Hey guys, I had my motor/tranny completly rebuilt last fall, and I started driving it this spring I managed to get 300 kms and the head gasket blew.

My mechanic called me today to let me know that he finished the head gasket replacement and he also re installed an ac system which was removed by a previous owner. My mechanic said that the coolant would eventually start surging into the overflow bottle once the engine got hot and wasnt sure why it was happening. I believe he also said the cooling fan was not turning on either.

He is a very skilled mechanic and inky works on Hondas, he said it only happened once to him before on a pilot and that he let it sit for a day and when he re started it the coolant issue didn't come back.

I apologize I don't have allot of info we only had a brief 5 min conversation, and he said he would try starting it in the morning and see what happens.

 

fan switch for the fan not turning on

 

Feel bad for ******* this guy but if he were a skilled mechanic, he would know how to troubleshoot the root of the problem for the cooling fan not coming on. A good test would be to see if there is voltage from the connector going to the cooling fans maybe?

As for the "surging" for the coolant, could it be that he needed to bleed out all the excess air in the radiator/engine block?

 

Thanks for the input, I'm going to talk to him tomorrow and I'll ask if he bled the excess air, I really hope it is something simple like that, and not something catastrophic like a cracked block.

The mechanic doesn't take business calls on Sunday so I've been stuck wondering what the problem could be since Saturday morning, and the wondering has been the worst part, this car has been such an expensive headache I am starting to lose my determination and my wallet has been taking a beating with all these problems that I keep running into.

I am starting to regret going the rebuild route, I should have just swapped in a fresher motor and be done with it but I thought having the original motor in it would be better but all the hassle hasn't been worth it just to say it's the original motor in the car. I'd rather have it running properly with a swapped JDM b18c

 

Exactly Hyoriu!

Assuming that the head gasket is properly sealing, then the surging is most likely an air pocket issue, and a "good" mechanic should know how to troubleshoot and fix that. Sometimes those things are stubborn to get out. If it is not fixed, then the car will overheat and/or blow a hose. Just look in a Haynes or Google or search here how to get the air out. One tool that has helped me a good bit with them is this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOMOTIVE-MECHANICS-SPILL-FREE-PROOF-FLUID-COOLANT-FUNNEL-SPOUT-GM-RADIATOR-CAP-/251060826793?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item3a746432a9 Its really a "must have" item if you like to work on cars. Okay technically not a "must have" but after using one, I really like it lot.

First get the air pockets out, and then see if the fan comes on. It could be that there is not enough coolant around the fan switch temperature sensor to trigger the switch to cut the fan on.
If not, then trouble shoot the fan system. Its just a sensor and 2 wires so that would be easy to sort out.

 

The fan was working before the head gasket issue so I'm assuming that the fan isn't turning on because there isn't enough fluid around the switch, I'm really hoping that the problem is just air pockets and not anything major.

I'll let u guys know what happens when I talk to my mechanic tomorrow... It's this uncertainty that's driving me crazy

 

Update!

My mechanic started the car up this morning and the surging issue did not come back, but he said that the motor is burning a **** ton of coolant...

More than just the usual burn off from the leftover coolant that was still in the motor and exhaust, anybody have any guesses why?

He is going to perform a leak down test today to try and get some answers.

 

When a head gasket blows sometimes a lot of coolant gets trapped in the catalytic converter and it will smoke and stink for a couple hours. My Toyota did it for about a day. It smelled pretty bad and there was a good amount of smoke. If the mechanic is sure that it is actually burning coolant that was supposed to be in your cooling system after the head gasket replacement, then most likely the head gasket is not sealed properly. Sounds like your mechanic is not the best.

 

Thanks for the info, i'll pass this onto him this mechanic is actually very reputable and does very good work, I think he's just being overly cautious. I hope tomorrow brings some better news...

 

Sup homies!

My mechanic called me today and he did a compression and leak down test and car was at 195 on all 4 cylinders and everything was fine no surging but my car was still puffing smoke, he never really ran it very long so I'm sure it just needs to burn out the residual coolant in the exhaust and motor.

He also re installed an ac system, so I have to get it charged, and put on my new oem bumper and lip, corner lights, taillights and re finish the wheels champ white and maybe, just maybe I'll get to drive this damn car!!

2.5 years, a complete tear down and rebuild, then head gasket failure and more work, this car was in horrible shape when I bought it so it's been nothing but work, I can't imagine what it would be like to just drive it and park it everyday because I've never been able to do that.

I own an R and I'm still wondering what it would be like to drive one lol.

 

Oh and I won't have the car till Saturday, it's a 2 hour round trip so I have to wait till the weekend to pick it up, I'll make sure to take plenty of pics of the whole trip and my first real drive with it!

Im going to swap out bumpers etc. As soon as I get her home, I'll get pics of the before/after the cosmetic touches.

 

195 PSI? I know all compression gauges read different, but that is ~50 PSI lower than what a healthy B18C should read...

 

When I did my compression test, I got 225psi on all cylinders

 

Idk, he said it was the right #'s but I'll ask him if it should be closer to 250.

 

I would see if you (or him) could find another gauge to test with.

Consistency between cylinders is the key thing to look at, but no gauge should read 50psi low...

 

I talked to my mechanic again and he said that he has only seen #s this low on a rebuilt engine just once and it was on a rebuilt JDM b18c.

Is it possible for the compression to increase with break in?

 

Yes, it should increase. But, only if the first test was done before the engine was even started up. These motors 'break-in' very quickly. After the first couple miles of driving you should see 'normal' (~250psi) compression.

 

Thank you very much for the info I really appreciate it. Im ashamed to admit that after all the years I have spent around cars I don't know how to and have never done a compression test.

Are they extensive to buy? I want to do my own tests when I get my car back, which will be tomorrow morning nice and early!! In taking it straight to another shop to get the ac charges up then I can finally enjoy my car... I won't sleep at all tonight I just know it

 

Picked up the car today and got the ac charged up, it's running great I've waited a long time for this I'm glad the day finally came