My stepdad's 03 Civic EX has a blown headgasket, said he took it to a dealership after it was constantly overheating, and they showed him the water bubbling up through the pistons. He was going to trade it in for a new car as it's almost time for an upgrade anyway (had it since new, it's at 170k now) but suspects he'll only get $1500 or so for the trade in. I offered to fix the headgasket but I know that the head is almost definitely warped, so it'll need machining.

My question is, how do I determine whether the block is warped as well? I don't want to go through the delicate process of removing the head, having it machined, setting everything up again to find that the block too needs machining. In this case is it better to replace the entire motor? Salvage yards locally are selling D17A2s with 50-60k for $500, while the gasket kit, machining, and misc expenses will probably cost near the same. I'd rather not pull a motor though if it's not necessary. Is there anyway a machine shop can machine a block while it's still in the car?

Anybody have any suggestions? I want to sell the car privately to ensure he gets as much money as possible for the car.

Thanks for any help

 

There's really no way to machine a block that's still in the car. Based on your description, it'd be cheaper and less of a hassle to get a $500 running engine and just swap it in.

 

Straight edge and a feeler guage. Spec is 0.005" max.

 

Hmm... I guess it wouldn't hurt to pull the head and check the block for warpage first... anyone have a link to a service manual for these cars? Might be right under my nose but it's been a while since I've been on the ol H-T

 

http://www.helminc.com/helm/product2...C01&itemtype=N

Check ebay and craigstlist, too. Sometimes you can find a used one for much less than a new one.

If you're looking for a free one, we don't do that here.

 

If you saw it bubbling through the pistons then just get the new motor. its better that way. trust. lol

 

Would it be wise to change the timing belt on the new salvage yard motor with 50k on it? Anything else I should replace while the motor is off? Water pump, thermostat?

 

unless you know for sure it has 50k miles, i would just do it while it's off the car. ALong with a stage 1 cam mod if you have the $$.

 

Yes.

Yes, both. Buy nothing but genuine Honda OEM I haven't seen a decent aftermarket water pump yet for a Honda.

Btw, speaking as someone who has had experience in replacing head gaskets in Honda engines, don't I have yet to see one hold up, especially in a D-series, they just seem to keep blowing after that, or the engine will have severe oil consumption issues.

 

That's not very good to hear, as now I'm about to take the head off and measure the block in hopes that it's just the head that's warped. I really really don't want to pull the motor out and probably won't if the block checks out under .005" (can anyone confirm this number?), and my stepdad would prefer to keep the same motor as well if possible.

Didn't Honda replace their paper like HGs on these cars with metal ones? Hoping it'll hold up...

 

Service limit is .10 mm (0.004")

 

Straight from the service manual:




Sorry about the fuzzy pics, crappy phone cam.

 

Not sure what they used in the D17As. Once you overheat an aluminum block engine they're just never the same. Rings get soft and wont seal properly anymore. Even of the head and block are straight they still go through headgaskets once they've gone through one. Usually every 6 months to a year after.

I'm not telling you what to do, but I am trying to give you heads up so there wont be any surprises. For what it's worth I thought maybe I was doing something wrong (as well as everyone else I kept talking to that had done a headgasket in a D-series) so when I started working for Honda I asked a tech that had been there for about 25 years and he had pretty much the same experience.

 

you would know a thing or two about selling engines lol............but honestly man look for an engine itll be worth it in the long run

 

I've done both on my 93 celica, swapped new engine and then the headgasket went 2 years later, what a pain.

I would suggest new engine, lower miles at least 120k or less. Replace all the gaskets, and if you can replace the head gasket while it's out and get the head milled. I wish i would have, but then again you might never have to replace the head gasket on the used engine you buy.