- Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:04 pm
#38938
My civic would randomly get hot and I found there to be a grey sediment in my coolant, as well as a very fine oily substance floating on the surface. My head gasket may not have been blown, but there was definitely a leak from the combustion chamber into the coolant passage. Here's how to replace it:
The engine should be cool before starting.
take note of the order of your plugs, then remove them.
drain the coolant from the petcock
Removing the radiator cap will help it drain faster. While it is draining, disconnect the o2 sensor and un-torque the header bolts (evenly in the correct order).
Then on the intake side, un-torque all the bolts (evenly in the correct order). If you don't have a small enough wrench or ratchet to get the middle one through the hole in the middle, then you'll have to reach it from the bottom of the car.
The coolant is through draining. Look at it in the right light and you can see the oily film on the surface. Yep that is not right.
Next drain the oil. You could probably get by without doing this step, but now is a good time to change it.
Disconnect the harness & coolant hoses from the head. (the towel was suffed into the dizzy hole to stop oil from dripping out)
After the oil has drained & you are putting the drain plug back in, unbolt the 2 bolts holding the header to the cat. Then finish removing the 9 header bolts on top and remove the header.
Unbolt the valce cover bolts (evenly in the correct order) and remove the valve cover.
unbolt the 2 10mm bolts holding the upper timing belt cover & remove it.
Check to be sure that the timing is at Top Dead Center (TDC) just like in the pic. This will make your life easier should the position of the cam or crank change while you have everything apart. Leave the transmission in neutral (or park) so that if someone accidentally spins one of the front wheels while it is on jackstands, the crank will not move.
If it is not set at TDC, then turn the crank pulley by hand untill you reach TDC.
There is a small black plastic round cover. behind it is the timing belt tensioner bolt. You'll need to loosen it to get the timing belt off the cam gear.
Loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt and then you will get the slack you need in the timing belt to slide it off.
Next pull the intake manifold away from the head.
Untorque the head bolts (or studs) in the procedure described in the manual. Then pull the head off.
Have a clean area ready to set the head on.
Clean the oil off of the surface and get your gasket scraper (or razorblade) to remove anything left of the old headgasket.
That's enough for today, it's like 15° out. If you plan on taking a break, be sure to cover everything up so no dirt gets inside.
The engine should be cool before starting.
take note of the order of your plugs, then remove them.
drain the coolant from the petcock
Removing the radiator cap will help it drain faster. While it is draining, disconnect the o2 sensor and un-torque the header bolts (evenly in the correct order).
Then on the intake side, un-torque all the bolts (evenly in the correct order). If you don't have a small enough wrench or ratchet to get the middle one through the hole in the middle, then you'll have to reach it from the bottom of the car.
The coolant is through draining. Look at it in the right light and you can see the oily film on the surface. Yep that is not right.
Next drain the oil. You could probably get by without doing this step, but now is a good time to change it.
Disconnect the harness & coolant hoses from the head. (the towel was suffed into the dizzy hole to stop oil from dripping out)
After the oil has drained & you are putting the drain plug back in, unbolt the 2 bolts holding the header to the cat. Then finish removing the 9 header bolts on top and remove the header.
Unbolt the valce cover bolts (evenly in the correct order) and remove the valve cover.
unbolt the 2 10mm bolts holding the upper timing belt cover & remove it.
Check to be sure that the timing is at Top Dead Center (TDC) just like in the pic. This will make your life easier should the position of the cam or crank change while you have everything apart. Leave the transmission in neutral (or park) so that if someone accidentally spins one of the front wheels while it is on jackstands, the crank will not move.
If it is not set at TDC, then turn the crank pulley by hand untill you reach TDC.
There is a small black plastic round cover. behind it is the timing belt tensioner bolt. You'll need to loosen it to get the timing belt off the cam gear.
Loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt and then you will get the slack you need in the timing belt to slide it off.
Next pull the intake manifold away from the head.
Untorque the head bolts (or studs) in the procedure described in the manual. Then pull the head off.
Have a clean area ready to set the head on.
Clean the oil off of the surface and get your gasket scraper (or razorblade) to remove anything left of the old headgasket.
That's enough for today, it's like 15° out. If you plan on taking a break, be sure to cover everything up so no dirt gets inside.
Last edited by teal_dx on Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage
My 1992 SOHC Turbo Hatch
My Youtube Channel: 6th Gear Garage
