I have a 97 accord with a 2.7 v6. After 230,000 miles started smoking real bad. Rebuilt engine and the only problem was that the heads leaked coolant. (severely) check torque and all was good. After warming up the leak was slowed down but not completely. tried stop leak, no help. Leak in from the water jackets to the outside of head. No water in oil. Car runs great but still using coolant. after 5,000 miles removed heads to check. they are flat and the gaskets failed to the outside pretty much all around both heads. Since this is a 2.7 there is not much information on the engine. the gasket was a felpro 9531 PT Perma torque (honda has stopped stocking the factory one). Looking for anyone with knowledge on this issue.

Thanks,
John

1997 accord EX-L 2.7l Automatic

 

Did you check the heads for flatness w/ a good straight edge and feeler gauge? Only V6 manual I have is for 98-02 V6 engine and specifies 2 mils (0.002 inch) tolerance on warp. This small amount of warp would be easy to miss.

Bolt torque sequence in my 98-02 V6 manual is a 3-step sequence. Perhaps this is an updated torque sequence? See attachment.

Did you check the block for flatness? It's less likely to be out of spec, but I have heard of this problem.

The only head gasket installation I had fail was crude checked w/ ruler straight edge. All other times (3) I had head shaved flat by a machine shop. Too much work to take a chance.

Do you have a shop manual to guide your work? automanualsource.com can provide the 98-02 manual which includes V6 for $22. Better than nothing.

good luck

 

I knew I should have videoed all my stuff.


Post should be in gen tech help

 

Im guessing heads are warped, or you missed a step in the torque process.

Its:
8 2 4 6
5 3 1 7

Finger tight, then 29 ft lbs, then 56 ft lbs

 

This is what I did with mine..


Pulled head

cleaned off old gasket

Drew all over it with a black sharpie

Used a piece of marble with fine grit sandpaper stuck to it and slide it over it back and forth, seeing where my low spots were

my marble with sandpaper on it

Until I got to this point. Then I marked on it again with sharpie and checked it all came off evenly. Then got a feeler gauge and a metal ruler and checked for gap