I'm just about ready to change the head gasket in my '89 accord DX, 2.0..I bought the fel-pro gasket a Schucks. I havea Haynes manual and have studied the proceedure.My question is:

Should I installthe Head Gasketdry or with some of that copper spray stuff?
Do I need New Head Bolts?
Can I simply unbolt the intake manifold and push it back out of the way instead of disassembling the entire intake manifold then removing it as the Haynes manual says to do, but seems like alot of nonsence?

Any advice or direction much appreciated.

 

I never had to do a head gasket on my car, so I'm not sure about all of the details that you are asking about.

I would say that if the intake manifold can clear the bolts going to the cylinder head, then you can leave it intact. There is a wire harness bolted underneath the intake that you will have to unbolt. You might have to disassemble the intake to lift it up, because some of those bolts have very limited (almost zero) access when the manifold is bolted into the head.

In the shop manual you are supposed to turn the head bolts 1/3 of a turn in order (1 through 10) so the head comes off evenly. I put the order below.

3 7 9 5 1
4 8 10 6 2

Even if you do this properly, I would have a machine shop plane the head, because you will have to repeat the entire job if the head is warped.

 

I used the copper spray when I did mine. New head bolts are a must. It's much easier if you just remove the intake manifold. It is a bit of a pain but once you remove it you'll see how hard it would've been had you left it there.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll get new headbolts. I know for a fact that this engine hasn't been overheated. But it sounds like just unloosening the head bolts can cause warpage of the head.

Is it crucial to have the head milled?
If so,do I then need a shim of some type?

BlkCurrantKord,
since you have done the job before let me ask you this, if you would have had a good engine sitting in a wreck in your back yard as I do, would you have simply just switched the motors or went ahead with the head gasket job. The motor in my wreck and the motor with the bad head gasket both have about 140k miles.

 

Meh..hard to say. Probably the headgasket for for ease of installation. Versus pulling 2 motors, draining all fluids, changing all belts, unhooking/rehooking stuff up...

 

Yeah, thats what I'm starting to think also.
Did you have your head milled?
If so, do you have to add a shim along with a new head gasket?

 

I've done one Accord head gasket on my 94Ex. I removed the intake manifold, but it might be possible to leave in place. Hard part is accessing all intake manifold retaining nuts and intake manifold brace bolts.

I re-used my head bolts since they are not "torque-to-yield" bolts. I used a tap to chase the threads in the engine block to be sure the bolts thread down easily.

I would recommend having the head shaved to insure a good seal w/ new head gasket. I got to redo one head gasket on a Mitsubishi inline 6-cylinder from a chrysler minivan when I failed to have the head shaved. W/ all the labor you'll spend, having head shaved is good insurance. I also had machine shop redo all valve seats and valve stem seals. I spent a lot of time cleaning and polishing my engine block surface to insure clean surface for head gasket.

If you work by yourself, use some wood shim blocks on the block ends to "land" the cylinder head and then lower each end separately onto dowels and gasket. You don't want to bounce the head on the gasket trying to find the dowels.

I don't know if 89 Accord is same, but on 94Ex, 2.2L engine there was one slightly (~1") longer cylinder head bolt on the back side in the middle position. Honda shop manual makes no mention of this and it was a surprise. Just watch your bolts and be sure you notice any length differences.

good luck

 

Thanks Guys, I'm thinking I need to get out there and start wrenching...Thanks for all the info. Heres my New Honda. Found it onPortland's Craigslist for $800. I still cant believe with the care this car has received its entire life, it blows a head gasket... Never stayed out side overnight, always dealership maintained, little old lady owned, the whole bit. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again. Here's a pic of it..Thats my '80 Subaru Wagon in the background.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...r/puregold.jpg

 

Loosening the head bolts caerfully a little at a time following the bolt tightening sequence should prevent damaging the head. Don't just undo each bolt a lot in no particular order. Undo each bolt maybe no more than an 1/8th turn at a time before going to the next bolt in the sequence. You'll need to go around the sequence a number oftimes.

If the head is dead flat and the surface in very good condition then it probably won't need to be milled.There will be a factory tolerance for'flatness', but in my experience unless it's dead flat it's advisable to have it milled, even if it falls within the factory spec (I've installed at least one head that was within factory flatness spec but leaked, then had it milled and no more problem). Be careful when cleaning the head face off, scraper gouges / marks can mean milling is necessary or at least advisable. The machinest should be careful to only mill the barest minimum required to get it flat with a good surface, I've seen heads (and block decks) shaved excessively by careless machinists.

Milling the head will bring the cam sprockets closer tothe crank sprocket, and if milling is excessive (or it's been milled already say a couple of times) this can cause the valve timing to be slightly retarded. This is unlikely to be severe enough to make much difference, but if you're really picky or building a race engine you might then need adjustable cam sprockets to get the valve timing just so. Alternatively you can use a thicker head gasket if available.

Be aware that milling much off the head will have an appreciable affect on increasing the compression ratio. Also, the finer the finish on the machined head face the better, this is more important with aluminium heads than cast iron heads. Make sure you remove any burrs on the head (particularly in the combustion chamber depression), very slightly radiussing the edges of the combustion chamber depression with fine abrasive paper is a good idea.

If the head bolts are the type designed to stretch slightly (past the elastic limit) then new ones are needed every time. If not then you can usually re-use them if they look good (i.e. no rust, damaged threads etc). I'm not sure what type Honda uses, having not (yet!) had to do a Honda head job (stop giggling...). Clean all parts of the bolts on a wire wheel, chase block threads out with a tap to ensure clean threads. When re-installing the head make sure you use a little grease (or a 'never seize' type of product) on all threads and under the bolt heads.

Using a spray on metallic based gasket sealing agent is not a bad idea, it helps fill tiny imperfections in the surfaces (improving the seal) and tends to make getting the head off at a later time easier. Some gaskets already come with a coating that is intended to do the same thing, and you should oprobably use such head gaskets as is with no other sealing products.

Years ago I was advised by a bloke who made custom gaskets for a living (for everything from racing cars to ship engines) to buy a tin of that 'silverglo' style paint (fine aluminium particles suspended in some sort of oily base) and to pour off the clear liquid from the top, then to paint the gasket with a couple of coats of this stuff (what's left in the tin after pouring off the excess fluid) and allow to dry. Then before fitting the gasket clean any 'overun' off the inner edges of the gasket where it seals the cylinders. Never had a problem using this method, but the spray is likely to be better, this advice was given to me before such spray-on products were available.

Another person once advised me to use Blue Hylomar on the head gasket, which I found out later to be bad advicebecause the head becomes VERY difficult to remove at a later date.

 

It had already been milled b/c I had some other headwork done. I was swapping the heads. No shims.