Okay guys so I picked up a b20b swap for my teggy car is running strong and has no lose of power. It also isn't pushing coolant out the reservoir and I pulled all plugs and noticed that the plug in cylinder 4 looks like a dark gray / yellowish green color it's not burning oil and it's only on cold start the car will shoot out white smoke for like about maybe 30 seconds to 1 min and then its perfectly fine also just checked all hoses no leaks. I drove the car for about 45 min and noticed a substantial amount of coolant missing from the radiator after I parked and checked the levels but the reservoir is at the normal level no coolant missing. Is it a bad head gasket? Please help guys here is some background on the engine about 60k miles has a rebuilt head with valve seals, springs , retainers, and it has aftermarket cams.

 

The engine may not have had enough coolant when you swapped it in, pop the hood and jack the car all the way as high as you can get it, start engine and set the heat to full blast, pop off the radiator cap and put a funnel in, wrap a rag around the cap and funnel to catch fluid and bleed the radiator until it stops bubbling and squeeze the radiator hoses to pump the air and help bleed it, Once its full and not bubbling put the cap on and shut it off.

 

The white smoke from the exhaust is a very bad sign if you're 100% sure it's coolant and it does it on every cold start. I'd contact whoever you bought it from and try to get a replacement.

 

Bought off offer up but if it is a head gasket I have no problem doing it myself also if the car is lossing that much coolant wouldn't it fill I've been feeling it about once a day after going to work and coming back and that's only a 5 min drive and it losses coolant but nothing like it did today when I drove it one way 45 min and it needed a good amount of coolant and then when I got home it was the same thing.

 

Also the engine was still in the car when I bought it checked it out had the previous owner run it and it was running for 30 mins and also revved it up and no smoke at all came out the engine was running perfect picked up the following weekend after he removed it from the car ut was in which was also an integra. So I have no idea how the head gasket could have gone bad that quick.

 

I'd try a chemical tester to check for exhaust gasses in the cooling system then.

 

Okay I'll try that and also I will do a coolant system pressure test and a compression test and will get back to you guys.

 

Okay guys so no leak down test needed the car is spitting air and coolant from the radiator when I hit the throttle with the cap off its pushing air through the cooling system, which means needs a new head gasket correct? I have a few questions does the head need to be taken to a machine shop if the car is not overheating? like I said the car has not overheated. Can I just put a new gasket and head bolts on without getting the head resurfaced? If I have to get the head resurfaced I will.

 

Did you bleed the radiator like I mentioned????? you have air in the system bleed and top off the radiator don't rev the engine while the cap is of smh..

 

Tried that ran the engine for almost 30 min still losing coolant and bubbles keep coming out of the coolant without even revving the engine and when I mean rev I mean a soft push of the accelerator not full throttle. If its pushing air through the cooling system and burning coolant to the point where I need to put a half a bottle of coolant after a 45 min drive and isn't pushing it out the reservoir I'm pretty sure the head gasket is toast. No coolant in oil just pushing it through the exhaust and white smoke smells like crap and the spark plug on cylinder 4 is now turning a yellowish/ green color from the coolant being burned. Called my local machine shop resurface of head $40 and acid dip cleaning of all parts for $15. I'm pretty positive it's the head gasket since it's pushing white smoke through the exhaust.

 

Do a compression test before pulling the head. Kinda see what the numbers are. Then pull the head to inspect and go from there. I hope the po didn't boost the damn thing and decided to just swap motors after abusing it.

 

This is a pic of the spark plugs they are all brand new engine has only been driven for a week the one that looks all bad is the one in cylinder #4
Okay so I ran a compression test dry and wet
Cylinder #1 125 dry and wet
Cylinder #2 130 dry and wet
Cylinder #3 and 4 were both about 120 dry and wet
Does this mean this engine is toast even though it doesn't have a loss of power the car runs great except for it burning coolant and when it starts to burn the coolant it starts idling rough.

 

Also checked mechanical timing and it looks like it's a little off but might just be the angle I'm looking at it.

 

Burning coolant and bubbles in the radiator point to the engine being toast.

The compression test results are fairly consistent but its possible to have a cracked head or some other small leak that that won't be immediately obvious from a compression test.

 

So basically no point in replacing the head gasket? Might as well get another engine.

 

at this point its 50/50 if a headgasket will fix it. The numbers could be low because of leaky valves. I'll be able to confirm once I get home to my sisters db7. She has a high comp b20 auto >