So I just replaced the main relay in my car cause it was having starting problems.. It helped a little bit, but It still wont start untill after a good hour of cooling off or so.
So I go to check and clean my spark plugs, and I discover that theres oil in my spark plug holes (In the engine).

Is this a possible blown head gasket?
(Cause my car does over heat and I have to put water in it like every few days or so....)
If so what can I do to fix it? If I can get the parts and fix it myself, then I will if i can get some intructions on how to do it...Cause I dont have much money to send it in...

 

does it blow blue smoke while driving?

 

Its possible since you are adding water alot and it overheats but the oil issue could just be the ring gaskets under the valve cover.

 

Does it blow smoke? as in exhaust? well yeah when I start driving it for the first 5 minutes...

 

It over heats cause I put just water in it?? well where is it all leaking to?

 

sounds to me like a head gasket and the water you are going through is probably getting burnt thats why it blowes smoke

 

So what can I do to fix those problems? (without taking it in preferably.)

 

get yourself a chiltons manual and a new headgasket set probably new headbolts and get to it :-)

 

i would probably get a second opinion just to make sure though

 

you should have your cooling system pressure test first and not assume its a head gasket, about the oil in spark plugs its most likely you just need to replace the valve cover gasket.

 

Is there anyway I can check/test the cooling system myself? if so how would I go about doing that?
And how would I go about replacing the valve cover gaskets?

 

I had this occur back when had an LS motor. Try changing your Valvecover gasket and sparkplug gromets.

 

Rent a pressure tester from AutoZone. You twist it on to your radiator cap and pump pressure through the system, and if it's leaking it'll squirt out. To check a head gasket though, I'd use a compression tester. Generally if you have 2 low numbers next to each other, you have a blown head gasket.

I'd say if it was just oil around the plugs it'd be a valve cover gasket. Just pull all the 10mm bolts off the valve cover and pull it off, replace the gasket, and put it back on. Pretty easy to do. Use some Honda Bond around the corners to help it seal, too.

 

Yeah, I would rent the radiator tool just to verify that your not losing coolant into the motor due to a faulty HG. If after every thing checks out fine try draining your coolant and be sure to replenish with a (50/50 mix coolant/water). If the mixture is too diluted from the water you keep adding you might be furthering the problem, too much water produces steam which may have already ruptured a small pinhole size leak in your radiator.

 

Oh and I forgot to add that I just replaced my radiator a year ago, and a few of the hoses...So I dont think the over heating has to do with the radiator or Leaks in the hoses...I guess I can always get my oil changed and theyll tell me if theres water in the oil? Or how can I do that myself?

 

This happened to me before too with my 95 LS, I changed the valvecover gaskets and oil in spark plugs went away.

Also try draining your radiator and use coolant instead of water, this did the trick on someone's car that kept overheating and sold it for dirt cheap just because of that problem.
It was a nice come up!

 

i agree with the quote above... ihad this problem alot of times with different hondas i own....

i leave the plugs in and take a long slim screwdriver and a shop towel..., push the shop towel in to the plug sleve to soak up as much oil as possibel... then after you get most of it out.. pull plugs and do it again..take the valve cover off and seal the round o-rings with permatex or rtv( or buy new oring seals) put it back together... CAR WILL SMOKE FOR A LIL BIT BUT WILL GO AWAY IN 2-3 MINS...

HOPE THAT THIS HELPED

 

Ok cool... how can I check to see if theres water in my oil?
And I noticed the 2 middle spark plugs had the most oil. Like the walls of the hole were just covered in oil. and the one on the far left had a little less. And the one on the right(drivers side) had no oil... But when I went to unscrew the spark plug it would barely budge. I turned it to the left (lefty loosy) and it almost seemed like I was tighting it. And I didnt want to put too much pressure cause I didnt want to break anything... Are they just tough to unscrew, or what??

 

get a valve cover gasket set for 20 bucks at auto zone.... get some v power spark plugs and break those spark plugs loose and change that ****...

Get paper towels and a shop vac to clean up that leak...

After that keep an eye on the leaking areas for the same problems...

done deal ....

do it ! now....

 

I have a feeling this problem with the oil in the sparlplug holes is probably not related to your overheating issue. Change the sparkplug grommets and this issue will more than definately go away.

As for checking to see if you have coolant in your oil, drain your oil into a pan and check the coloration. If it has a very brownish or almost chocolate shake like coloration to it, then you may have an issue. Sometimes you can smell traces of coolant in the oil depending in on how much coolant contamination you have, "IF" infact this is occuring. Lastly,you could measure the overall volume of what you drained. If what you drain measures over 4-5qts, that might give you some evidence.

 

Ok. My just main concern is finding out if my head gasket is blown or not. (Cause its so damn expensive) And Im assuming a sure sign of that is water in the oil?... So How can I check to see if theres water in the oil or not??

 

An OEM head gasket is less than $70. The labor to replace it is what's expensive if you have to pay someone to do it. Oh, you would need to replace the head bolts, as well (put in ARP head studs, they help seal the head/block better).

However, if the engine really has overheated before, and I'm talking the temp. needle buried in the red zone, you need to have your head and block checked for warpage and possibly milled by a machine shop to ensure the mating surfaces are perfectly flat. If not, then it probably still won't seal properly, and you'll have wasted all the time and money replacing the HG and it may still leak.

 

Oh ok great. Unfortunetly, ive been just refilling it with just water for the last few months (I know, Im finding out that-thats bad) lol I didnt really know squat about cars untill I started getting major ploblems with it...Ok so ill get some valve cover gaskets, new spark plugs, and some 50/50 Water/Coolant, and drain my oil to see if theres water in the oil.
AND Ive never drained my oil before. Lol could someone explain how to do it please?? thanks...

 

Please just look through the Integra FAQ, and at least buy a Haynes manual from an auto parts store. This is basic maintenance stuff that the manual will cover entirely.