Car: 1996 Honda Civic DX 1.6L non-vtec
Mileage: 280k
Problems: Water pump failure caused an overheat which lead to a warped head and blown gasket.

What started off as a head gasket change has turned into a full blown engine rebuild. Now I need to find a good shop, preferably in Simi valley, but Thousand Oaks, or San Fernando will work. If I must, I could even drive to Los Angeles.

Aside from that, I am curious how much I should have done on the block and also what prices to expect. I'm trying to do as much as I can myself to save money, so what is the minimum I can get by on?

I've bought the piston rings and when I put the new rings in the cylinder, the gap is well within spec. I can also still see the hone lines in the cylinders.

This is my first engine rebuild and any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

I'd get the head resurfaced at a minimum and have the deck checked on the block.

Outside of that, there's probably not anything you *need* to do if you're keeping it stock.

New bearings/gaskets everywhere. I'm not a fan of plastigage since it's subjectively measured but it will at least tell you if something is off.

 

Everything Pyro said, in addition though, since you are doing new rings, that means you need to also do a light hone.

Being able to see the original hone doesn't mean there is enough roughness left to break in new rings. It was already used up seating the original rings. You need to freshen up the hone so the first initial run of the motor you can seat the rings properly and it will take and last you a long time.

Something like this from amazon.com would work well for a hone refresh:

https://www.amazon.com/76MM-Flex-Hon...3%22+flex+hone

The part I'm unsure of is 400 grit to high or just right for refresh or should you get a 240 grit? Maybe a machinist will chime in on the grit preference on the final hone.

Actually just found this interesting info on grit choice:

Iron Cylinder Ring Type:
OEM Iron rings: 180 or 240 grit

Chrome rings: 240 or 320 grit

Moly Rings: 320 or 400 grit

Plasma Rings: 320 or 400 grit

not sure ring type: 240 grit



Manufacturers Recommendation:

Hastings: 240 grit

Akerly & Childs (Ductile Iron): 240-280 grit

Akerly & Childs (Moly): 400 grit

Perfect Circle (Ductile Iron): 240-280 grit

Perfect Circle (Moly): 400 grit

Sealed Power (Moly): 400 grit

Speed Pro Hellfire (Ductile Iron): 240-280 grit

Total Seal (Ductile Iron): 240-280 grit

Total Seal (Moly): 320-400 grit

Harley Davidson(stock): 320 grit

Wiseco (chrome top): 320 grit

Mahle (Moly/Chome top): 280 grit

This is found on this site:

http://www.enginehones.com/technical.html

And then an interesting article on plateau finishing hones to create a better seal initially and increase ring life:

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2004...e-refinishing/

 

I appreciate the replies, and based on your recommendations I've picked up a Brush Research Flex-Hone that's made for my cylinder size. I also bought some of the flex-hone honing oil, and a $35 engine stand from craigslist so I can do this right.
After cleaning the block and giving it a light hone, I plan to take it to a machine shop to have them test it and do whatever else is needed to get it where it needs to be.

The only thing I need to know is what shop to take it to.

Does anyone know of a good shop in Simi Valley or North of Los Angeles, like San Fernando?

Thanks again,
M

 

I found a shop and had the block resurfaced since it was warped a little. I also ordered all the bearings as well as the head gasket, distributor o-ring, and crankshaft seals. I still need to get the rest of the gaskets for the block.

Thank you again for all the advice, this has been a valuable learning experience.

 

Please utilize your other thread that I moved into the 92-00 section. That section is better designed for this kind of rebuild over this section which is a bit more specialized for high end engine assembly/machine shop work.

Now that you have a machine shop, continuing with this thread in this section with general rebuild info will result in a closure.