I was driving my car at roughly 70 MPH and noticed the temp gauge start creeping up, about 5 minutes later it was all the way hot and losing power so I pulled over and popped the hood. The overflow return hose on the radiator was completely blown off. I assume coolant was shooting out of it for that whole 5 minutes and its right in line with the air filter box, I had taken the resonator box out many months before because I had to replace a headlight and decided to keep it off for the sound (Ricey, I know).

I felt the air filter and it felt a bit damp, and the car wouldn't start after I had let it cool down and replaced the hose and coolant. The underside of the radiator cap was milk-like, which is a tell tale of a blown head gasket but my oil looked good and when I drained the radiator it was bright green coolant, not the milky substance that I expected. I did a compression test on all 4 cylinders and it was 60/60/60/60 across the 4, The starter runs and the car cranks, but wont turn over. I've replaced the coil packs (They got wet too) and the spark plugs in-case I fouled them with water.

Im looking for some sort of validation on weather a blown head gasket would cause the compression to dump like that, or if its something more major. I've had civics with blown head gaskets start and run "fine" so I'm wondering if there is another possibility. Thanks!

 

I'd start with compression. Assuming your compression tester is accurate 60 psi is very low. Probably not enough to fire the engine.

 

Yeah, The starter cranks perfectly but the engine wont turn over. I'm pretty sure my gauge is correct, I can hear the hollow sputter from the engine but it just wont start.

What I think happened is, The engine got hot and blew the head gasket. That pressurized the cooling system, and blew a small amount of oil into the cooling system, that blew the overflow hose off and was hot enough to melt the radiator cap. Which prevented the cooling system from pressurizing and made the engine overheat.

Does that sound about right? Right now I've got almost everything pulled off the front. I hope the head isn't warped but I don't know how to check for that specifically.

 

Some signs point to yes. If compression is that low and your cap looks like a Starbucks product, you likely know what happened. However I will admit it seems a little weird that all compression is that low. Slight chance it's something else; verify with a combustion gas test. Unfortunately, D series engines are notorious for cooking head gaskets and with an aluminum head there's a decent chance it's warped if you let it get hot enough.

By "almost everything pulled off the front" do you mean you've already pulled the head? You can check head warpage with a feeler gauge, they're pretty cheap to buy and are very easy to use. Honestly, if the head is out of spec, I would just swap in a used motor. Cheaper than sending it off to a machine shop and less of a hassle than putting it all back together to discover another problem down the road. Not to mention, if you get one with low mileage, you're better off in the long run, and D17s are a dime a dozen.

 

I've pulled everything short of the head. So the next question, I can get a K20A2 for $400 with 130k on it. You think it would be worth it to swap in and just go K?
I know i'd need the axles, shift linkage, tranny, ecu, ect. but I'd rather drop $1000 and get a K swaped car, than spend $500 and get a normal D17A2 and be $500 in and no improvement other than it actually running.

 

If you can verify the health of the motor and tranny, I'd go for it. Which vendor are you looking at? If everything checks out then that's a really good deal, and if there was ever a time to do a swap, this is it.

 

As long as you have the time, money and tools, go for it. Just beware that it will probably cost a lot more than you are expecting. $400 is about 1/3 or 1/4 the value of that engine. Something does not sound right. If it has a return policy and you can verify that it is healthy and not stolen, do it.

 

Its from a wrecking yard called UPullIt, or Pull n' Pay.
The one here pulls healthy motors, runs them, and does a once-over. Then sells them as packages. The one im looking at has 130k on it.
I believe they supply a 1 year warranty for like $70 extra.

 

Hmm, if you can find a lower mileage example it might be worth it. If not, be sure to read the nitty gritty details of that warranty and at the very least try to get some compression numbers. If everything looks good, and you're confident in your abilities (be real with yourself: this is what gets a lot of people) then I'd go for it. That's a helluva deal. Good luck and keep us posted.