Hey you guys. We just bought a 94' Acura Integra LS with 237,xxx miles on it. The car was sold for $500 because it had been overheated very badly and runs on 3 cylinders. I have pics:









You can see how bad it overheated here, when I tried removing the wire it came in two!




Miles:









Now for the questions. I would like to fix this thing, and here are my plans. A compression test to test the vitality of the bottom end, the rings pistons and bores. Then, if the results are good in 3 cylinders (the ones that are not missing), I will proceed removing the cylinder head, taking it to a machine shop to mill the head down. I just do not know if my tests will be conclusive or accurate enough, do you think a leak down test would be better? Also I would like to know if the bottom end or bearings or upper end was damaged by the water mixing in the oil and the great heat that it endured. Because of this and the mileage of the engine, were considering just replacing the entire engine with another lower mileage one, however this would cost more and will require more work/parts. Which one would you choose to do in this sitiation, a HG job or an engine swap?

Thanks and I hope you like the pics. Never worked on a Acura before and am kind of excited.

 

the money spent to get the head milled and block decked will exceed the cost of a low km B20 or like wise b18(nonvtec) they go for about 500-800$. and that's not counting the cost of a FULL tune up that car will need. 500$ not bad car does look like it's been beat and not taken very good care of, how mechanically inclined are you/skilled and do you have a bunch off tools ?

 

I'm +1 to just replacing it. An LS motor really isn't that expensive on craigslist.

 

Oh yes I am mechanically inclined but I was thinking it would would be much cheaper than 500-800 for the head job.

Head job at my machine shop is only $100

Head gasket kit - $55

Water pump timing belt kit - $55 (but I do know if that even needs to be changed yet, could be good still.)

Tune up kit- $86

Fluids, coolant and oil with filter - $30



So it that's about $250-300 for the head job. An engine swap costs substantially more just as you said, and I don't think you tallied in fluids and the tune up items, perhaps a gasket kit as well. Car also needs a radiator I forgot to mention... Our budget is about $500.

My question consisted strongly in if the bearings, pistons, rings, bores, valvetrain were still in good condition, and if compression testing and/or leak down testing would tell me procisely enough the health of these parts. A visual inspection is also in the works as well. Gonna pull the valve cover off. Its the bottom end I'm worried about.

If this engine will hold up well and good after the HG job, this is the question. As it did overheat and mix oil with the coolant.

Yeah the car was neglected but its not that bad. Can be fixed up.


Thanks for chiming in.

 

Wait a minute so you mean I have to get the block decked too?

 

IF it was overheated for an extended period of time yes then the head along with the block could very well be warped. Overheating will not mess with your rotating assembly, at least I've never heard or seen it happen so you should be in the clear there. The only real way to check those things out is to pull the engine and put it on a stand which for a ls engine with that many KM's it's just not worth to do. I assumed you were going to get all OEM Honda parts thus why I said a new engine would be cheaper in that case. I see tons of oil leaking from the VC over the #3,4 exhaust ports time for a new VC gasket not trying to discourage on your rebuild plan just warning you that it's possible to blow your budget on an engine that is done. Comp test and post the numbers do a wet test also that will tell you what shape your rings are in which is what I think you'd really like to know.

 

Just get a used b18 from a junkyard and save yourself the headache. THe body looks straight not a bad deal for 500 bones.

 

Yeah I thought it was a decent deal too, especially since we have the ability to fix it up on our own, take it to a shop and it wouldn't be a good deal at all.

We can fix this thing up easy. I was thinking of doing some cleaning to the engine bay as it looks like a disaster. What's the best way to clean the bay we don't have a pressure washer just a water hose.

We just ordered new plug wires. When that's done we'll perform a leak down test

 

Okay so what engines could I swap into this chassis that would work easily? I found a B20B online for a reasonable price.

 

The B20B engine is probably the best option. My question is what I would need to do to make this swap work. I think the B20B is obd 2 so I would need to swap over my obd 1 parts. Anyone have a guide for doing this swap?


Thanks.

 

Got the head off. The block seems a bit warped and the head is definitely warped. I have the official manual and took a snippet of it, i have a question though. Does this mean that if its under 0.10 mm then its good? I think the most I could fit under the block was an 0.08 mm.






Oh and another thing, would you recommend a graphite or a MLS head gasket? I was thinking the MLS would be better since its stronger and may seal better.

 

Can I get some help on this? I wanna know if the MLS HG would be good or if the graphite one would be better. Also my block is slightly warped but I think its within spec. Am I reading this correctly, does it say that if I can slip a 0.10 gauge underneath a straight edge, then that's when it is warped beyond spec? I don't know if i'm reading it correctly, can someone help me with that too?


Thanks.

 

MLS headgasket only. at 0.10mm i would deck it.

 

If you use all that cheap crap you listed. This engine will be worse shape than it is now.

You don't ever seem to do anything the easy way. All you do is ignore peoples advice and do your own thing..... and that is break everything becuase you don't have the proper tools to do the job.


LMFAO....... you are telling these guys that you are mechanically inclined. Really! You have a lot of really simple questions for someone that proclaims to be mechanical in trade. You don't even know how to read a feeler gauge.

Now you have gone and infected the Integra forums with your stupidity. Now that you have a real car. Hopefully you will get rid of that POS Accord wagon and move to this forum so we can get some rest. Hopefully you don't question their every answer, but I'm sure you will and it won't take long for them to learn that you are just a troll!

 

You're gonna be one mean old bastard one day, you're already taking the first step.

I really don't know why you want to get angry/irritated with what I do with my own things, not like its your car if you don't like the way I do things then that's your problem. And going around calling me a troll is very low of you. If anything you're a trolling me.

 

I have some updates on the Integra and some before and after pics.

Here's the work that was done:

New timing belt kit with water pump, spark wires, accessory belts, engine mounts, engine bay and engine was pressure washed, replaced radiator, and the head gasket was replaced, head was milled 5 thousands. We replaced the oil and the radiator fluid. Engine drives great now.

Before:

[IMG][/IMG]


After:




I'm so grateful to have gotten it fixed let's just hope it holds up. I think this was worth it over getting a whole new engine. Thanks for the advice anyways.

 

Paint the exhaust shield and put it back on son.
Was it an eBay HG?
I used one once. And it failed on a 3 hr drive

 

Yes, the heat shield would be on but due to the fact that the radiator crossmember is bent inward, it won't fit.

Why did your HG leak did you not have the head resurfaced properly like you should have? It is an eBay HG but i'm not worried, I've heard good things about this company.