About the one shorter head bolt in the back... That might be for earlier years?

The one bolt in the center back cannot go as deep into the block as the others. But I sorta remember on my 1998, the bolt length is the same however the head has a raised boss for that one bolt. Someone probably decided that was better than the confusion of having one bolt a little bit shorter than all the others.

Either way, pay attention to that when you take it apart.

 

Actually video I watched on a 2000 showed one longer than the rest

 

I used Bear Creek Automotive, 16633 Park Row, Houston, TX .

I looked at my records and that was in 2006, so price has likely increased somewhat. It's a great shop. He has helped me w/ several jobs (bolt removal, fitting recovery).

good luck

 

You know, one more thing that escaped me until now....I don't know the cause of the overeat. Will I be in a position examine/change thermostat at this venture? The car literally may have just had no coolant/water. It may have had the head gasket issue from the beginning and burned off all the water? I have no idea. I drove the car around the neighborhood and let it sit idle. A combination of both for about 2 min. Never went above normal operating temp. So frustrating, as if nothing is wrong.

 

Thank you sir, I appreciate it.

 

I don't think the gasket matters, as long as it's good. Mine had a felpro and the gasket had been replaced before on my honda accord. The material was all intact, what they called the waterjacket, the gasket part that keeps coolant from entering the piston chamber, it was leaking through there.

Aside from that, feltpro gasket was in great shape. If it wasn't defective in that regard, you could have reused it.

As for the two head gasket repairs, I don't know why it required two on my car. Maybe my old owner let it overheat and when they had it fixed they didn't shave the head or whatever, or maybe it's a design flaw in Honda's in general.

Anyway, consider getting the head professionally shaved/hydro fluxed or whatever it is, it will be a nightmare if you have to redo the job.

 

Hello all, been a while since I started this project. With work and full time school it's been tough. But last night I finally got the cylinder head off and it goes to the machine shop this weekend. I did notice some flaky carbon buildup on the piston heads. Is this normal? Should I try to clean it off?

Thanks!

 

Normal. I cleaned mine with carb cleaner and a brass brush. If you set the engine @ #1 TDC then you'll probably have to rotate it to get the other two pistons up to clean them so you'll have to bring it back to #1 TDC when you're finished cleaning.Yes. HG leaks can be very small, catching the owner unawares. The coolant drops so slowly that it isn't noticed until the car overheats.

 

Re-assembly has begun, but I've run into a problem. Discovered that some parts need to be replaced, and don't know what they are. Two look like sensors of time type and another is a water outlet. The water coupling is broken and corroded, the middle sensor is broken (and oops by me), and the threads are jacked on the right one that looks like 3.5mm audio plug.

 

Used or new parts needed to replace. Check w/ Honda Parts.

Chase threads on coolant temp sensor w/ a tap. If you don't have experience w/ a tap, then get someone else to do this.

good luck