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My 98 LX had its engine overheat to a point where the radiator had a crack because of high water pressure. Now white smoke comes out the exhaust with the smell of "burned" coolant. I had the coolant flushed; there's a very slight indication of oil. No sign of coolant on the engine oil though. In any case I think I should have at least a head gasket issue.

The mechanics that I asked told me that it will cost between $1500-2000 to fix it and I'm quite penniless, so I'm attempting to fix it myself. I have fixed minor things in the past (replace oxygen sensor, find and fix bad fuses..) so this is definitely a big project for me!

I'm about to remove the engine head and I'll take it for inspection for cracks/warps. Since I've opened up the engine and pulled out a lot of parts I'd like your advice on what to change (last major maintenance was 6 years ago) so that I wont need to do this again in the next few years.

Here's my list so far on items that I will order:
1) thermostat
2) water pump
3) timing belt (set)
4) head gasket (set)

Anything else I should consider? I'd like to order the parts and get them in timely manner before I put them together.

(Hopefully the engine block is ok)

 
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May as well replace the accessory belts since they are off, if they are old.
Ignition parts due yet?



How bad did it overheat?

Squeeze the radiator hoses. If they crunch or crackle, replace them. The top one will be the worst if it was heat damaged. Same for the heater hoses, the one attached to the head would be worst. The tiny coolant hoses: If they are hardened and brittle, replace them.
You really don't want to pop a hose later on and have to do this all over again.



See if the neck of the radiator is burned out from steam erosion. I couldn't find a good pic of steam damage, so.....


The area of the cap labeled "Pressure relief valve" has a rubber seal. Is must seal against the area of the radiator down inside the neck. Feel that part of the neck, it should be nice and smooth and flat. If it isn't smooth and even, the cap won't be able to seal and hold pressure in the cooling system.
In a major overheat, steam erodes (burns out) the plastic where that cap must seal pressure. Make sure yours isn't damaged. If it is, replace the radiator. And the cap, if the new radiator doesn't come with one.


I'd see what the machine shop is going to say first.

HTH

 
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OFF TOPIC:

New to civic forums dont know how to start new thread.

Please help.

 
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Thanks ezone!
I could hear crackling noises from the engine when I was driving then I pulled over. While pilling over the engine light turned on. The engine light is not on anymore (I had disconnected the battery for a month because I had been travelling), so I have no idea what it was about.

For the ignition parts, the spark plugs are quite old I suppose. I've had the car for about 5 years and I don't have any receipt from the previous owner about them. Should I look at something else except of the spark plugs?

Yes, the radiator is damaged as you say, the plastic part is eroded and I have already bought a new one along with new hoses (upper and lower one).
Now that you mention I'll check the other hoses too thought.

 
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No, I meant see if the hoses themselves crackle when squeezed. The layer of rubber on the inner wall of the hose gets heat damaged and brittle. Note they will only crackle the first time any particular area of the hose is squeezed.
Think of what a scab does when you flex it....

The engine itself would have been making all sorts of bad noises since it was too hot. Wouldn't you?


Cracked radiator...duh. And it was the first line, too.
Shows you how gud mi reedin skillz is.

 
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So I took the head off, checked it and it's warped. I might also need a valve job.
Anyone can recommend a machine shop in Bay area? I'm located in Oakland

 
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I can't help you look for a local business. Ask hot rodders who is good?


How bad is it warped?

A top quality machine shop will be able to "bake" the head to get it straightened out before machining.
It is basically bolting the head to a flat, heavy steel plate and baking it in an oven. This is to remove the majority of the warpage before machining.

Hopefully then only a minimal amount of machining is needed to straighten it up.



A head that is warped on the bottom is also warped on top.
That means the cam bores are out of alignment and the cam isn't able to spin freely.
This could lead to camshaft failure later on (snap or seize) and head replacement.


I don't know how much warpage it takes to cause these problems, but I hear the occasional stories about it.

I'm not trying to scare you, just trying to let you know.

 
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Thanks! The warp is about 0.2mm (0.008in) in the center close on the exhaust manifold side. Good to know about the "baking" process! I'll ask the shop if they do it.
If anyone knows a shop in the area they trust that would be very helpful... yelp would be another way to search around of course.

 
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The head is currently at the machine shop and will have it in few days. I have these options of head gasket sets:

Fel-Pro Hs9915Pt1 $90
Victor Reinz HS54234 $110
OEM $160

Does OEM justify about double the price of fel-pro. I've read mixed thoughts about felpro head gaskets, most of them good. I don't know much about victor reinz though, except of the fact that it's a bit more expensive than felpro

 
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I'd look at OE and Felpro.

Reinz made the original problematic head gaskets for the Neon/Stratus/Breeze engines that leaked oil at the pressure passages. I'm not saying they aren't a viable option, just that I don't trust them.

 
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Is changing of cylinder head bolts necessary? I can't find bolts for a d16y7 anywhere.. not even on dealer's websites.
I've found only these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-00-1-6L-H...#ht_2779wt_957
but I don't know if I can trust them; I can't even find them on mizumo's web site, and the gasket set from the same brand (which includes the above bolts too) is super cheap (just $12 more than the bolts themselves). Anyone heard of Mizumo?
I have a feeling my current manufacturer ones might be better.

 
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If you have proper service information that covers the procedures for this job, you should also be able to figure out if head bolt replacement is necessary using the same info.

Reuse the head bolts.

 
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Here's the gasket set with the bolts:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-00-1-6L-H...#ht_2924wt_957
(this is the only gasket set I've found that includes the bolts)

 
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Fel-pro is fine but, lasting 14 years with OEM is proof enough for me.

Here's the bolts: http://www.hondapartscheap.com/find-...D%20%28SOHC%29

How much was the head job? (lol, that didn't sound good at all)

 
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I completely forgot! Was the block warped? With the head warped to more than twice tolerance I would suspect it is. I would check the block before putting anything back on.

 
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Didn't checked the block. I assumed because it is cast iron it won't be.
I'll check it and let you know. Complete valve job was $300. Head straightening was $90.
Where are the bolts on the link? In the picture number 11 I would say it points to the bolt but it just says bolt washer

 
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It means bolt with washer. You're good.

 
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Wow then they're quite cheap compared to the ones I pasted!

 
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Want an update. Is the head warped?

 
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The head is warped and still at the machine shop. The guy checked if the warpage affects camshaft turning and didn't see any side effect. Waiting to get the head back and start putting everything together. In the meantime I have pretty much all the parts.

Btw I've ordered the Gates TCKWP224 kit from Amazon and I received a package that has a gates timing belt, koyo tensioner and a water pump that doesn't have a brand name, just the number "5658". I returned that and ordered the same kit from rockauto.... got the same package with same content :O
Huh.. that's weird, Assembly Details according to gates.com:
Seq No. Item Name Superseded By Description Qty
1 T224 TIMING BELT 1
2 T41023 TIMING BELT TENSIONER 1
3 41048 WATER PUMP 1

 
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Still haven't got the head back but either way I'll need to clean the top part of the block before putting everything back together. I've attached two pictures.



I guess I should clean both the top of pistons as well as the area of the head around them. Any advice on how to clean it and what NOT to do to it?

 
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I use a single edge razor blade to scrape the black paint off from the head gasket.
That's it.
The paint residue comes right off.
Blot the liquids off of the pistons.

I keep a box of razor blades in the toolbox.

Don't you dare use power tools of any kind to remove the gasket residue.
You gouge that block and the head gasket may not seal.


HTH

 
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After a long hiatus I came back to fixing my civic and got it done last weekend. Pretty much I did the following:
- Had cylinder head straightened by a machine shop
- Removed old head gasket remains and put a new head gasket after cleaning as you recommended
- Cleaned up and installed new gaskets for intake/exhaust manifolds and throttle body
- Replaced:
* Water pump
* Timing belt
* Auxiliary belts (A/C, P/S, alternator)
* Radiator
* Heating/Radiator hoses
* Oil/Air/Fuel filter
* Spark plugs
* Distributor cap+rotor
* Spark plug wires
* Thermostat

When I started the engine, it was shaking a lot in the beginning and turned it off in seconds (missfiring?). After the 2nd start up and pressing the accelerator a bit it doesn't shake anymore. In fact it sounds fine to me.
Also I could see a lot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. In the beginning it smelled very badly (like burned plastic or some oil or other kind of carb product) but it stopped after running it for 10 minutes.
Were all these behaviors expected?

My main problem now is that the idle fluctuates every two seconds between 1100 and 2100 RPMs!! I double checked the connectors and the throttle body and they look in place and clean. I haven't messed with the idle control system.

Any idea guys????

 
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Misses on startup, sure. As long as it comes out of it right away.
Liquid splashed on a plug, trash and debris that was trapped in the cylinder, whatever. If it stopped missing, it should be fine.

Smoke, also normal, depending.
Could be oil, coolant, fuel, whatever.
A blown head gasket can dump a LOT of liquid into the exhaust. It will steam off as the exhaust gets hot.
I have done work like this, run the engine 15 minutes...... and then go drive it---NOW it blows all the liquid out of the exhaust and fogs the entire block. Fun times.

As long as it acts normal after the initial run in, you should be ok.


Idle: Vacuum leaks, stuck IAC (tap on it?), air locks in the IACV/FICV water lines, clogged water passages (or nipples) in those lines. Could have had head gasket material drop into the water jacket while scraping, those pieces could get trapped in the tiny little water passages for those lines. IDK.

If it has a FICV, it must have good coolant flow so it gets HOT with the coolant temperature. That's the only way it can control idle speed.


After briefly rereading, I just realized I was thinking of the MLS head gaskets, not composite type. Sorry if that mislead you, but I still use razor blades on them too...

 
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IACV was stuck of gunk residues. Carb cleaning it did the trick and now the engine sounds great!
I went on to bleed the air out of the coolant by following the instructions on the manual... engine temperature never goes above 1/3 which is good.
The coolant though gets very hot and starts steaming after 20 minutes of idling. I noticed that the fan is about to start many times but it just stops as soon as it switches on.... hmmmm I have a bad feeling about this

 
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Don't let it get hot, that would warp the head all over again.

Hmmm....I bet you just figured out the original problem here.




Do this with the key on, but the engine not running....
Jumper the fan switch plug with a paper clip, see if the fan runs constantly. (The 2 wire plug on the thermostat housing.)

If it doesn't run right, then you need to chase that, solve that problem.
If it does run right, then I'd strongly suspect the fan switch.

HTH

 
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The fan fires up nicely after trying the paper clip trick.

The overheat happened on a roadtrip while driving on the highway. I thought the radiator doesn't need an operating fan when going pretty fast because of the air resistance...

 
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It's actually called ram-air. The air flow through the radiator created by moving down the road at a fairly fast rate of speed is supposed to keep the radiator cooled enough to not need the fan. Depends on how fast you go though. 30MPH is far different from 70MPH.

This all depends on everything being proper. If the fins in the radiator are clogged with 150,000 miles worth of dirt and dead bugs, then there may not be enough air flow to keep it cool no matter what. Even the fan wouldn't keep it cool.
Shopping bag got sucked into the front of the car, blocking the radiator? Seen it.
Air dam missing?

A thermostat that doesn't open far enough would make it get hot under a heavy load, but then cool off to normal temps when the load is reduced.

I could probably type out another half dozen scenarios too.

 
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It was the radiator fan switch and replacing it solved the problem. Makes me wonder for how long I was driving with a faulty fan switch... I had noticed for about two weeks before the severe engine overheat that the temperature gauge was sometimes slightly above the middle, especially when I was city driving. I suppose this could affect the cooling efficiency over time? (I remember a friend had told me that his coolant was escaping to the reservoir when he had similar overheating problems)...

I should have been cautious back then and check, but I didn't know! In fact I had no idea about the whole engine cooling system and definitely never done any major repair like this before. Thank you ezone and lazlong for your advices! Now I finally have a running car and already done 400 miles on it.. but what's worth most of all is the experience I got by fixing it