so i changed my header, but in the process i unhooked a spark plug wire and forgot to plug it back in when i started it and it made a wierd grinding noise. now the car spits oil out of the exhaust and starts smoking at about 3500 rpm. anybody have any idea of what happend?

 

You removed a sparkplug wire?
Simply replace it back in and you should not have any problems. You may get a CEL for a misfire, but that can simply be reset.

As for oil, thats a whole different story and would not really be related to removing a spark plug wire. Oil leakage is mainly caused by bad seals anywhere in and around the motor. Are you sure that its oil coming out your exhaust, and not just condensation or unburnt fuel (from having one spark plug removed)

 

how long did you run it without the spark plug wire plugged in? if it was long, than you could have washed down the cylinder and made the rings **** the bed... or worse, scored the cyl wall.

 

you think he coul of jumped some teeth on his cam gear and bent some valves thats first think I would check

 

dam dude i never ever heard of that ****!! all that can happen just from removing one wire. i check my spark by removing the wire all the time while it running!!

 

Woah woah woah.... maybe we're looking at it all wrong. what about the header doing it? what kinda of header is it? if it's a cheap ebay POS (like i bought and am currently changing back to stock, lol), good chance it was warped and when he put it on in warped the head. Maybe?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLinindoll &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Woah woah woah.... maybe we're looking at it all wrong. what about the header doing it? what kinda of header is it? if it's a cheap ebay POS (like i bought and am currently changing back to stock, lol), good chance it was warped and when he put it on in warped the head. Maybe?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very unlikely.
Heads are solid alluminum, it would be almost impossible to concievably "warp" a head.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97Ej6mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Very unlikely.
Heads are solid alluminum, it would be almost impossible to concievably "warp" a head.</TD></TR></TABLE>

uhm, what?! 1st off, heads are not solid aluminum, they are far from soild, lol. 2nd, explain why it is so important to torque any bolt to a very specific amount which is attaching anything to a head. actually, ill explain.... because the head can warp! which can cause valves to bind and not seat properly. especially something as thick and strong as a solid steel flange on a header.

although i have been known to be wrong

 

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

uhm, what?! 1st off, heads are not solid aluminum, they are far from soild, lol. 2nd, explain why it is so important to torque any bolt to a very specific amount which is attaching anything to a head. actually, ill explain.... because the head can warp! which can cause valves to bind and not seat properly. especially something as thick and strong as a solid steel flange on a header.

although i have been known to be wrong</TD></TR></TABLE>


He's talking about the header. If you dont torque the header bolts down to spec, you'll either have an exhaust leak or studs that come loose, ect. A header as far as i know could not warp a head under normal working condition. Lack of oil and/or coolant is a different story.
As for a fact, almost all recent (within 15 years) honda motors are mostly made out of aluminum with the exception of the D17 from the DA integras, which i believe was made of cast iron, the same way that old muscle car motors are made. Not 100% sure on that, but im throwing that out there.
In all of my time ever working with hondas or being on this site, i have never heard of someone warping a motorhead from a cheap ebay header. If the header is made cheaply, that will be the first to go, not the head. Just my $0.02

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by esprocker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> when i started it and it made a wierd grinding noise. now the car spits oil out of the exhaust and starts smoking at about 3500 rpm. anybody have any idea of what happend?</TD></TR></TABLE>

. To "warp" a head as Blindoll put it, you would have had to have the header on for some period of time for it to cause damage to anything.
In the OP's case, he had just installed the header, so a warping of the head would be very unlikely.

When you had the header off, are you 100% sure you did not accidently drop something into your head via the exhaust ports, such as a nut or socket, or basically anything small? You have to rule out every possibility here. If you started the car up and heard a grinding and saw smoke/oil coming out the back end when it was running presumably fine before this, its not a far fetched idea to say that maybe something foreign was in the motor when you started it up and damaged the inside. **** happens

 

i think im just gonna get the motor rebuilt. it needs it anyways...i have another problem. my car doesnt have power steering and just recently i cant turn right without the steering wheel popping and turning withouth the wheels turning. any suggestions on how to fix this

 

check your steering column. maybe it's shot? lol.

 

gee thanks for that helpful advice