Its a D16A6 91 Civic Si 130,000 miles. It smokes sporadically and I think its the valve seals. My evidence is the low miles, it does not puff when sitting at idle or during acceleration, it puffs smoke sporadically usually after driving and coming to a stop OR initially under hard acceleration. My integra gsr did the same thing and it was the valve seals.

The smoke is a little irritating but main problem is that I feel a loss of performance occasionally when the oil passes into the combustion area.

What would be the most efficient way (time and money wise) to repair? Buy another D16A6 head and swap OR have a valve job done on mine.

I have been searching craigslist for over a month and have yet to find a replacement D16A6 head. How much does a Head usually cost? Can I visually inspect a spare head for properly sealing valves?

On the other side, How much would a valve job cost? BTW I want to keep the D16A6 head for stock car classification for HPDE and road race events.

 

i think the only promblem with buying a replacement head is you could be buying the same or even a different, more serious problem. me personally i would just replace the ones in the motor you have now. 130k is actually pretty low miles for a d16a6 so chances are if you purchase a replacement it will be higher miles. just my .02. good luck.

 

I like the way you think. You made me remember when I bought a civic knuckle from the junkyard and I later discovered it was worse than mine. Thanks.

 

no problem. good luck with it.