Hello all,

My car is a 91' Accord JDM H22A. The head gasket is gone. I need to know what I should grab before the big install. I have, (extra) a H22A4 Head with type S cams. I have all the required tools, I just need to know what I need besides the head and gasket.

 

I should add that Im changing it because:

My spark plugs are WHITE.
My coolant disappears.
I often see white smoke come out of my exhaust.
I lose power low end, but it almost seems OK high end.

 

Before you install the new head, I would recommend bringing your old head to a machine shop and have them verify that the head is in need of work, bring the old head gasket too.

It would suck to do all that work only to find out that there is a problem with the block and not the head.

 

^^ Agreed, you can actually verify the flatness of the mating surfaces with a precision straight edge and feeler gauge yourself.
Depending on the total amount of variance as measured across the surface you will either be good to reinstall everything as is, have to take it in for machining, or in the case of a warpage, be unable to reassemble and need new parts.
Of course when doing a headgasket it is always smart to buy a complete gasket set which will have all the various gaskets and seals needed to do the job right, i.e. intake manifold and exhaust manifold gaskets.
I also noticed in your OP you did not mention your compression readings.
Be sure to do a compression test before replacing a headgasket, you want to see low readings (if its bad), and then verify the numbers increase with the new one installed.

 

My compression readings are, 250,250,240,250. I did this last week knowing full well my head was on its way out. I agree on verifying the head is bad, but wouldn't my compression numbers verify that? IE: Cylinder #3 - 240?

 

Thanks for the informative posts aswell. Helps a ton!

 

Those numbers are actually quite high.
Has your engine been modified, i.e. aftermarket pistons, any milling of the head?
I would not replace the head gasket as it is doing its job.
The difference from your high to low readings is perfectly acceptable and within the allowable range.

 

I beleive the car is cammed.. I bought it for 600 off Kijiji. It came running, but barely.. this has gotten progressively worse. Can someone tell me a deffinative way of telling if its the head gasket? I often see smoke from the backside of the motor, my plugs are almost ghost white, a little goldish, and my coolant disappears pretty quick.. I honestly don't know what more to do for this car.

 

A compression and or leakdown test are the most definitive methods I'm aware of in diagnosing a faulty headgasket.
The one drawback to a compression test is the readings simply tell you a problem exists, and it is up to the tech to figure out what has failed.
In your case everything in that department looks good.

Have you checked all the basics, ignition timing, fuel pressure, what ecu are you running?

As far as the smoke from the back of the motor you could have a leaking hardpipe, the coolant tube that runs from the water pump to the thermostat housing on the back of the block.

You need to figure out what cams you have as well.
Do you have adjustable came gears or are they stock.

 

Adjustable cam gears, Skunk2. I have no clue how to do a leak down test, but I think I should take it in to get it done. The ecu is a P06, Tuned to a P28 apparently.. I understand this is the wrong ecu but with the basemap p13 it barely runs.

 

Ehh, that's kinda what I thought might be going on.
Sounds like your dealing with someone else's problem.
How long have you owned the car?
What is your cam timing set to?
If I were you I'd get the car towed to a reputable tuner in your area as the right "fix" is probably going to be in the tune and over your head.

 

The cam gears are both set to 0degrees. I've had it for a month or so.

 

The spark plugs should wind up the same color as your coolant, with a crystalization on them. ie green or blue.

Your compression test seems to show its ok. You may just have a coolant leak somewhere. Also, white smoke is normal as long as it dissipates and doesn't travel far.

 

My plugs were a goldish white.

Update:

My coolant doesn't actually disappear, rather it expands and overfills when the car is hot. I removed some, its been OK since. I adjusted the idle screw a bit more which brought my crazy high 1500k rpm down to 1200. The problem I'm left with now is when the car is cold, it barely stays on. I was told to check my EGR, but without a gasket to put back on (and replace the current) I was told not to touch it. Can I reuse a EGR valve gasket provided its condition is OK temporarily?

 

My heater core is gone, my FITV is old and useless, my starter is going and my clutch is almost done. I'm seriously considering buying a beater, parking this hurting H22 and really putting some heart into its re-conditioning. I have been guessing throughout the time I've owned this car, and without a thorough and proper inspection of every part I'd say this car is useless and just about on the verge of dieing completely.

 

You DO NOT adjust the idle screw at any point of time unless someone else already screwed it up. That is not the way to do things.

Getting back to the coolant overflow bottle, it is basically only supposed to be half full because the coolant expands as the car warms up. If you keep filling it up, it is going to overflow as the car warms up.

You need to either now adjust the base idle or fix the vacuum leak your car has. Unless your coolant is white, there is nothing wrong with your plugs. If you mean tannish white, then that is completely and totally normal color.

Do some searches for adjusting base idle as well as for tightening your FITV.