headgasket gone?
 

Brought my car to honda because it has been running quite crappilly for the past couple weeks and now i have no heat in the car. They say im losing compression and i would need a new head gasket? Is that true?, anyone ever experience this. I'm getting the job done at my work along with timing belt, but I'm getting the head resurfaced and Ported aswell.

Re: headgasket gone?
 

Pressed post too soon, So anyone think that is my problem for sure? If so is PnP'ing my head worth it, as well as a new camshaft? Any other things i'll need to make this job go smooth?

Re: headgasket gone?
 

We'll it's very possible the headgasket is blown. I would do some more tests before I settled on that. The headgasket would definitely describe both complaints. However a stuck open thermostat & spark plug misfire could be causing both issues.

If you do indeed need a new headgasket I suggest the following:

-new timing belt
-new camshaft seal
-new crankshaft seal
-new water pump
-check oil pump
-check cylinder head for warpage & cracking
-clean entire egr system & intake manifold (carbons a killer)
-new thermostat

As far as the port & polish goes it would be labor effective since you have the head off already. Of course you'll make more power but it's alot of money so I guess that would be up to you. That will of course extend your downtime......

Re: headgasket gone?
 

I don't see how a headgasket being blown is going to cause your heat not to work due to a loss of compression....?

Your heat works by way of a heater core. You have this nice, thick, 5/8" hose that connects to the water pipe that runs along the block underneath the intake manifold that circulates coolant to the heater core.

If you have coolant in the system, after running the engine and seeing that gauge on your dash that says hot/cold reach midway or so, that means your coolant temperature is up enough to cause that heater to blow hot air.

A blown headgasket is not going to prevent your coolant from reaching operating temperature. I'm willing to bet it's something with your core or your controls for the heat....

As for additional maintenance, as long as you follow the manufacturer's recommendations, you should be fine. Is your car boosted? Give some more info as to your setup. Is the engine overheating at all?

Re: headgasket gone?
 

Well I'm not boosed, yet anyways. Still alot of things i would like to do first. Apparently I'm burning coolant... but not much they said, the temp gauge stays around normal, just below the middle. I get work done for real cheap so the price of porting wouldn't be an issue. As for parts I have almost everything together. At least its summer and i don't have to worry about the heat, but if this head job doesn't work for me i'm going to be hella pissed.

Current Modifications to motor.

D17a2 Head swap
AFC Neo
AEM V2 Intake
Apex'i Super Ground
Custom Catback w/ 2.5in pipe, DNX muffler

Re: headgasket gone?
 

hmmm....well burning coolant is a good sign of crappy running condition...do you not have a check engine light for misfire? I have only seen one car that the headgasket leaked so much it didn't allow any coolant to get hot. It leaked so bad the car barely ran because of the amount of coolant in the cylinders. I don't think your there yet. Maybe whatever caused the headgasket to blown burnt up the thermostat or kept it open. I'd definitely stress the heat issue to the technician after the h/g is done. Headgaskets just don't blow for any reason, especially on a fairly new car.

If you get the porting done cheap go for it! It's of course going to put down more power....have you seen the stock ports up close....my craftsman lawnmower has bigger ports. You can definitely see where the lack of power is in a d17. Just remember you will need to disassemble your cylinder head......so you'll need the valve stem seals and etc.....camshaft,springs, & retainers would definitely help your cause.

As for the AFC.....that could very well possible be your running condition. That thing is worse than my greddy emanage. That thing should not be installed! Ever heard the slang "AFC Hack"....they call it a hack for a reason.

Re: headgasket gone?
 

Well, I'm ordering the Cam friday, I have the complete gasket set. All i need is to gather all the cash for the labour. Hopefully it solves my problem. As for the AFC computer, I haven't even got the thing tuned i just left it at +0. I need to hook up the Wideband Uego to monitor that garbo but apparently the ECU tries to fight it so your constantly resetting it?? Is that true?

Re: headgasket gone?
 

Yes....this is true. That afc is pretty much useless.....even on my greddy emanage. I reset the stock computer once a month. After awhile of driving the computer starts to alter the long term & short term fuel trims. You can see the change w/ my scan tool. You can actually see the difference in my AFR's from just resetting the battery to 1 month later. Our computers are so smart they try to adjust to the adjustments you made via the AFC.......The computer can compare different sensors to determine if what you are telling it is true or not. thus is why most try to run kpro or AEM standalone if you can afford it.

Re: headgasket gone?
 

I want to pick one of those up except i dont' have a laptop... therefor can't use it unless they have some sort of programmable USB or something.