Hi!

I saw that many members have problems with burnt headgaskets and thus burning coolant...

My question is: what can lead to a cracked/burned headgasket???

I heard of couple of reasons:
- overheating
- very old coolant
- overtorquing the headbolts

Now, what if you run the stock headgasket (head has never been off)... what can cause the headgasket crack or burn?

I ask this cos I want to prevent my headgasket from cracking tho I never had a problem like that (thank God) so I want to know what can go wrong...

And maybe people that are having problems are constantly doing something wrong so it might help them in the future...

Thanx!

 

Noone?

 

improper toqueing sequence/lbs i would suppose...and overheating of course!

 

Maybe it was the headgasket's time to go? Most gaskets, one way or the other, tend to wear out and break down.

 

yeah, the older a car gets, the more likely it is to go out. You can keep the radiator fluid clean if you change it and get it flushed once a year. Make sure the thermostat is working right. Make sure to do oil changes when you are supposed to...

 

Yes, that's what I was thinking about too...

Anyway, IMO, the best way to keep motor clean and leak-free is the following...

1. Normal changes of oil w/ oil filter... every 3000-4000... it really doesn't matter if it is full or semi sinthetic as long as it is changed regularly with filter and if the owner sticks with one brand of oil... i.e. if you started using Valvoline 10w40 semi sinthetic, stick with it and do not experiment with oil...

Make sure that the oil level NEVER exceeds MAX mark on the dipstick... also make sure there is always enough oil in the pan (between the MAX and MIN on the dipstick)...

2. Drain and change the coolant at least once in 2 years (the best time is before the winter)... there must a 50:50 mixture of coolant and water to keep the cooling system in best shape (anti-corosion, flaw, cleaning)... do NOT mix 2 or more brands of coolant for the best engine protection and problem-free-cooling... make sure that there is no air in the coolin system and that the coolant level in the reservoir is always on MAX or a bit below...

It is also recommended to flush the whole system with clean water before putting in the new coolant... but if the coolant is regularly changed there is no need to flush the system... but as I said, it is a good thing to do...

3. If removing the head, always make sure to clean the head and the block where the gasket is until it's shiny clean... ALWAYS put the new gasket and STRICTLY FOLLOW the torquing sequence from Honda manual...

That's about it... so after all, there is not much philosophy behind all that...

And the fact is, if the headgasket or ANY gasket decides to brake, it will brake no matter how well you mantain your car... it is just a faulty gasket (which is not very often)...

Thank you for the feedback and if anyone can think of anything else, please write it down, don't keep it to yourself...

It may help someone...

 

u asked us a question and u answered it...

 

Yes, but is there something else?

I wrote what I know about it... but is that all?