97 accord SE cream in oil, coolant loss and overheat after long drive
 

I posted about this problem once before but wasn't able to get many likely causes so now that I have a few days off coming up I would like to hopefully fix this problem.

For over a year now I have always been having a coolant loss problem. And the oil would get creamy but I don't believe it to be condensation since its more than the typical amount and I commute 30 minutes of highway every day. There are no noticeable coolant leaks so i have to assume its internal. Exhaust is fairly clean with no noticeable steam or coolant Odor. When I drive longer than an hour coolant starts to fill the reservoir and spill out until the coolant level drops enough for the temp gauge to start spiking but during my daily 35 minute commute I have no problems but slowly loose coolant and have to top off every week.

It is my opinion that the head gasket is going allowing coolant into the oil and combustion gases into the coolant causing the coolant to spill out.

Any opinions?

Thanks

Are you losing any power

It sounds like a HG problem. Do a compression test, then a leak down test to verify.

From what you described, the symptoms are a blown head gasket.

Here's a link with some info.:
Part 1 -How To Test for a Blown Head Gasket (Honda 2.2L, 2.3L)

Bad HG seems likely; compression test would be 1st step, my opinion.

HG was my guess as well. So another question! Is it more cost efficient to get the head resurfaced and magnafluxed?


orrr just buy a reman. Head. I can get a reman. With all the fixings and cam for about $230 which sounds appealing to me since I would also need to do some rebuilding on the head and replace seals and what not and one of my cam lobes is pretty badly worn.

Also I only have 3 days to complete this project.

How much and how long do you guys think a head resurfacing and inspection would cost?

ThAt seems like a good price for a reman to me especially with the extra work yours needs done. I would think the work on yours would be in that price range. It will also cut down your turn around time for your 3-day window. As at the very least I would expect it to take 24hrs to get your head back.

no input here. luck.

That's a HG. If your going with a reman head, 3 day turn around is not unrealistic.

Does anyone know of any shortcuts for the timing belt in regards to a head swap? The TB is new so I don't have to replace I just need to get it off the cam pulley. Is there any shortcuts so that I don't have to take the bottom cover and crank pulley off?

I've done that...

First, spin the engine so its 90-degrees away from TDC. Either 90-before or 90-after, I'm not sure which is easier to see the marks on the crank pulley. Now all 4 pistons are at mid-stroke.

You can loosen the tensioner with the lower cover in place, then slip the belt off of the cam sprocket. If the valve springs cause the camshaft to move, that's OK because none of the pistons are at the top. Then remove the head.

On the new head, spin the camshaft so it's at TDC. Install the head. Turn the crankshaft DIRECTLY to TDC, even if that means turning it backwards. Now slip the belt back on.

Do the normal belt-tension procedure & double-check the cam-timing marks to make sure you got it right.

Make a mark on the belt to the cam gear so that when you "go back on" you get the mark back in the correct place.

"Deserthonda" has a write up in the DIY section about replacing the cam seal without removing the lower cover. Can't remeber if it delt with the tensioner or not.

Marking is a good idea, but be careful because when you slip the belt off the cam sprocket, it IS possible to move a tooth or 2 at the crankshaft sprocket. Depends on how you hang on to the belt while doing everything else.

In any case, marking the belt is good, but if those marks disagree with the timing marks on the sprockets, you need to go by the sprocket marks.

Well last weekend the snow storm hit so I'm starting the job today. Not even 30 minutes in and in found numerous blown seals and broken bolts and studs. I have 3 broken exhaust studs. As for the intake I can't tell yet. Before I continue I want to make sure I can locally buy parts before I get too far and am down a car. The exhaust studs seem to be common but does anyone know of the intake manifold is held on using studs or bolts? I can't find anything anywhere about replacement intake studs or bolts

Studs in both cases. If you have a reman head you don't have to worry about them. If you're going to have the head resurfaced then have the machine shop replace the studs. Kind of a PITA using a hand drill.

I have a reman. Head which I only just found out today has no studs in it. I see many places selling the exhaust manifold studs but still nothing for intake manifold studs. However, I see a lot of guides mentioning the removal of 4 bolts on top and 5 bolts on the bottom to remove the intake manifold.

Look up CYLINDER HEAD on any of the Honda OEM parts websites. parts(dot)sonshonda(dot)com is probably the easiest to navigate. You'll find:
Bolts should work too although keeping the gasket in position without at least a couple of studs wouldn't be fun.