I have a 92 accord lx which has given me a very hard time. When I bought the car, it was smoking from the tail pipe. Huge cloud of white smoke. I thought it was just a typical head gasket problem. I made a compression test and the numbers were 130 cyl #1... 135 #2...150 #3...150#4. I went ahead and ordered a gasket kit from ebay. replaced HG,valve seals etc.. Started the car and again, huge cloud of smoke. I didn't take the head to a machine shop because they wanted to charge me $85, so I went to my local pull-a-part and bought another head for $60. put everything back, started the car and again, the cloud of smoke... I honestly don't know what could be wrong.

The previews owner (an old man probably in his 80s) told me he had driven the car like this for a very long time, and never overheated. Is it possible he damaged the piston rings by doing this? I can't decide on whether replaced the engine or repair it. any suggestions?

 

Sounds like you can handle a full engine replacement. I would swap in an f22a.

 

Replacing a HG and not re surfacing the head?


Should have spent the extra $15 and had the original head resurfaced.

At this point you should diagnose what is wrong with the engine and go from there.
Was it white smoke again the second time around?

Probably remove the head, resurface it and have a valve job done on it.
Unless you feel comfortable buying a used engine in good condition and replacing it.

 

I'm going to do a last check on everything. If not, I'll do the swap. Thanks for the support.


Yep! I though it didn't need a resurface since the other block was from a running engine. I did the valve job, and yes, the smoke was white the second time. I'll try to resurface the head this time.

 

Have you tried pressure testing the coolant system and seeing where the coolant is getting into the engine from?

How long did you run the engine with the white smoke? Are you sure you got all the coolant out of the cylinders and exhaust? Could just be residual burning off in the exhaust if you only started it for a short time.


Best option if you are going to take the head off again is to get a straight edge and measure for any distortion, warping, in the head and block. Then you can determine whether a resurface of the head is worth it or not.

 

Just learned about pressure testing, needless to say I didn't try it. I'll try it tomorrow. I only started the car for less than a minute. When I took off the head I only cleaned the surface of the pistons with a clean rag to soak the remaining coolant out.

 

Verify your PCV valve and system is clean and clear as well.
Our engines can be sensitive to PCV issues.