EM2 Head Gasket (A picture tale)

[Rufus]

Hey guys,

I thought I'd put some pics up for your EM2 guys. This certainly isn't a DIY but I wish I had seen stuff like this when I first bought my car. I just replaced my headgasket due to a leak and here are some pics of it going back together. When I was in my teens the thought of taking my car apart scared the shit out of me, but when you actually get in there and do it a few times it becomes a lot easier. I bet everyone on this site knows their own engine like the back of their hand. This install included ARP headstuds so you'll see the studs in a few pics along with my AEM camgear for Kpro. ARP recommends 60ft/lbs for the nuts. I read people on HT going to 80ftlbs, so I compromised at 70ftlbs. Should be good for only 6lbs of boost. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be happy to help.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3656.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3658.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3659.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3660.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3661.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3662.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3663.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3669.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3670.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3671.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3672.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t177/dallishughes/HeadGasket/DSC_3673.jpg

[rushbuster70]

Good stuff

[4dr_ed3]

i didnt knw you could leave the cam gear there on the belt!! did you do that so you wouldnt have to re-do your timing?

[Agent Smith]

hhmm... boooooost.

[Rufus]

i didnt knw you could leave the cam gear there on the belt!! did you do that so you wouldnt have to re-do your timing?

Ding Ding. When I took it off, the pin on the gear was at a slight angle so I zip tied the cam gear to the belt, rotated the crank to make the pin at the top and turned the cam to allow for that pin to be straight up as well. As long as the cam gear stays on the belt you're golden.

[4dr_ed3]

thats pretty cool man very clever

[Crasy]

nice man

[sniperscout]

now if it were only that easy for dohc

she running good now?

[Rufus]

I haven't even started her yet. Fingers crossed. You still in town?

[sniperscout]

yup still here....cant figure the overheating out. I put the stock fans back in and still overheated

[Rufus]

Only when the AC is on huh? There has to be a way to figure this out.

Things we know:
Fans automatically come on with AC
AC causes RPMS to drop.

Maybe the duty cycle on the injectors is too low at idle when the ac is on?

That's an easy fix with Kpro.

Have you switched the polarity of the fan wires? Are they still pulling?

Put a fan in front of the car and turn the AC on. This way you can tell if it's simply not moving enough air... or does it still overheat when the car is driving with the ac on or is it just when the car is sitting?

[sniperscout]

only when driving...at idle with the ac on it sat at 140 for an hour(i removed the thermostat). It is lasting longer now before it overheats I can actually drive for about 20 minutes now before it goes to 210. I bumped up the duty cycle already cause it was too low. Both fans are still pulling...and I have them so that they are on 100% of the time. The thing I am addressng now is that the stock fans are wider and taller than my new radiator so I am going to cover up the space that they hangover with sheet metal.

on a good note I got my headlights back together. Those lenses fit perfectly. And I pulled out the clear reflector inserts from the projectors to replace the amber corner reflectors to give myself a little bit more of a unique look.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q4/sniperscout/DSC02148.jpg?t=1214348370

[The Guido]

^^^Fan shroud FTW

[Rufus]

Ya Redwidow (Ernesto) is one of my buddies and he swears by the shroud thing. Makes sense to me anyway. I dunno man, I run pretty hot as is 197-210 on the freeway and in the city. I did just buy a new thermostat too so I'll plug in Kpro when i fire her up and see what temp she runs at.

Headlights look good man

[sniperscout]

i talked to joe about it and he says that if it is going over 200 he wouldnt drive it

[Rufus]

Hmmm have you looked on HT or anywhere to see what other peoples K's are running at?

[sniperscout]

180-200 degrees...but i know those are without AC I cant get anybody to respond to me on k20a.org....everyone on that site seems like arrogant fuckers to me

[Rufus]

I think I might get a new radiator. A factory replacement is so cheap and I can stop worrying about 160k miles of shit flowing thorugh it.

[sniperscout]

You can have mine...it has about 10k on it...but i know how having something brand new like that is....i wouldnt want a used radiator period

[Rufus]

So I'm up to a radiator and a motor mount. What do I have that you need? lol

[Rufus]

I just talked to andy on civicforums over aim. He's running under 200 usually but 212 is common and that's about what I ran.

[sniperscout]

andyman? I definitely trust what he says but mine doesnt stop at 212. I have seen it get up to 222 before it boils out

and as far as what i need....you have a car that doesnt overheat

[Rufus]

Ok now boiling out is obviously bad.

[sniperscout]

^hmm who woulda thunk

so how about it...my radiator and motor mount for your car that doesnt overheat? Ill even let you keep the radiator and motor mount

[Rufus]

lol deal. I'm in the car right now with kpro running. Running perfectly.

[sniperscout]

sweet man...now you need to setup kpro to flash the mil when headlift is occurring

[Rufus]

That posssible? lol

[sniperscout]

i dont know...it was a joke...would be pretty sweet though
I think my overheating problem may be cured or on the brink of being cured. I just got done with driving for 45 minutes with the ac on and it never went above 180. I figured i would drive out to your work tomorrow to drop off the motor mount and radiator to you to test it in the heat.

[Rufus]

I LOVE those kinds of tests!

I drove for about 15 miles tonight. Only went into boost twice. All seems good.

I'll bring my digital

[The Guido]

Hey believe it or not but.....After I hooked up the A/C on my SR a couple of weeks ago, everything was good. Well the day after I decided to put my bumper on. That same day after about 10 min(with ac on) the temp would start climbing. Sure as shit I took the bumper off and it has overheater since. I dont have a shroud so until I get one, the bumper will be off. I guess in my case with the bumper and FMIC, it blocks just enough airflow to.

[Rufus]

Well the car is running great but occassionally the clutch refuses to disengage, and when popped out refusues to reengage. I did a little revmatching and the bastard went in. Then it's fine for awhile. Not sure what would be so damn erratic....

[sniperscout]

are you being sarcastic or serious?

[Rufus]

Serious. Nothing could have broken. The car sat for a week. Maybe it's in the shifter box I dunno. I'll take a look in a bit. For not it's not consistant.

[4dr_ed3]

you guys knw your shit man. ive learned so much just by reading your posts lol

[Rufus]

^^ you can learn more when I take my clutch out tonight

[4dr_ed3]

i guess it is true that the more you work on your own car the more you learn a bout things. about how long would you say youve been around hondas

[Rufus]

Umm I had a 93 Accord before my EM2 but I didn't do anything to it.

[4dr_ed3]

so the em2 i guessed popped your cherry lol

[02BLKCIVIC]

4 pucks are fun!!!

[The Guido]

6 pucks unsrpung are even for fun.

[02BLKCIVIC]

lol yeahhh unsprung hubs are ROUGHHHH

[Agent Smith]

clutch master cylinder maybe? inconsistent petal feel?

[Rufus]

It was the clutch. One of the springs popped out.

[sniperscout]

it was a little more than just popped out...that whole side was all scraped and bent to shit

[Rufus]

^^^ Big thank you for all your help P-Dizzle

[sniperscout]

the cold pizza made it worth it

[topnotch7gen]

back to the whole car overheating thing.................when my em2 started doing this I replaced the head gasket, got ARP head studs and a new thermo= problem fixed! I'm pretty sure I got "head lift" and blew the gasket. Car ran strong and perfect after replacing those 3 things.

[Rufus]

^^ mine too!

[*inFamous*]

how'd it go ruffles? was the HG the culprit to your issues?

[topnotch7gen]

^^ mine too!

Your my idol :inlove:

[Rufus]

Si... Or a warped head

[*inFamous*]

good, glad u figured it out mang

[ILIKETODRIVE]

It was the clutch. One of the springs popped out.

That's why I rock unsprung.

Who cares if my trans hates me for it, I built it anyways. :crazy:

[The Guido]

Ah yes...Single cams and their notorious head lift(with boost). I got a new HG, head re-surfaced, and some NEW ARP's and everything was good until the damn oil pump went out.

Jonfin, bump for the side exit kick downs LOL

[topnotch7gen]

Ah yes...Single cams and their notorious head lift(with boost). I got a new HG, head re-surfaced, and some NEW ARP's and everything was good until the damn oil pump went out.

Jonfin, bump for the side exit kick downs LOL

Gotta love our boosted single cams with the side exit kick down(as I make the hand gesture):hello: Fuckin single cams.

[Rufus]

Mine seems to be fine now. Are you sure this motor even puts out enough power to create head lift? Seriously.

[*inFamous*]

Glad its better now mang! Properly reintalled head ftw!

[4dr_ed3]

knowledge is key

[*inFamous*]

True statement there.