Been doing tons and tons of research regarding possible tasks I must undergo on this Prelude that I recently purchased.

Its a 2001 Honda Prelude Base Model 5-Speed H22a4 with 193,000 Miles.

Completely Bone Stock

Burns oil, big cloud of smoke comes out when vtec engages.
Was told about a quart of oil it burned a month.

He told me before I purchased it that it has bad Piston Rings and if I plan on not babying it that I should look into having that fixed.

I've looked into job it entails and Im confident enough to tackle the job.

While in the process of doing these I plan on doing the following.

Valve Cover Gasket
Intake Gasket
Valve Seals
Timing Belt/Balance Belt
Cam/Crank Seals
Manual Tensioner
Piston Rings
Waterpump
Solenoid Vtec Gaskets
Plugs/wires
Flush Clutch Fluid
Oil Change
Filters

Did I miss anything? Is there something else I should do while im in there, given this car has not had much maintenance on it, I was told he never had problems and never worked on it besides oil and brake changes and the timing belt.

I have NOT done a compression test yet to confirm it is certainly the rings, the timing belt was last done at 90k miles, im sure if I want this motor to last its going to need these other's aswell.

The biggest concern im having is as long as the cylinder walls are not scratched up or in bad shape will I be okay not re honing, I've heard yes and no.

I don't plan on have the head resurfaced or walls re honed, after a compression test if just one cylinder is bad if I get that lucky I may just do that piston ring.

I live a hour away from work, don't have another way to work can't afford the turn around time on the head resurfaced and not removing the block from the car.

I will be doing everything by the book to make sure not to scratch the cylinder walls or warp the head when taking off the head bolts.

I have the necessary tools and the basic knowledge of car repair and to be able to follow instructions from helms and forums.

Any insight ?

I've found a few nice write-ups, seen some nice ones on the timing belt, and a few others.

Biggest issue I believe I will have is getting the tension correct and the belt back on with everything lined up.

Using the piston ring compressor and tapping the piston back into the block correctly.'


I believe I put the piston rings on the piston in the correct spots I cover the ends up to not scratch the walls, how far down do I put it in with the compressor on, do I just stick it in until it stops then put the compressor over the piston so it sits on top the block flush?

 

Seems to be a good idea.

 

I am going to be very basic on my advice to you.

Don't try to do this job with the block in the car, just remove it, and put the engine on a stand, tear it down fully and rebuild it.

You would already be pulling the rods and pistons out, so you would be doing a rebuild minus new main bearings, so one more step and you have a full rebuild.

If the valve guides are in rough shape, you could still end up with issues after doing new piston rings, bearings, and valve seals.

For the block, if the FRM walls are in good shape, and you are re-using the same pistons in the same holes, just new rings installed correctly should be fine without honing.

Don't expect this to be a single day or weekend job, especially if it is your first time.

Oh, and use the links in the FAQs at the top of the page, and download the factory service, or "Helms" guide. Read through it all a few times, print the sections for engine work off to have them handy when doing the work etc.