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I'm in the middle of puling the head in order to get a valve job done.
I am considering doing the rings while the head is off but am baffled by the following step as relates to doing the rings.
In order to do take out the pistons and do the rings the oil pan needs to come off but if it's got a jack under the oil pan that can't happen.
I could be making an erroneous assumption that the jack only needs to be in place it in order to hold the engine up while removing the the upper bracket/ driver side engine mount.
But I figure the jack has to stay there after the engine mounts are removed otherwise there is nothing to support the engine on the driver side.
So what do you do to jack up the engine if you want to do the piston rings?
(I hope what I'm getting at is making sense)
Thanks
Now you need to support the bottom of the engine with a jack. IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO USE THE JACK DIRECTLY ON THE OIL PAN. Please put a flat piece of wood between the jack and the oil pan to spread the pressure over the entire oil pan. The jack itself can puncture the oil pan. I found a great picture by Cleft_Asunder which shows how to support a 6th gen civic engine. Its the same as supporting a 7th gen, just looks a bit different:
Remove the upper bracket for the EDIT: DRIVERS side engine mount. There are three bolts holding it on, and to remove it you might find you have to go up and down with the jack... If I remember correctly the engine has to be pretty level to remove it. If you supported it well it should come out pretty easy, if not play with the jack: (Pic from reddawnman)
If you're gonna pull the pistons, reinstall the driver's side motor mount to support the engine. From there, you don't need the jack to support the weight of the engine itself.
i would do the piston rings , as you at it.. you dont want to be like me having 210 psi compression and have stuck oil rings... hurts my nuts , since i will eventually have to take everything apart twice.. I bent valves, no oil consumption before, after fixing valves and headgasket job, i didnt take Ezone advice, since i never burned any oil, and skipped on the rings.. Guess what happened..? I burn oil now, somehow when i bent the valve the oil rings got stuck with all the carbon build up in there.. so now you know i have 210 compression all cylingders and stuck oil rings causing burning oil a 1 quart every 1000 miles, which is getting worse..
Yes ezones wisdom is why I'm likely to do the rings. Your added insights are helpful toward understanding why as well.
Plus I already bought the Wiseco(?) piston ring compressor tool it for the specific piston size.
It's been a fun project so far. Considering I previously did a valve adjustment and also pulled the IM to clean the EGR passages the process of taking things apart (up to this point) has gone pretty smoothly.
The next most difficult thing will likely be removing the crank pulley which I'll be getting to in about an hour +-..... Here's hoping it comes off "easily"
Yes ezones wisdom is why I'm likely to do the rings. Your added insights are helpful toward understanding why as well.
Plus I already bought the Wiseco(?) piston ring compressor tool it for the specific piston size.
It's been a fun project so far. Considering I previously did a valve adjustment and also pulled the IM to clean the EGR passages the process of taking things apart (up to this point) has gone pretty smoothly.
The next most difficult thing will likely be removing the crank pulley which I'll be getting to in about an hour +-..... Here's hoping it comes off "easily"
personally if i was doing all that work i would pull the engine,
its much easier to do with the engine sitting on a bench,
crank pulley bolt is easy if you take the time to set it up properly,
this is pretty much how i do mine, i slip a 6 foot steel pipe over my breaker bar for more leverage......
Unfortunately I'm not really setup to pull the engine.
Things got side tracked yesterday so I'll be tying to get that bolt our today.
Coincidentally I pulled out a 6 foot steel pipe yesterday for added leverage.
Unfortunately the cast iron pipes I have weren't a big enough diameter to go over the breaker bar handle.
Here's hoping that steel pipe doesn't bend/ flex too much
Originally Posted by xRiCeBoYx
If you're gonna pull the pistons, reinstall the driver's side motor mount to support the engine. From there, you don't need the jack to support the weight of the engine itself.
Thanks again Mikey, that video was great!
After setting things up like in the video I got the Crank Pulley Bolt off in less than a minute!
I use two pieces/ lengths of 3/4" black pipe.
You can see why/ how I used two pieces in these pics.
Thanks again Mikey, that video was great!
After setting things up like in the video I got the Crank Pulley Bolt off in less than a minute!
I use two pieces/ lengths of 3/4" black pipe.
You can see why/ how I used two pieces in these pics.
I wanted to add to this. When I replaced my head gasket i spilled oil and/or coolant on the front 02/af sensor (depending on your car) and it died a few days later. So just fyi cover the sensor with a rag or bag so you don't contaminate it.
I had just replaced the sensor not even a year before. I have a replacement ready to go in..... again
I wanted to add to this. When I replaced my head gasket i spilled oil and/or coolant on the front 02/af sensor (depending on your car) and it died a few days later. So just fyi cover the sensor with a rag or bag so you don't contaminate it.
I had to learn this the hard way too LOL
Many times I will remove the sensors if there's any chance they might get spilled on.
Brake cleaner, gasoline, throttle cleaner, coolant, and more can be bad for O2 sensors. Silicone can ruin a sensor immediately if it's not "sensor safe"
I replied here earlier about an '03 EX I was considering buying, but decided not to. Glad I didn't, as I've purchased two '09 CR-Vs within the past two years.
Our '04 Civic LX, though, needs the head rebuilt most likely due to a burned valve (no compression in #2--I may have posted about it here in another thread). I'm gathering up all the bits and pieces for removing and reinstalling the cylinder head. I'm good on gaskets, except for this one:
This is part of a larger photo showing a "gasket set" for the engine. I have no idea what this gasket is for.
I've started disassembling everything. I am hung up on the coolant bypass pipe (#11 above). I can't get it to move enough to pull out of the housing since there is a black clip attached to the bracket where this pipe is bolted to the engine (where part #25, the bolt passes through), and that black clip is strapped to a wire harness which does not have any play in it. I can't get the clip off of the metal tab. I'm afraid to pry on it due to it being plastic. (I can post a photo of it tomorrow, if it helps.)
Also, when reassembling this pipe, do I have to replace that gasket/o-ring or whatever it is (#21) or is it OK to reuse?
Next--for the exhaust manifold/catalytic converter (this is an LX), can I remove it without removing the top heat shield? The top two bolts for the heat shield come out no problem. The bottom two are rusted to the point where they rounded off very easily. I don't have a bolt extractor--I would need a 9mm since a 9mm socket fits on the now-rounded bolt, and the 10mm extractor I have just spins on it. I can reach the bottom middle manifold nut with no problem.
Finally, having read through all of this again, would it be easier to pull the head out with the intake attached, and remove it while the head is off? I have a rebuilt head ready to go, so I'm wondering if it's easier to transfer all of this stuff over to the new head while it is out of the car, vs. fumbling in tight awkward spaces to do it.
I am replacing the PCV valve while I have it all apart--it's cheap enough.
I am hung up on the coolant bypass pipe (#11 above). I can't get it to move enough to pull out of the housing since there is a black clip attached to the bracket where this pipe is bolted to the engine (where part #25, the bolt passes through)
Remove wire harness mount from the metal tab. There will be a release clip you push or pull in order to take it off of the tab.
Also, remove the upper spring clamp from the short rubber hose coupler #10 and work a pocket screwdriver between hose and metal tube to get the rubber to 'let go' of the tube and give you more room to get the pipe #11 out of the stat housing.
the intake mani is definitely a pain in the *** to unbolt from the head. If you can finagle it out while attached to the head, it should be easier. I think that's how I did it back in october. There are a couple brackets connecting the bottom of the IM to the block; 3 bolts IIRC. Remove those, remove the air cleaner/resonator box, and carefully wiggle it the head/IM assembly out.
As for the water pipe that connects to the water passage (the aforementioned #11), undo the clamps holding the rubber hose to #11, remove bolt #25 (pipe support onto... something..), unbolt the water passage from the head, and it should give you more maneuverability to remove it all. I never replaced the o-ring (#21) and I never had any leakage issues. Also, what ezone said. Coolant probably crusted on the rubber hose/metal pipe interface effectively sealing it together. Break that seal by twisting or with a screwdriver. Or both. I had success breaking that seal by grabbing the outside of the rubber hose with some channel locks and rotating the rubber hose until you feel it break loose.
Heck yeah, booooiiiiiiiisssssss! Thanks for the writeup, parts list, and additional tips! No more coolant spraying in my engine bay, and no more overheating! I'll post back if something else goes wrong, but everything is looking and sounding good so far!
Yep! I didn't realize I had to do the valve seals with the head off though, so I still have 16 lovely little seals in the package.
I would add fuel injector o rings and whatever the little nubs are at the end that keeps the o rings from coming off to that parts list. My o rings looked fine, but two of the end nubs looked like they might need to be replaced. I'm probably going to have to pop them back out soon and replace them.
At least I won't have to take the valve cover off again though! I hate waiting the 24hrs for the dang gasket stuff to cure.
You had me pretty worried when I was putting the head back on. Please don't strip, please don't strip. ..
lol, I didn't have that feeling the first time I did a head gasket change. The last time around, however, the head did get exposed to multiple accounts of overheating. I'm sure that had some doing as to why the block weakened enough to be able to strip threads at 14 ft-lbs. It's been a while since I've gone through training on effects of heat and metal fatigue, however.
I've already added your experience with ordering parts separately to the headgasket parts list thread. I'll also add your tidbit about the fuel injector o-rings and "nubs" if I can find the part numbers.
Thanks for the valuable information you've gathered, really do appreciate it.
edit: I don't see any part numbers for the little nubs. I'm looking at an RSX injector right now (have some laying around from when I was turbo'd), and that thing is not coming off. It's not even rotating if I try. I'm pretty sure they only come with the injector. I'm assuming you didn't have any issues with the upper (fuel rail side) o-rings?
I think it's part number 91302-PLC-000, but the picture is very small. It seems like it'd be more expensive to produce than the soft rubber ones, so I'm leaning toward that. It might be 91301-PLC-000, but I think that's the fatter, soft-rubber one. They're pretty cheap, so might as well replace all 4 of each just in case!
edit: No issues with the fuel rail side ones. Mine aren't exactly like the diagram on the Honda website, and I kinda wonder if they're a different style or aftermarket ones or something. Mine had a soft rubber o ring on the end on the injector side that gets shoved in, and a harder plastic-like ring that was more like a washer with a slight bulge in the center, that snapped on and held the o ring in. I guess I should've taken a picture when it was out!
edit2: I didn't remove the injectors from the fuel rail. The one for Cylinder 1 came out, but it still looked fine, so I shoved it back in. I don't see the end nub thing I'm talking about on the parts diagram at all. I'll keep looking!
edit3: I think you're right about them only coming with the injector. That'll be more than all of the parts for the head gasket job, plus oil pan gasket, if I have to replace the two injectors. Yikes!
the intake mani is definitely a pain in the *** to unbolt from the head. If you can finagle it out while attached to the head, it should be easier. I think that's how I did it back in october. There are a couple brackets connecting the bottom of the IM to the block; 3 bolts IIRC. Remove those, remove the air cleaner/resonator box, and carefully wiggle it the head/IM assembly out.
I stopped at the intake manifold. Having looked things over, it might be difficult to maneuver it out with the head attached due to the wiring harness being in the way. So I'm debating what to do. Of course I can reach the top four bolts, and I already have the bottom bracket nuts off, but I can't even find that bolt (or nut) in the middle from underneath. Looking up in there, I see what look like three bolt heads, but I doubt those are what I am looking for. I might just give it up and try working with the manifold attached to the cyl head. I need to stick the phone camera in there and see if I can find it that way.
The exhaust manifold came off very easily, and I did not have to remove the heat shield. I've been soaking the fasteners with some industrial penetrant (from LPS Labs) and that seems to help quite a bit. But I am still going to have to drop the exhaust to get the oil pan off--I need to replace the gasket.
@ezone I finally managed to get the phone camera in there and find the plastic tab to release that harness. It was so flimsy that I thought it was part of the "zip tie" that held it to the wiring harness. But, no. Got that tab pulled down and I worked it off the bracket.
After that it's the crank bolt (yay me--breaker bars are ready to go) and timing belt, and I can finally get this thing off of there! I have to remove the camshaft pulley though, and transfer it to the rebuilt head. That should be interesting.
Stupid time, though. I was taking the nut off of the alternator which holds the power lead to it; second wrench slipped off and I broke that skinny bolt in the alternator while turning the nut. $@&%#!! Looks like the only way to fix that is to replace the regulator, which actually seems to cost as much as, or more, than getting a rebuilt alternator. There's a well-regarded shop locally--if they can beat the Rock Auto price for a rebuilt alternator, I'm grabbing one.
Thanks for the help! I'll probably have a couple more while I continue working on this beast.
If you keep looking around, you'll be able to get all the wire harness crap out of the way! I was able to scooch every stupid electrical wire over to the passenger side of the engine bay, but I took a hot minute searching for every little plastic clip, and broke one or two in the process... But hey! It's 17 year old plastic!
I also removed the intake manifold before the head. I don't know how much extra time that took, but I got it done, so whatever!
That sucks about the alternator! Good luck finding an inexpensive replacement!
An alternator will be about $75, unless the local rebuilder is less expensive.
I got to the crank bolt and gave up for now, and the intake is still attached also. I wish my decades-old breaker bar was longer. I have a newer one, and I can see why it won't work--it flexes too much! The old one I inherited is a Craftsman, I would guess dating back to the 1950s if not earlier. I might hit the thrift stores and see if I can find another one--there is one resale shop on the fringes of our area (just about in a rural area) that had an entire room full of old tools. Since I don't have access to old plumbing bits and pieces, I'm going to get some lengths of pipe and make an extension.
Let's hope that when I'm back from my road trip, the weather is still good enough to work on it. I just want this thing back on the road.
This guide for sixth gen civics? I plan to do timing belt, water pump, head gasket, accessory belts. How important is the valve clearance adjustment? When should I do it during this project?
01-19-2017
Re: Head Gasket + Timing Belt DIY 
