I want to buy a legend as my daily driver once my lude gets modded too much.
so I know from some reasearch that the headgasket is an issue with them.
Is it better to replace at a certain amount of miles while doing T belt and water pump?

Any other known issues with the cars for a future owner?

thanks

 

dont replace the headgasket until you need it.

and when you do it. it is an EXPENSIVE job. if you get a legend with a type 1 motor, get a type 2 to replace it with, or one of the JDM spec legend motors.

they usually go out at about 150,000, but there is no way to put a set amount for this. just replace it when it happens.

 

mine went out at around 210K. I dunno about the motor swap, don't you have to change ecus and what not? It cost me $300 for the headgasket set. it has every seal in the damn engine that u might replace while changing ur hg. Do it urself not that bad

 

A HG job is not one of the non mechanically inclined. it is one of those things that if you do it wrong, it could really mess stuff up. if you dont torque the heads down correct, then your HG life will basically kill itself after a little while, not nearly as long as one should last.

the actual gasket is only about $80 from acura, but to install it, they have to take the engine apart, which always costs a holy crapload.

and no, you dont have to take the ECU if you do a motor swap. i mean, you wouldnt go from a type 2 to a type 1, or a type 2 to a JDM motor. the type 2 will run just fine with the type 1 ECU, you might just want to get the bayou chip so you will run a little bit richer.

 

when the head gasket goes bad, do the heads warp?

Is the block and heads aluminum?

 

its not really a defect so much, mainly because its an old car. the cooling system gets old, tubes brake, owners dont realize it, and it blows the HG, after they are trying to figure out why the car is overheating.

ya, the block/heads are alum

 

Only reason I ask is cause I want to get a 91-94 LS in the future and just want to know what the worst case senario would be if the head gasket was bad

 

just have it checked before you buy it. have a compression check done, and check to see if there is oil in the radiator.

and there was a 91-95 2nd generation legend, they didnt stop at 94

 

thanks rangerjoe

 

worst case scenario of a headgasket going bad is waterlock in the motor. coolant gets into the combustion chambers, in the cylinders, etc...the engine cannot be restarted until it has been torn apart and rebuilt. waterlock happens if the car is continously run after the headgasket has gone bad. but, a bad headgasket won't warp or crack your block or heads.

 

also, what part of boise are you from? i have family up there and a good friend who runs idaho speed center. they are known for some great autox cars and done some swaps too.

 

You are more likely to crack the block from the constant overheating, than you are to waterlock the engine from getting coolant in the cylinders. Unless there is just a huge blowout, in which there is a piece of the HG that is missing, you arent going to get coolant in your cylinders. Never have I heard about that happening in a legend. I have heard about cracked blocks from constant overheating, but never waterlocking due to coolant in the cylinders. In either case, it is almost not worth it to replace the headgasket, buying a new engine is generally not much more expensive. a new headgasket is $80, and if you have a friend that is a mechanic, then go that way, but if you have to go to acura to get it done, i almost suggest a new engine.

 

it can happen in any car that has blown a headgasket. something i've done before in a work truck. you'll get coolant in your cylinders because it mixes with the oil in the oil channels running through your block. there can be no combustion after coolant and moisture have set in the cylinder and combustion chamber...hence, waterlock.

 

i know it can happen, but on a legend, not once have i heard of it happening.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RangerJoe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know it can happen, but on a legend, not once have i heard of it happening.</TD></TR></TABLE> Heh the day I found my engine runnning rough was the day I couldn't get the engine to turn over at one point. Luckly I got it started and brought it home and torn the beast apart and found hg was blown.

O and also check the oil, my radiator didn't have any oil in it, but the oil pan had a **** load of coolant

 

*wondering what the **** that is*

ya, i have heard of a few people with coolant in the oil pan, but it doesnt happen very often...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RangerJoe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">*wondering what the **** that is*
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thought the exact thing when I checked my oil....

oil + water = mayo

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ya, i have heard of a few people with coolant in the oil pan, but it doesnt happen very often...</TD></TR></TABLE>

if water and oil are mixing at one point, what makes you think some of the water wont flow in the oil back to the pan? if it is mixing, you will have it in both places, just maybe more noticeable in one than the other.