which is better for a b18 honda/acura engine, a swap or service cylinder head caused by blown head gasket??

Question

My B18 engine on a 1990 acura integra GS has a blown head gasket. I oughta know if replacing the head gasket is good or having an engine swap is better. Also, I'm looking at the cost for both and the difference between the two were about $500USD. I'm trying to get my valve head taken out without taking the valves nor the spring. Is it necessary to remove the valves and spring when servicing the cylinder head? Also, thinking of getting the valve seals replace while getting my cylinder head gasket fixed. Is it necessary to replace the seals? Anybody know how much would it cost for all the above to get fixed?

Answer 1

Yeah, buy american and then you would have thrown it away by now. Hell, you might be on your second or third by now. And wit-h the price of gas, it could just sit in your driveway and stay new.

Seriously, usually the swap depends on how old the engine is before the overheating, how bad it overheated, availability of used engines, can you verify condition of used engines, how long you want to keep the car, what country are you in. Are ;you taking it to a real garage or some friends, etc. Yes, you can re-surface the head without valve work. The most important thing to do is find out and repair the cause of the overheating before you overheat the fresh repairs. email me for more advice, if needed.

Answer 2

First make sure it is definitely a blown head or gasket. If there's coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant or coolant getting out without any external leaks, then the problem is probably around the head somewhere. As long as there's no coolant in the oil, you could try removing the radiator cap and trying to start the engine. In a worst case, you'll see water blow out of the radiator (I've seen it happen). If it's a small problem, then you'll see lots of bubbles in the radiator coolant when the engine is running. You could also test the compression of the cylinders to confirm that there's a leak if none of the above things happen. I wouldn't recommend any products that say they can repair a blown head gasket without physically removing the gasket and replacing it. You can easily change the head gasket on most cars without removing the engine. On horrizontally-opposed engines (like what's used in Subaru's, VW's, Porsches, and maybe some other cars), you might have problems getting the head off because of the clearance with the side panels or chassis rails. Also with some light trucks and vans that have cast iron heads, you might need a friend to get the head out because they can be heavy. I recommend having a a workshop manual (like a Gregory's manual) for the car so you have instructions on what to do and what to watch out for. Also have a heap of small containers (I use christmas pudding containers which I found on the side of road) to put the parts in and lots of small pieces of paper to label the containers. A digital camera is also useful for taking photos of the parts as you remove them in case you need to see how they go back on, and a voice recorder/ notetaker is good to take notes on how the parts were arranged and where the hoses, etc were connected. This all might sound like overkill but I've repaired a lot of cars and have learnt these things from my mistakes. Read through the workshop manual first before starting to buy anything else to see if there's anything there that you think you might have trouble with. There are tools that you will need including a decent (accurate) torque wrench which is probably the most expensive tool. I recently bought a Kincrome one and it's accuracy is tested by hand and it looks like a good one. You'll need to buy the new head gasket, intake manifold gasket, possibly an exhaust manifold gasket, rocker cover gasket, and so on before you start. Sometimes you can get these as a head gasket kit. You'll also need head gasket sealer (preferably one that can also be used on the intake manifold if possible), and exhaust gasket sealer. If it's an EFI engine (has computer that controls engine), then see if you can get an exhaust gasket sealer that is safe for oxygen sensors because oxygen sensors are expensive. You'll also need a wire brush and a can of something like RP7 for the exhaust manifold studs as these can be a real bi*ch to get off. I found that a brass brush for a drill works good and take your time with these because it's very hard to remove a snapped stud. Try lightly tapping the end of the stud with a small hammer while putting pressure on the nut with a ring spanner. You'll also need the standard tools like socket set, full set of combination spanners (or a set of ring spanners and set of open-end spanners), screwdrivers, feeler gauges, etc. There's one other main thing to remember. If you don't want to replace another gasket within a few months, get the head shaved. This makes sure the head is completely flat. Also, as you put everything back together, make sure you tighten the head bolts in order like it says in the manual (and sometimes they need to be removed in order too). You should also check the valve clearance once you put the rockers back in. The manual will tell you how to do this. Remember to make sure the camshaft pulley or sproket is in the same rotation position as when you took it off or else you could damage a valve or piston. The manual should explain this too. You might also have to retorque the head bolts after a certain number of kilometers and if the car has done a lot of kilometers and you don't know when the timing belt or chain was last replaced, you should look into doing this at the same time.

Answer 3

Buy an american car first of all