I have a 1989 Honda Civic HB with a JDM B16A SiR I motor. It doesn't seem to fire cylinder 1. I'm going to conclude that it is leaking radiator fluid through the head gasket into the cylinder, flooding the spark plug and causing it not to fire.

So I'm going to replace the head gasket and the head studs. OEM and ARP probably. Where can I get an OEM gasket and ARP head studs for a good price? Is eBay my best bet? On the honda parts website, where I usually buy parts from, the head gasket is about $70. Is that a fair price? And as far as the head studs, is $120 the going price? Checked eBay real quick and that's what I saw. I guess I can hunt around for some unused ones in the for sale area.

Thanks.

 

A misfire on 1 cylinder normally will not cause the car to die and will not cause a high idle. Are you getting good strong spark? I would go head and replace the cap, rotor, plugs and wires and see if that helps. A blown head gasket can cause a misfire if that cylinder is getting coolant in it.

 

It's not firing at all is what I meant. You can unplug the spark plug and nothing changes. I'm not sure what good spark is, it has NGK blues and NGK plugs that are new. The distributor internals are new (TD-22U). I'm not sure if its getting coolant in it. I didn't think so, but it may be possible. How do you tell? Neither of my fluids seem to be milky, which is what I was always told to look for.

 

Ok so no spark going to cylinder 1 right? So you are getting spark on the other 3 cylinders just not #1? Sounds like a bad plug or wire. The dizzy will either fire or not so if you are only getting spark dropping out on 1 cylinder than that leaves the only things in between the dizzy and that cylinder which is the wire and plug.

 

I pulled the plug and left it in the wire and it sparked. The fuel isn't being ignited and causing the cylinder to fire. Cylinder 3 does fire. I'm starting to think there has to be something wrong with the mechanical side of things.

 

Make up your mind here man first you say spark then no spark and now spark again. IS the spark hot and strong? It should be a bright blue spark. The cap and rotor could have carbon build up on them cause the spark to be weak on that cylinder.

 

This is just a misunderstanding. It does spark. The cylinder does not fire. In my original post I said that you can pull out the spark plug wire and nothing happens, meaning the cylinder wasn't firing at all. I also said I removed the plug and wire and saw spark while cranking the motor.

The distributor is new, but I'll take it apart just to check for something anyways.

 

Going to replace the head gasket and head studs.

 

Dont just start pulling the head off with out knowing you have a head gasket issue. For $20 you can get a block test kit to test for hydrocarbons in the coolant. Head gaskets normally dont just blow. You have to over heat the car or have head lift.

 

What does it idle at? Is it a rough idle? (obviously lol) Check your timing before you pull the head since you should be at TDC for the tear down anyway

 

I've come to the conclusion it's definitely coolant. I'll get the test, but I'm putting in head studs before long anyways. This motor was purchased on HT and I think it was a shady deal. The coolant seems low, and if you turn over the motor without a plug in there is an extreme amount of fluid coming out of the cylinder. Also, the tail pipe has started to produce a lot of fluid. Which I believe to be coolant now, and not just gasoline.

The idle is terrible without the IACV. With it, about 1200. The idle sticks VERY badly, which I assume is due to the lack of a cylinder. And the car has been sitting at TDC for awhile. Been checking timing, replaced the water pump and timing belt the other day. (Because I had a new one and I thought my intake cam timing was off) Pulling the head is no big deal really. Just blows that either 1. I'm this bad at diagnosing basic engine wiring mistakes or 2. people rip people off this way. Either way, it needs head studs before I put the boost on it. So I'm starting there, and you have to replace the gasket while you're there. So I'll check valves and the pistons while I'm inside there.

This is my first honda engine I've really messed with. I sure do miss the simplicity of Air cooled VWs.