Hey Guys,

Recently I had my d16a6 bottom end rebuilt by a reputable machine shop in my area. The head was done at an earlier time by the same machine shop( was sitting for a couple of months) I finally decided to pull the trigger and do the swap (d15b2 to the d16a6). Everything was going good, started right up, no smoke besides the common burn off smells, it was PERFECT!

Here's the fun part.

After letting it run through a couple of fan cycles, constantly checking the fluids, and even going on a short trip, everything is gravy. I leave my friends house and go home. As I was driving I smelt coolant. The temperature started to rise but never went past 75%. I pull into my spot shut the car off and pop the hood. Coolant everywhere!. I hose down the engine bay check the radiator and fill accordingly. Start the car,temperature is fine (25%). I notice the upper radiator hose is spitting. I put an after market clamp on and tighten, problem solved. Let it run for 15 mins. Temperature is steady but I notice the engine is idling funny. I open the throttle a little and it starts pissing white smoke and water out the back. Idle is very rough under load and even stalls.

My question is if it is the head gasket, what did I do wrong for the gasket to go so fast on a motor with less than 100 miles? I torqued the head down to spec according to the the manual (http://www.carenthusiast.com/crxuk/C...hop_Manual.pdf) Followed to the T and the friends that helped me have a good mechanic backgrounds. In that short period where the temperature rised damaged the gasket? I need closure and I don't mind if it was my mistake. Someone point me in the right direction!

Thanks
JP

PS. Sorry for the rant, just a little upset.

 

if your hose is pissing, it might need to be replaced.

you might have done everything right except for one crucial part.

did you bleed the cooling system correctly after putting everything back together?
if you already know about this and did it, screw my post.

that's where i would start off.

 

What exactly is the proper way to bleed the coolant on a Honda? If it wasn't bled, how does it damage the head gasket?

Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JpiZz0 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What exactly is the proper way to bleed the coolant on a Honda? If it wasn't bled, how does it damage the head gasket?

Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

it doesn't necessarily damage the headgasket if it isn't bled properly.

the whole point of bleeding the system is to get the air out of the cooling system.

air in your cooling system will cause the car to overheat.

on most cars there is a screw/bolt on the intake manifold where the upper radiator hose connects to the intake manifold.

car off: take the radiator cap off AND the screw/bolt. pour coolant into the radiator until it starts seeping out of the hole on the manifold.

if that doesn't work, try bleeding it this way..

you take the screw off, and start the car, and then let it idle until coolant slurps out of the hole. then you put the screw/bolt back in.

if you can't find the bolt/screw, you can do this until someone who knows honda engines well posts.
take the radiator cap off, car off first, and squeeze the upper radiator hose repeatedly. you want to keep doing this until you stop hearing and seeing bubbles coming up the coolant in the radiator.

 

I feel for ya man. I had a similar situation, car ran hot 3/4 on the gauge and shortly after developed a misfire then coolant out the back.

Not even pegging the gauge out and the head got warped. So there is a chance it wasn't installer error on your part.

But regardless, your burning coolant so it could be the HG seal or a cracked head.

How did you go about installing the head gasket.

Did you machine both surfaces?
Is the HG OEM?
Did you use the revised torque specs from the service bulletin?
http://img124.imagevenue.com/i...B.JPG
Did you line up the head gasket with both dowel pins?
Oil the head bolts?

 

How many dowl pins are supposed to be on the block?

We pulled the head off and everything looks great cept that cy3 was getting coolant.

After draining the oil we found coolant mixed in .

When the coolant came out we found no oil in it.

also we did not use that revised torque procedure we followed the honda manual which says to torque to 24ftlbs then 49.


ANy ideas?

BTW both head and block where rebuild and machined.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94 Supra TT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I feel for ya man. I had a similar situation, car ran hot 3/4 on the gauge and shortly after developed a misfire then coolant out the back.

Not even pegging the gauge out and the head got warped. So there is a chance it wasn't installer error on your part.

But regardless, your burning coolant so it could be the HG seal or a cracked head.

How did you go about installing the head gasket.

Did you machine both surfaces?
Is the HG OEM?
Did you use the revised torque specs from the service bulletin?
http://img124.imagevenue.com/i...B.JPG
Did you line up the head gasket with both dowel pins?
Oil the head bolts?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Awesome post! There is my answer! I did NOT use the revised torque specs (bad research on my part), The HG was an after market metal one. From what Stoich said, the head gasket actually shifted a little when we torqued the head down. The machine shop didn't give me the dowel pin(only one I believe). Both were surfaced but not at the same time. But what you said makes A LOT of sense.

Thanks

 

lrn2mechanic

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stea1th &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lrn2mechanic</TD></TR></TABLE>


gtfo useless post.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The HamsterBall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


gtfo useless post.</TD></TR></TABLE>

it's ok...he's a schmuck in real life too.

Thanks for the help all.