i have an 88 honda accord dx with the stock carb motor. latley i have noticed motor oil in the radiator. so i know it could either be cracked head, cracked block, or bad head gasket. i want to pull off the head to take a look, but does the cam, springs, lifters, valves and everything have to come off while taking off the head, or can they stay on with the head to remove it? i know i have to take off the headers and manifold. if they have to be removed peice by peice then i cannot do it (dont have the tools) and i will take it to the shop. i have pretty much ruled out a cracked block due to no coolant in the crank. i would go look at it myself but when i went to pop the hood i broke the hood lever (this car must hate me) so now i have to fix that. any info would help, thanks

 

You should be able to leave the intake manfifold attached, Just unhook wires and hoses from that, remove exhaust manifold and anything else in the way, Its not an easy job, But if you have a second vehicle and want to learn I say GO FOR IT!

 

you should check out http://3geez.com

 

Ok, I just replaced the headgasket on my wifes 88 LX carb'd. Let me tell you, leave the carb and all those darn vacuum lines alone!!!! Set the #1 cylinder to TDC, unbolt the camgear and pull the belt and gear off, unbolt the midpipe from the exhaust manifold, unbolt the intake manifold from the support bracket (two small bolts under the intake above the oil filter) remove the nuts holding the head to the intake, undo the headbolts and using a hammer knock the head up off of the alignment pins. ( the cam,valves, train, and thermostat housing remain attached to the head along with the exhaust manifold for reasons stated below) There are two headaches involved.... you have to take the exhaust manifold off attached to the head because of the two EGR pipes that come around to the intake side of the motor are inaccessible, and someone has to help you by pushing the intake manifold back just a bit to clear the studs when you pull the head up.

 

i done this on my old car, i left the intake manifold & exhaust manifold on, was pretty simple actually