I don't know if I have a blown head gasket or fried piston rings, but I do know that oil is resting on top of my pistons, and lots of it. Do I need new rings or a new head gasket? Please help.

 

how do you know that you have oil on the top of the pistons?

 

an easy way to see if its a blown headgasket is to drain the radiator fluid and look for oil in the system...or don't drain the fluid and do a leakdown test...all you have to do is look for bubbles in the radiator system

queston: is it all pistons or just one where the oil collects?...if its all then it maybe it is a headgasket leak...if its just one then it is probably a bad piston ring letting oil through...problem is with a blown headgasket it could lead to a warped head so you'll want to check that too

 

when the car is cool, take off the radiator cap. Make sure the radiator is full and start the engine with the cap still off. If bubbles come up from the radiator, then the headgasket is blown. If not, then its probably your rings. Ultimate way is to do a leak down test to find out which one is leaking.

 

thats not entirely true.. the coolant will bubble if there's any air in the system also,
if it continues after say 15 minutes or so.. then there's a good chance
the headgasket is the culprit.

 

There is oil on pistons 1,3,and 4. Also those spark plugs are swimming in oil.

 

If my head is warped, can I get it resurfaced or shaved to fix it? Can the block waro also? If so, is there a way a machine shop can fix this?

 

yes you can resurface the head, and yes the block can warp as well..
check for deck straightness when you pull the head. Any machine shop
will be able to deck and mill both the block and head.

 

see my thread https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=183821 dude, looks like i have the same prob as you!!

 

I just took off the head and there was a little oil on top of the pistons, but not as much as I thought. I think it fell on the pistons when I took the spark plugs out, so the gaskets for the spark plugs on my valve cover must be bad. I think a little black color on the pistons is common from the carbon deposits. Right?

I also sprayed so WD-40 on the pistons and it has stayed at the same level for a long time. I guess my rings are still good. Only thing is, how do you know if you head gasket is blown? What do you look for?