well, started the car up after putting a new coil in and drove it around for a little while, it runs great and feels great, thusfar i’m very happy with it. But when i popped the hood to check things i noticed some oil is leaking. I’m pretty sure its the head gasket. It looked like it could have been coming from the vtec solenoid, but after wiping it all down and letting some leak out again it looks like its leaking from the head gasket, mainly from the corner closest to the #4 cylinder and the front of the car as well as a bit along the front of the head under the exhaust manifold ports.
so, my questions are:
-the head gasket is brand new, why would it be leaking? I torqued them down just like it said in the helms, correct torque specs and sequence
-do i need a new head gasket? or could i possibly just re-torque the head bolts?
Glad to Hear you Got it Running:up:Thats a tough situation…Thats where mine seemed to be leaking from before I took it apart Be sure its not the Distributer o-ring first…i’m sure you’ve checked it but mine was leaking and running down the front of the block…sometimes its hard to tell …Only other thing i can think of is did you make sure the mating surfaces were completely clean?no oil or anything…because i heard that oil on the Headgasket surface can make it not seal
correctly…sorry I’m not much help
Originally posted by Riceman
[B]Well, I would try a compression test before jumping the gun…
HTH
Ken [/B]
what is a compression test going to tell me? if the gasket is just leaking in between an oil passage and the edge of the block/head then compression will not be changed at all. it will only be changed if its leaking all the way from the cylinder out.a
brunswck: so it was leaking from your dist o-ring (was it a new one?) and it was looking like it was coming from the head gasket? at first it sorta looked like it could have been coming from the side of the head maybe from the vtec solenoid, but later we started it up and watched the motor, with it just idling it didn’t really seem to leak hardly at all, but a little bit of extra oil was accumulating at that left front most corner of where the head and block meet. and there is clearly oil on the front of the block because it seems to be dripping down onto the exhaust manifold.,
WAIT!!!
WE had the same kind of oil leak problem on harookz’ b16 swap … thought it was the head gasket or even a cracked head … all it turned out to be was a twisted section in the valve cover gasket. Check that first!
Originally posted by 91IntegGS brunswck: so it was leaking from your dist o-ring (was it a new one?) and it was looking like it was coming from the head gasket? at first it sorta looked like it could have been coming from the side of the head maybe from the vtec solenoid, but later we started it up and watched the motor, with it just idling it didn’t really seem to leak hardly at all, but a little bit of extra oil was accumulating at that left front most corner of where the head and block meet. and there is clearly oil on the front of the block because it seems to be dripping down onto the exhaust manifold.,
Its leaking so much that its dripping? that puzzles me…you would really notice it if its coming from the distributer…My distributer had an old o-ring…it was trickling down the side of the head and running towards the front accumulating right at the front left corner(trannyside)…did you have the head re-surfaced?
hehehe, it was your coil . Sorry, not happy that your coil was bad, but happy that you found the problem.
About your head gasket. You put it on right side up correct? Just checking. I would check all of your other gaskets before assuming it’s your head gasket. It could be your distributor O-ring or the VTEC purge assembly. Or maybe one of the oil fittings on the side of the head. Also, make sure your cam seals (on the cam gear side) are not leaking. Any leak will make it’s way around the head gasket and make it look like the head gasket is bad. Bummer thing about having the motor tilted slightly forward. Call me if you need any assistance.
Other than the oil leak did the performance change in the car become Very noticeable, somewhat or barely.
I’m glad it’s runing though and that you did the work yourself Colin, there is nothing like the Joy of building your own monster DA.
dan, good call on the coil I’m so glad it turned out to be that cause i spent my last $100 (thanks jordan) i had to buy the coil (no refunds )
I’ve been driving it w/ the oil leak because i have no other choice, i NEED transportation to school. But i’m being very careful to check the oil VERY often and monitor how much is leaking. I’m definitely going to search elsewhere before assuming that it is for sure the head gasket. I stuck a rag down in the engine compartment to try and catch the oil and see where its coming from, and i think it is coming from above the head gasket. Most likely the vtec solenoid gasket or possibly the cam end seal (its homemade, so maybe its a bit faulty?). Unfortunately it’ll be awhile till i get to really dive into the problem and try to fix it now that i’m at school and i’ll be out of town this weekend.
G2TegXSI: the motor is COMPLETELY different from what i was used to. Imagine going from a stock b18a w/ 195k miles on it that was quite tired, clutch was slipping, pedal was very stiff (turned out the release bearing had a tab break off and the spring was only pulling on one side of it) to a brand new zero mile b17a w/ lightened flywheel (really this didn’t seem noticable), brand new clutch, and a shorter geared tranny. I haven’t even taken it into vtec yet and its simply amazing!!! I can tell that there is a little less bottom end power than my b18a, torque wise at least, but the pull on the b17a feels a lot smoother…its sorta hard to explain. I just can’t wait to take it al the way up to vtec and to redline cause thats where all the power is.
I figure this motor swap is giving me about 50hp more than previous (figure tired b18a only had ~120hp, and the new b17a at ~170hp).
The sound of the motor is completely different as well. I’m not sure what changed the sound the most. The motor? The header (the stock gsr exhaust manifold and a-pipe are much better looking than the stock b18a…the b18a is a 4-1, the b17a is a 4-2-1), or even the exhaust (i used the stock gsr exhaust, with a 92-93 ls axle back portion----this axle back was a lot larger in dia than my stock 90-91 axle back).
Thanks to all of you guys who have helped me out, i’ll keep everyone updated. and after i get a chance to clean the car up and take some pics i’ll make a post to show off ;(
man that sounds so cool.
I never saw it that way, but i guess you can’t compare the way the stock B17A ran before the Pistons to after right?
Well atleast now you can agree that VTEC is really all that great.
i would check your cam seal, i had a leak one day, and it was right where the block meet the head, i was like CRAP, headgasket. Then upon further investigation it was my cam seal dripping
Originally posted by G2TEG XSI man that sounds so cool.
I never saw it that way, but i guess you can’t compare the way the stock B17A ran before the Pistons to after right?
Well atleast now you can agree that VTEC is really all that great.
yeah, unfortunately i don’t know how it’d feel w/ the stock compression. man, i can’t wait to hit vtec!!! hopefully soon.
its hard to tell exactly where its coming from but i’m pretty sure it isn’t the cam seal, unless its just in the back hidden by the vtec solenoid, cause it looks more likely that it’d be the solenoid. But the oil is so new and clean its even hard to tell where it is and where it isn’t w/o actually feeling to see if its greasy. The thing that makes it so strange is that ALL of these gaskets are brand new: head gasket, valve cover gasket, vtec solenoid, dist o-ring, cam seal… everything. sorta strange.
Colin, I just replaced the VTEC purge assembly gasket and it still leaked on my CRX. I removed it again last night, cleaned all of the oil off of it, and applied a good layer of Honda bond to the rubber gasket. Ran the car hard last night and no leaks whatsoever. Just proving a point that just because the seal is new, doesn’t mean it’s “sealing” anything. I would clean off the head side of the block, dry it with compressed air, start the car and watch for leaks (new oil). Best of luck buddy.
Originally posted by G2guru Colin, I just replaced the VTEC purge assembly gasket and it still leaked on my CRX. I removed it again last night, cleaned all of the oil off of it, and applied a good layer of Honda bond to the rubber gasket. Ran the car hard last night and no leaks whatsoever. Just proving a point that just because the seal is new, doesn’t mean it’s “sealing” anything. I would clean off the head side of the block, dry it with compressed air, start the car and watch for leaks (new oil). Best of luck buddy.
ah, so a new gasket leaking isn’t something that would be completely un heard of. Just like you said i’m gonna clean it off really good and then check for leaks this weekend. Its funny, when it first started leaking the only place it was visible was at the head gasket, it was on the side of the head too but the oil was so fresh you couldn’t even see it, the only way you could tell is by feeling it with your hands. Now that i’ve driven the car some more the oil is starting to take on some color and its becoming a lot easier to see.
so putting the hondabond on the new gasket would be ok? i was unsure of that, some gaskets call for the bond, some don’t and the tranny is sealed completely with it…so i was sorta confused where i could use it and where i shouldn’t.
…Only other thing i can think of is did you make sure the mating surfaces were completely clean?no oil or anything…because i heard that oil on the Headgasket surface can make it not seal
. Sorry, not happy that your coil was bad, but happy that you found the problem.
I’m so glad it turned out to be that cause i spent my last $100 (thanks jordan) i had to buy the coil (no refunds 
)