ezone

Get a good shop manual and follow the instructions.

Adhere to torque specifications.

SUCK OUT ALL LIQUID FROM THE HEAD BOLT HOLES BEFORE YOU ASSEMBLE ANYTHING!!!!!


Head bolts get oiled, see the instructions.

No Loctite anywhere.
Gaskets go on dry.


Valve cover gasket gets a small dab of (ultra gray silicone) in the corners of the cam humps on the head.
Rubber O rings (and front seals) get lubed using whatever they have to seal. If one seals coolant, lube with coolant. If one seals oil, lube with oil.

bigjonbird

What's the best way to get those little nuts off that are on the back of the intake manifold? This is my first time doing something like this. What do I need to avoid and any more tips about putting the head gasket on?

Thanks.

ezone

I have and use a wide variety of 12mm wrench designs to reach the fasteners.

Some people find it easier to take the head and intake manifold off together.



I think most of this has been covered already.
Read a lot here and get yourself some good service manual information.

Marooka

Ratchet(ing) wrenches worked for me.

Marooka

HELLPP!!!!!

As I was bolting down the resurfaced head and new gasket to the block, I thought I felt my click-type torque wrench start clicking funny, but I figured it was just me. For peace of mind, I decided to check random bolts with a different torque wrench and, when I did that, some bolts clicked and some tightened! I only got through the first sequence (e.g. 14 lb-ft) and stopped immediately after that.

Did I damage/destroy the gasket??

I talked to a guy at Napa Auto Parts (they resurfaced the head, and did a GREAT job btw) and asked him about it, and he said to just get a good torque wrench and continue where I left off and it should be fine, but I'm a little skeptical. I ordered a new gasket just to be on the safe side, but I wanna know if I wasted my money.

Also, since I'm gonna be replacing the gasket (again ), do I need to loosen the head bolts following the sequence or is it only if the head has been exposed to heat?

Lastly, the manual says "If a bolt makes any noise while you are torquing it, loosen the bolt and retighten it from the 1st step." I'm interpreting this as: no matter how far along in a sequence, if a bolt makes any noise, loosen only that bolt, re-torque it to the current step and continue.

For example, let's say I've completed the first and second sequences, and bolt #5 makes noise on the third sequence. Does this mean I have to only remove bolt #5, torque it to 14 lb-ft, wait, torque it to 36 lb-ft, wait, torque it to 49 lb-ft, and then finish the sequence? If so, how long should I wait between sequences or do I not have to wait? Would it be a problem to just loosen and torque only that bolt a single time to 49 lb-ft, instead of following the sequence?

I just don't understand why re-torquing it from the 1st step would make a difference and/or whether or not it would impact the gasket sealing properly.

ezone

The idea is to clamp the head down evenly against the gasket and block. All 10 bolts evenly. They don't want one tightened all the way to 49 while the rest are still loose, and they don't want them tightened randomly.
That's why they have you go in a sequence, and in steps.

You could do 3 steps (14, 36, 49) as per the book, or you could do it in 10 steps if you wanted. You could tighten in 7 steps of 7 ft-lbs each if you want..... as long as you reach the goal of all 10 bolts at 49 ft-lb, and do them evenly and in sequence.

I do not think you did any harm to the gasket when you found your wrench was having trouble. Go with a new wrench and get them all tightened to the first step evenly.

Myself, I don't think I would want to "decompress" the head gasket after having begun the tightening steps. (I've had to do it but I don't like to.)

You can do as many increasing steps as you wish too, like you could increase maybe 5ft-lb at a time and it wouldn't hurt anything as long as you do it evenly and in the sequence per the book.. You started with 14ft-lb, and they were unevenly tightened. Start with 14 for all, then go around again at (maybe?) 19, are they all even now? Once you get all 10 bolts the same torque again, you can resume tightening as per the manual.


The noise they speak of is usually creaking as the bolt turns. I pull out the offending bolt and re-oil the threads and the washer and head, then reinstall and resume torque at the same amount as the rest already are tightened at.



I think that made sense to me, did it you?

bigjonbird

Is this clean enough?



Do I need to worry about the coolant still around the cylinder walls about getting contaminates in it?

Can you use a razor blade to get surfaces clean? or stick to the2000 grit sand paper

Marooka

Yes, it did, thanks.

But since I already ordered a new head gasket, I figure I might as well replace it, right? Since that's the case, do I need to follow the loosening sequence when removing the head again, or can I just remove the bolts? I guess it's probably best to be on the safe side and just follow the loosening sequence.

Thanks again though

crxmanpat

iTrader: (1)

Follow the same removal sequence, it's to keep the head from warping. You have to loosen them all anyway, and doing them in sequence does not take any longer than just removing them ***** nilly.

crxmanpat

iTrader: (1)

Did you remove the coolant drain bolt from the back of the block? It's located above and to the right of the oil filter.

bigjonbird

Nope. I'm guessing since you posted this. I should.

How does the top of the block look?

Marooka

Looks like you and I are on the same page (no pun intended).

I got this



by LIBERALLY using one can of this ($5 or so from Autozone)



a 10-pack of these from harbor freight ($0.99)



and a ton of patience.

I started by spraying cyl No 4 and No 1 with the brakleen and using a rag to get as much as I could off. Then I took the razors and VERY carefully scraped the rest of it off. For No 2 and 3, I sprayed a VERY generous amount of brakleen in them (it covered pretty much the entire top surface of the pistons) until my cousin and I made our apparatus. We had one of those plastic bars that used to be threaded onto a suction cup to make a plunger, so he put a couple rags around the threaded end and carefully worked the top of the pistons using the bar-rag setup.

ezone

IMO Razor blades ONLY and brake cleaner. No sandpaper of any kind. It doesn't need to look shiny, it needs to be perfectly flat and lump-free.

The time to remove the block drain was BEFORE the head came off. Now it's kinda pointless, I'd either leave it alone or suck it out with a vacuum.

You have to suck out or blow out the holes for the head bolts before you reassemble it, may as well suck the coolant out of the block the same way.

HTH

crxmanpat

iTrader: (1)

I used carb cleaner and razor blades for mine. It still looked dirty, but the surface was smooth as glass.

bigjonbird

I don't know what side I am supposed to use on the intake gasket? I can use black first or silver first against the head.....


Any other input/help about installing gaskets? General rules?



And does any one know where these go? I am thinking the valve cover, or something with the igniter coils.




I have a bunch of gaskets left over from the kit I bought. I am thinking thats ok. since I didn't need any for the cam or anything up top.

bigjonbird

And should I replace my valve cover gasket, even though the old one is good? Not sure if it is good to change gaskets if they don't need to be changed. (I assume it probably won't hurt though.)

ezone

A choice of intake gaskets? Pick the one that matches your old gasket exactly.


The 4 rings are the seals for the spark plug tubes, they go in the valve cover.


If they gave you a new valve cover gasket, put it on. The time is now!

bigjonbird

So. I only used one. Because only one came off of the head. So I figured that only one goes on. I used the aluminum one because it has an extra hole that matches my head, plus it has a black outline of the aluminum plate that the fuel injectors connect to.

bigjonbird

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all there post, and all the extremely helpful information. I just finished putting everything together, and the car fired right up within seconds. It was awesome.

Here is the bad part. I stripped two bolts out. Not completely. I just realized they kept turning so I stopped. Here is the picture of the two bolts. One is the valve cover bolt, and the other is the bolt for the bracket. Both marked with pink.



Problem number 2........ One of those really bad feelings when you look at your mag bowl and you see a bolt and a nut left and everything is put together already. Somewhere along the line I missed these two things. I looked and I can not find where they go?




Do these look familiar to anyone? Please help if you can. I am not concerned too much about the bolt because it obviously looks like a bracket bolt. but the nut is gold and shinny....... this doesn't go on the starter does it? I have a flat nut on my starter cable....

The nut was grouped with my "pulled from the front of the engine" group. But that doesn't say much..... lol

Thanks for all the help everyone. Especially EZONE.

mikey1

they look like they could be from a wire harness bracket somewhere,

or the bolt might be from the timing cover

crxmanpat

iTrader: (1)

IIRC the intake mani has some gold cap nuts (the ones that are a PITA to get to of course). Maybe you missed one?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

nah, that's not a timing cover bolt. Those have very distinct shapes.

They seriously could have come from anywhere. What you just posted a picture of could be any nut or bolt on the car.

My suggestion is this: give your engine, everything you touched, a good once over. Any system you broke into, any system you disassembled, check to see if there's anything missing. Luckily, those fasteners don't look like anything you'd have to disassemble to reinstall. Correction: most you'd have to disassemble would be the timing covers, which, we all know is a fairly time consuming process.

Things I'd personally check: AC/PS/Alt bracketry, all sensors that mount to the block, and anything else that you had to take a 10mm wrench to. For the little, bolt, at least. For the nut, looks like anything you'd have to take a 12mm wrench to.

mikey1

i hope its not the bolt that tightens down the crank sensor

ezone

I couldn't tell ya. I never have those left over when I'm done!


I know what I disassemble when I do the job. I DON'T know what other people feel like taking apart when they do the job.


The nut with attached washer looks to me like the one that was supposed to secure the big wire to the alternator hot stud. Starter cable would usually have a similar nut with attached washer. Did you remove either of those?

IDK where the bolt came from. It's not a timing cover bolt, at least not from the factory.
Ground wire maybe?

The stripped VC bole holes would probably get some helicoil repairs if I did it in the shop.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Bringing this back a little bit I used 1500 grit sandpaper wrapped around a 2x4 to clean the block. It worked well and it was pretty fast. Though ezone is right it's definitely not the right way to do it lol

Marooka

Help!!!

How do I replace the crank seal?? Please don't tell me I have to remove the oil pan to access it...

ezone

Front crank seal? Gotta get the timing belt and gear off.
Rear crank seal? Gotta take the trans and flywheel off.

Marooka

Sorry, I guess I should've clarified a little more.

I've already removed the timing belt and replaced the tensioner and water pump. I was about to put the timing belt back on and then start reassembling everything and then realized I didn't replace the crank seal. Which part is it that needs to be replaced?

Is it number 12 in this link: http://www.hondapartscheap.com/auto-...er=13310plma00

mikey1

no, number 12 in that picture is the timing belt guide plate, not the seal

ezone

Listed in OIL PUMP - OIL STRAINER, seal #13 is what we call the front crank seal.