Hi recently I bought a '87 Honda Accord LX (auto) from a coworker for $1000 w/ 162,000 original mi.

With a few oil leaks evident & the engine sounding a little tired I decided to replace all the gaskets, seals, belts, wires, plugs, router, cap & Fluids.

I also gave the head a valve job & scrubbed the pistons & cylinder walls.

When it was put back together the valve lash was set incorrectly casing the head to crack under the cam between the in/ex valves for #1 cylinder.

I purchased a complete salvaged head & had it resurfaced, valve job & pressure tested.

After putting it all back together it has a rough Idle. I can’t set the timing because when ever I remove the vacuum advance it stalls.

In drive ~750rpm, it runs smooth for about 8sec & then it seems to miss a beat, as it begins to die the engine catches it self & it starts all over again. At ~850+ rpm the miss is barley noticeable.

There is no noticeable fouling of the plugs & all have good spark.

The new head & head gasket will cause the compression to be higher.
Because of the high mileage & higher compression, could the piston rings be collapsing on one of the cylinders causing lost compression?

Or is there an easier answer???

Your help is much appreciated

TIA,
Jason

P.s. Is it safe to convert to Dexcool after a flush??


Modified by Altonvauge at 1:35 AM 5/22/2004