Replaced Head Gasket and now leak!
 

Hey guys, long time no talk.

So I know this subject doesn't exactly fit here, because I'm working on a CRV. But it IS a b20b...so i figured you all could help me out.

-I've done about 5 big Honda projects in my lifetime: Complete swaps to builds to frankensteiners.

-Right now I am helping a friend do his head gasket on his 1998 CRV (B20b Non Vtec).
The radiator blew and he figured he would try and still make it home...30 miles further.
-Anyway, took the head off, the cylinders are filled with coolant.
-So I cleaned it all up, put the "new" head on, and hooked it all up.
-Started filling up with coolant and it starts pouring out of the IM driver's side corner area.
Thought it was the water pump....put a new one on and it is still doing the same.
I finally put a TINY amount of dye in the water and found it is coming from where the head meets the block.
SO
Here's what I know I forgot to do. I only found 2 cylinder head placement dowel pins after taking the old head off. (Must have dropped them). And then being the retard I am, I figured two was good enough to keep the head aligned. NOW my question is, does water run through those dowels? Could me forgetting to put that dowel in the IM drivers side position cause the water to be leaking out in that area?
OR Could the "new" cylinder head I bought be that warped? I was trying to save money and get a new b20 head for $50 bucks and not spend the money to get the original head resurfaced and also a valve job (about 290 out the door).

I know that the head was torqued down correctly, and I used the copper gasket sealer.

What did I do wrong? Any help other than "you're a retard" would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Ian

There are only 2 dowel pins for the head. Had is more than likely warped.

Did you atleast check your new head for flatness. Only takes some feeler gauges and a straight edge of you don't want to take to a machine shop

Both dowels go in on the intake manifold side of the motor, correct? That's where I put them, so I guess that can't be the problem.
I quickly checked with a straight edge if the head was flat....could have spent a little more time on it though. I did look good to me. Now, next questions:
Before I rip the head off again, should I perform certain tests to see if I can pinpoint exactly where the problem is?
-Compression test: if head is not sealed correctly I will be losing compression in one or more cylinders correct?
-Coolant system pressure test: ...The car is already pouring coolant out...this test won't tell me anything I don't already know, correct (E.G. you have a huge water leak)? Lol
-Now one of the dowel pins was stepped on and bent a little. I tried rounding it best I could with a punch. Could this cause the head to not sit down perfectly?




-Or should I just go ahead and rip the head off, get it checked and throw it back on without doing any further diagnosis.


Thanks!

You can do a compression check just for peace of mind. If that corner cyclinder is way lower than the other three than atleast you know the issue. Either way the head is coming off