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check your exhaust cam plug and valve cover gasket

 

Try the distributor o-ring as well. This alluded me forever.

 

cam plug is brand new and not leaking and its not coming from the valvecover its coming from the headgasket. seeping out. just in the 2 front corners. nothing from the dizzy either.

 

Did you check the straightness of the block and head before you put it back together? I'd change the distributor o-ring just in case. Mine would leak oil behind the bottom dist ear, go under the side of the head, get on the top of the headgasket, and run up to the front left corner. I couldn't see any of this process. One day I just happened to see the oil when I took the dist off. The right side could be a cam gear seal too.

 

it is common for b-series to leak in those areas. that is why i always apply a very small amount of honda bond around all of the oil passages on the head gasket. just my .02

how bad is it leaking? just seeping or leaking?

 

Who ever said its normal for it to leak in those spots should slap them selves. It is not normal!
To burn oil after 100,000 miles yes not to leek! I build b series motors allot and i believe you forgot to put the two dowl pins on both ends of the exhaust side of the block they will go over the studs on each front corner of the ex. side of the block forget these and it will leek out like you explained $5 says you forgot it! invest in a new oem head gasket once you remove the head but at least see if there laying around somewhere.. or you put the head gasket up side down make sure theres a silver tab with a serial stamp on the front left corner of the head gasket facing up ward if its not there you put it on wrong. or you diddnt torque it down to the right spec.

 

first of all i just want to say, wunfstgsr, if i have any technical questions like this again i will be sure to ask you

i figured it out on my own earlier after thinking really hard. i left the dowels in the head before i put it back on to the block instead of putting them in the block and aligning the headgasket around it like a DUMBASSSS

so i bought a new headgasket today pulled the head, cleaned it up, replaced the gasket and put the dowels in the correct way, in the block... put it all back together... let it warm up and drove it for about 15 miles with no leaks.

thanks for the help and info tho guys. im glad i got this figured out

 

No prob! it happens! i almost did it on the last motor i built for em11999 but as a engine builder you must triple check everything before each step on the triple check before i slid the head over the studs i noticed the dowels were not in place. good to hear its running good. pm me for tech. help.

 

Wait, so the first time you did in fact have the dowels in place, but you say your "mistake" was leaving the dowels in the head versus in the block? If so, either way, the dowels were in place and doing their job. What does it matter if you install the dowels in the head or block? IMO and Im sure others agree, install is easier if dowels are in the block, but it will all self align once you lower the head (with the dowels installed in the head) onto the block. Am I wrong or did I read it wrong?

 

50 bucks says you put the headgasket on wrong the first time. you have to make sure to see the up sign and make it point towards the exhaust.

 

That only applies if you do not damage the HG as you install the head, the dowels will align, they can't do anything else, but if there is gasket in the way the gasket will be damaged.
The reason it matters is you can not see the dowel going into the block past the HG when installed on the head like you can when you install them on the block.94

 

I'm going to agree with you on this, I think he had the headgasket on upside down that would cause it to leak. It does not matter if the dowel pin is on the block or head it works either way.

 

ohh yeah i completely agree. the headgasket wasnt aligned the correct way the first time. BUT i know it was UP the correct way. it wasnt upside down or anything. im really meticulous and double checked that. what ive been told is because i left the dowels in the head but i got a new gasket and put them in the block and no leaks so far with about 40 miles on it. before it was seeping out pretty damn fast

 

If the headgasket is obstructing the path of the dowels, then you wouldnt be able to lower the head fully onto the block. What do you mean by "gadget" ?

The dowel will go past the headgasket regardless of where they are installed. There simply isnt enough depth available on either the block or head for it not to go past the gasket.

 

I just checked the B18B1 I have in the shop, without the aligment dowel in the block there is enough movement in the HG that the "gap" for the dowel could be covered by the gasket so when dowel slides into place it could "nick" the gasket, but that's not the point, the point is, why would you not install them on the block, where you can see what is happening? 94

 

The topic has shifted slightly, so it is part of the point. It may 'nick' the gasket, but I believe thats negligeable. Sure the dowels slightly interfere with the gasket as they are sliding past, but afterwards it will self align. In any event, what does that have to do with a leak at the left front of the engine? No way did that event create enough misalignment. There is no room for head gasket movement once that dowel is in place, no matter where its first placed!

As for why his engine did not leak after the new gasket, who knows. Perhaps the surfaces were prepped/cleaned better than the first install. All we have is theory.

 

ok. first time like i said it was seeping a river out of both front corners of the block

now after 50 miles on the new gasket and the dowels placed in the block correctly. both surfaces cleaned very well with brake cleaner the pass front corner under the vtec sylenoid is leaking again. i just dont understand this. the other side is not leaking at all. its a very small, small leak. but i just dont freaking get this. the head is torqued to 85 with the arp headstuds. it just makes no sense. the engine didnt have a headgasket leak before i did all the work, i removed the original headbolts in manufacturer spec sequence and when i replaced the headgasket recently. everything was placed, cleaned, prepped and installed perfectly. i know there cant be any warpage on the head or block. i dont get it!

heres a REALLY shitty cameraphone pic of current. i marked the where it stops on the side of the gasket and a thin line showing how little it seeps. like less than 1/2cm out of the head.

 

How do you know? Just because the head gasket was fine before the install doesnt mean the head can't benefit from a few thousandths of surface removal. IMO its cheap insurance and a safe practice.

Everytime Ive done a headgasket on a B series, Ive always had the head resurfaced prior to install. Ive NEVER experienced an oil leak anywhere.

 

You should get the head resurface before you change the head gasket. It is cheap and will save you money in the long run.

 

also cam seals... i double this

 

did you use copper spray

 

I bet you didnt shave the dowel pins when you had the block re-surfaced...