My mechanic said it was the valve seals but I think the head gasket is also bad. Just wanted some input before I do the work. When I floor it it makes even more smoke. Here it is idling after taking it around the block a few times. Take a look.

[youtube]n74oC4PHUCI[/youtube]

I'll be posting compression test results tomorrow. I got cylinders 1 & 2 done (both 120-125 dry, #1 was 160 wet) but the hose blew (Damn you Autozone!) before I could finish... so I'll do a full dry and wet test tomorrow.

 

get a new mechanic

my $'s on the headgasket

 

When you have the head off to do the head gasket do the valve seals. They are pretty cheap and not very difficult to do.

 

i bought a d15b7 to put into my dx hatch. after getting it home i see the timing cover had melted to the block. yeahhh overheated lol. its in the car and it blows white smoke just like your vid and idles low. id say its your head gasket def.

 

leakdown test

 

It wouldn't hurt to look at the valve seals because I do know that after time they start to go back and letting oil in the engine.

 

had the same thing happen to me like 5 months ago bro its the head gasket.

 

yup my hg blew but i still drove the cqr for like four months

lol b1 ftw

 

lol i did too. and still got 36 mpg

 

Burning oil causes blue smoke (valve seals/rings). Burning anti-freeze or brake fluid causes white smoke. Burning rich causes black smoke.

I had a brake booster fail on my Sunbeam Tiger in such a way that the booster vacuum sucked the brake fluid from the master cylinder into the intake. I had clouds of white smoke. I don't think Honda boosters can fail that way, though. Japanese design vs English design.

Blown head gaskets (or cracked blocks or heads) can let coolant get into the combustion chambers. This usually causes white smoke, but it is usually more prevalent when the engine is cold. The smoke can go away when the engine is hot. This is way it is always a good idea to make sure that the engine is cold when you check out a used car you may want to buy.

A good way to test to see if the white smoke is caused by coolant is to start the car when the engine is cold, and then catch a few drops of the moisture coming out of the tail pipe along with the white smoke in the palm of your hand. Then taste a tiny drop of it. The glycol in the coolant makes it taste sweet. With normal white smoke from a cold engine on a cold day, the water drops will taste like water.

I know that ethylene glycol is a poison, but it takes a lot of it to cause a problem. A tiny taste won't hurt you.

If you do have a blown head gasket and the coolant is also getting into the oiling system, then you need to get it fixed right away. When ethylene glycol mixes with oil, it turns the oil into a sludge that clogs up your oil galleys completely. The only way to fix that is with a complete engine rebuild that includes having the machine shop clean out the oil galleys.

 

Compression test results:



I tasted the water but I didn't get a sweetness to it. I think it was a mix of early morning condensation and actual engine exhausts. There is are oil deposits on the tail pipe, though.

I'm going to start removing parts to get to the head right now.

MarkOlson, where are the oil galleys located? Are they in the block or in the head?

 

There are oil galleys in both. They carry the oil under pressure to the crankshaft and to the camshafts.

If you think you are getting coolant in your oil, drain the oil out of the pan to see if it looks discolored. Another hint is if you see an oily sheen in your coolant when you remove the radiator cap. A bad blown gasket can also cause overheating resulting in coolant puking.

 

Seriously, do a leakdown test.

 

I think I did see an oily sheen on the coolant. It was a small film.

.Manny., unfortunately I don't have the equipment for a leak down test. I have a small portable compressor that only goes up to like 150 psi. Do you have a reason to have it done vs. just replacing the head gasket and seals?

 

So that you have a definitive answer to what the problem is. Instead of tasting your exhaust or guessing as to what it could be. Get a new mechanic too. That's the first thing he should have done.

BTW, that compressor will do just fine