My car overheated. We did alot of things to fix that.

Here's the issue: We could not get the car to start. We figured the timing was off. We spent an entire day, 16 man hours trying to get the timing right. Still would not start.

We then considered that the head was furked. We did a compression test. The engine was cold, so we got about 125 PSI across the cylinders (I read another thread on this site where a guy got 60 all across, so I'd think 125 is doin' pretty good.) We looked to be in good condition. It still would not start, so we pulled the head.

I don't have a camera to take pictures, but, the head gasket was falling apart. There was coolant in the 2nd and 3rd cylinders. W figured there was a breach in the gasket, and thus coolantleaked into the cylinders.

We thought then that the head had been cracked or warped. I don't think the block is damaged, as the crankshaft turns over just fine.

I looked over the head myself. Unless it's a super fine hairline crack that expands under heat and pressure, I can't see it. We're going to get it magnafluxed, and apparently that will make it usable again.

There is no real question here- maybe you guys can just suggest what procedure to follow to get my engine back to working right?


And also, how much will a LS VTEC head and related parts cost? If it's cheap enough, I figure I might as well upgrade since I have the engine dismantled.

 

Did you pull a plug wire to see if you are getting spark at all? -- Coil

Is your fuel system pressurizing? -- Main Fuel Relay

Did the engine crank over, or was there coolant in the cylinders hydro-locking the engine so it wouldn't.

I would have checked for fuel and spark befor pulling the head. And if your compression numbers were all uniform, like they were, then I wouldn't think that the head was the cause of a no-start problem.

Now that it is off, go ahead and have a machine shop look it over. Might as well have them swap some new seals in and if you want to build the car for performance, upgrade the valvetrain as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sam92Teg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you pull a plug wire to see if you are getting spark at all? -- Coil

Is your fuel system pressurizing? -- Main Fuel Relay

Did the engine crank over, or was there coolant in the cylinders hydro-locking the engine so it wouldn't.

I would have checked for fuel and spark befor pulling the head. And if your compression numbers were all uniform, like they were, then I wouldn't think that the head was the cause of a no-start problem.

Now that it is off, go ahead and have a machine shop look it over. Might as well have them swap some new seals in and if you want to build the car for performance, upgrade the valvetrain as well.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sam usually has pretty damn good answers

My no start problem was a no spark problem. Bad coil/ignitor. Replaced the distributer and all is good.

Did you pull the plug off the block before pulling the head to drain all the coolant? Sounds like a little just dripped into the cylinder when you pulled the head off.

 

Yeah, we got spark.

And, the car drove to where it is just fine, so I think the fuel system is a-okay.

I got a new gasket today, since the old one was pretty much boned.

The reason for the repairs inthe first place, was an overheating problem. The water pump was leaking, so we changed it with a new one. When I put the head back on, I will check to make sure to check the fuel system, as the spark is fine.

On the front of the engine, besides the water pump, what else might leak? I may miss the original problem entirely.

 

I've had this problem before. Gross amounts of overheating caused the threads of my spark plugs to become practically welded into the head. Also the large amounts of heat caused hairline cracks on the block. The engine was toast, literally.

To see them, you can wet the block (i forget if we used some sort of cleaner or if we just used water) and proceed to scrub away the dirt with a brush and use a flashlight and with a VERY careful eye, you might be able to see if there's any cracks.

Good Luck

 

yea the head is bad bro. I have a JDM B16 complete with cams, manifold, valve cover, vtec oil line, and a bunch of other stuff.