over 3 -5 hours and it still smokes,...

 

Go drive it mildly for a while. Its gonna take some time for all the crap to cycle through. If nothing helps, change the headgasket, its easy and you'll thank yourself later.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 89SiPimpin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Go drive it mildly for a while. Its gonna take some time for all the crap to cycle through. If nothing helps, change the headgasket, its easy and you'll thank yourself later.</TD></TR></TABLE> works like a charm but i'd do oil fuel air filters, and if needed get your self a z6 headgasket

 

Get a y8 gasket. its a lil thinner and metal. And when u change the headgasket, get a Dremel and the steel brush attachment, works like a charm to get that old composite material off.

 

i'm gonna go with valve guide seals, but thats what happened to my dx when it was smoking like that, get rid of that motor...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 89SiPimpin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get a y8 gasket. its a lil thinner and metal. And when u change the headgasket, get a Dremel and the steel brush attachment, works like a charm to get that old composite material off. </TD></TR></TABLE>y8 and z6 same part number mang least thats what i'm told so either way hes good to go

 

for all the trouble of a new headgasket you might as well drop a motor
just my 2 cents

 

Its really not that hard at all. Why spend xxx more money and a lot more time to swap a motor that you're gonna probably have to change the headgasket on anyway? There no point in running from small problems, at least now he'll have the peace of mind knowing that the headgasket is new and in good condition.

 

My mustang had some smoking issues and Ive found that:
black smoke=Gas related issues ie. Running rich, timing
Blue smoke=Oil
White smoke=Water

But that was an old school V8, these new cars the rule might have changed a bit.

 

wait so it smokes nonstop or just when its warming up....if its all the time then yeah just change ur HG... its not difficult so u should be able to do it yourself...just make sure that u torque all the bolts to factory spec...but if it is only doing it on startup its either just condensation or ur valve seals...make sure u figure out the problem before replacing stuff...that way u dont buy parts that u dont need

 

its actually white-ish?grey-ish smoke and its all the time at idle not alot but whenever you press on it, It smokes alot

is there anyway to tell if its the head gasket?

tanx again for the help

 

its ur HG

also this is not a must but i do it every time i change a HG...spray it down with copper spray on each side of the headgasket not each side of each layer...wait about n hour so that it is sticky....what this does is to fill any imperfections that there might be on the head or block...u can reuse stock headbolts...i know a bunch of people will tell u to change em but it is not necessary...i always reuse my headbolts...as long as u toque them down properly ull be fine


Modified by Suck my DX at 8:52 PM 7/19/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Suck my DX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its ur HG

also this is not a must but i do it every time i change a HG...spray it down with copper spray on each side of the headgasket not each side of each layer...wait about n hour so that it is sticky....what this does is to fill any imperfections that there might be on the head or block...u can reuse stock headbolts...i know a bunch of people will tell u to change em but it is not necessary...i always reuse my headbolts...as long as u toque them down properly ull be fine


Modified by Suck my DX at 8:52 PM 7/19/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>
Couldnt have said it better.

 

ok

i took the head off today, so is there any way i can tell by looking at the parts if the headgasket was really the problem?

am gona put in a new headgasket

am also wondering about the valve seals......do u think those could also be a problem? or how could i check them to see if they are ok

tanx again

 

Check the crankcase oil for water, and the radiator for oil. That should tell you if the headgasket's the real culprit. It certainly sounds like it is.

Mike

 

sounds more like piston rings, on the D15's its a Honda curse that they start smoking because of rings and honda actually sells a better set of rings for the 1.5 because of this.

Try this maybe they are seized a little bit, put a little ATF (automatic tranny fluid) in each cyl, with the ignition fuse OUT turn it over for a minute or so, If its partially seized rings this should free them up, but not always.

This is what Ive done on over 20 JDM motor swaps that come in with little to no compression and it always works to break the rings free and puts compression back to normal.

But this is just my .02...

 

ok. this is Civicbwoy posting

am gona replace the head gasket and the valve seals, hopefully this will solve the problem

 

id change the hg but dont replace ur valve seals unless its a must..there is no point in wasting ur money

 

change oil numorous times also drain gas tank and put a good octaine in there maybe with some fuel cleaner, also get a new fuel filter and air filter. just pretty much do a good tune up on the car, gas, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, oil, oil filter, plug wires...maybe spend another $150 and it might run good

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90sohcHATCH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">change oil numorous times</TD></TR></TABLE>
UMMMM...WHY?