After head gasket change due to severe overheat, and milling the head, I'm still getting white smoke and loss of coolant.

I talked to the machinist, he said, "five thousandth (0.005) inch was milled. But Honda dealer says if it's milled except the center circle, it's fine." I don't know if the head was milled before I owned the car, by the way.

Sure, the official max is two thousandth (0.002) inch.

I can just measure the block, and pressure test the head, and put it on, and try the car again. But also saw on the web that any head milled past spec is garbage.
I wanna drive again.

What's better answer?


Thanks.

 

"Milled except the center circle"? What is that supposed to mean?

It sounds like you replaced the head gasket incorrectly. Did you check the block for warpage as well? Did you inspect the sleeves for damage?

 

idk about d series but you can mil a vtec b-series head .030 and more and still be ok, I've milled mine .15. Either way center circles must be referring to the combustion chambers did you check to see if the block was warped. What has lead you to believe you're still burning coolant, and WHY did you let it overheat to the point of it needing to be milled.

 

The most we will mill off a head is .008. I work for Honda and have no clue what they mean by the center circle, but I assume they mean the combustion chamber being messed with. On personal motors that I have built ive gone up a little more but compensated with a thicker head gasket. Why don't you pull the head off and check the deck for warpage and also straight edge the head to double check.

 

Currently, I'm taking the head apart again to check those mentioned above - gasket fitting, block warp, and head crack.

I'm guessing Sleeves would be fine, since the compression test is 185-185-171-184 (#1~#4).
Not in a situation for a leak down test, because the car can't move to shop due to 'five minute per gallon of coolant loss'.

p.s. the reason for Overheating was the cooling fan switch failing in the mid-summer on a highway. That day was so hot..

 

I could have sworn the service limit was 0.008

 

Straight from the FSM on the D16Y7...

Maximum resurfacing limit is 0.2mm (0.008 in.) based on a height of 93mm (3.66 in.)

You nailed it 94EG8 for Honda spec.

 

I was confused with mm and inch. Yeah it's 0.2mm. Damn I need to remember correctly, haha.