TS John Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Ok, so I'm getting a lot of moisture around my motor as you can see: I was told that this was due to a problem with my head gasket, and it would probably be about 100 bucks to take it to a shop and have it replaced. Since I am a student and need to save as much money as possible I figured I would try to do it myself, so I went ahead and bought a new head gasket for $30. Now I am searching the internet to find information on how to replace a head gasket and every site I see that mentions it acts like a head gasket fix is a really big job that is generally done to fix much more serious problems than moisture around the top of an engine. Then I saw a site that had a Q&A with a guy that seemed to have the same problem I did. Here is the link. So my question is, which problem do I have, based on the picture and on the fact that I do not have oil in my cooling system or white smoke coming out of my exhaust? Do I really need a head gasket or is it the valve cover gasket that I need to replace? Also, if someone could point me in the right direction of a good tutorial so that I can find out how to do whatever replacement I need, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 valve cover is all you need dude. simple fix. take everything bolted to and in the way of the valve cover and take it off(all 10mm bolts).take old gasket off , clean the groove out like your gonna eat off it , lol , and the surface of the head where it sits , again like your gonna eat off it. place new gasket in groove , place cover on engine , bolt all stuff on you took off to get to it and away you go. ps. while you got cover off , get yourself some feeler gauges and find your valve lash specs(usually on sticker under hood) , and adjust your valves if it needs to be done , im guessin it does by state of your engine , lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 1, 2006 Author Share Posted April 1, 2006 That's certainly the type of advice I wanted to hear. I like the easy fixes. I guess I'll be making some exchanges at Salvo tomorrow. Yeah, that engine is pretty dirty and old. I haven't yet gotten to touch it yet, mod-wise because of money, and honestly, its got so many miles on it (194,720) that I'm pretty much set on swapping another one in someday soon. Just when I was starting to save up enough to start fixing the car I got fired, so no luck there. I'll look into the feeler gauges to adjust the valve lash, although I'm not quite sure what you're talking about, honestly. Any more details you can give me I'd appreciate, but they also might know at Salvo so I can ask them too. Thanks a lot for your prompt response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 1, 2006 Author Share Posted April 1, 2006 This is just an update to say that I made the swap of the valve cover gasket today and everything went great. Thanks a lot, cranny, for your very helpful advice. I took it for a test drive and nothing's leaking, so that's nice. The only problem I ran into was that I broke a bolt (that actually wasn't even necessary to remove, I just thought it was at the time) while retightening it, so now I need to drill it and remove the piece and whatnot. That's a hassle, but no big deal. And it might be in my head, but I think the car feels and sounds different somehow. I don't know how to describe it... It's prolly just in my head. Anyway, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 no problem dude. good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Yay for a D15B7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 SolLes, I figure you're the one to ask about this, so here goes: I really wanted to go for the B16 swap in my sol but I know money is going to continue to be an issue. I heard that if I did put in a B16 engine, then I would still have to replace things like clutch and exhaust because Ds and Bs are incompatible. Is that true? Because, if it is, I'm thinkin' I might (for now) swap in a new D series engine with just a little bit more power and work on that for a while. Then I'd get my skills up and have a car that, while not being too fast, was still fun/reliable to drive. Plus I could replace my clutch and exhaust etc. now and not have to do it again when I get a new engine. I know this is not exactly the thread for this question but I figure, hey, you're here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcoats1976 Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 i dont know about all of that but if the motor is not smoking and is running good it may last you a goodlong time.invest in a can of degeaser,but avoid getting the distributor wet.i usually wrap the distributor in plastic bag(old bread bags work)and try not to hit the distributor with any water as it can cause no start/lousy running problems.mines got 150k miles on it and still running fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 SolLes, I figure you're the one to ask about this, so here goes: I really wanted to go for the B16 swap in my sol but I know money is going to continue to be an issue. I heard that if I did put in a B16 engine, then I would still have to replace things like clutch and exhaust because Ds and Bs are incompatible. Is that true? Because, if it is, I'm thinkin' I might (for now) swap in a new D series engine with just a little bit more power and work on that for a while. Then I'd get my skills up and have a car that, while not being too fast, was still fun/reliable to drive. Plus I could replace my clutch and exhaust etc. now and not have to do it again when I get a new engine. I know this is not exactly the thread for this question but I figure, hey, you're here. Most parts from D to B are not compatible. Your exhaust will still bolt up, but header will be different. I say go with the D, and eventually turbo it. You'd be more than happy with it. B and D transmissions are totally different, so the clutch wouldn't be compatible either. I say go D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 chances are if you bought a swap it would come with tranny and clutch and all that good stuff anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Understood, I think he was talking about if he upgrades, will he be able to use those D series upgrades on his newly purchased B. And to that, the answer is no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 i dont know about all of that but if the motor is not smoking and is running good it may last you a goodlong time.invest in a can of degeaser,but avoid getting the distributor wet.i usually wrap the distributor in plastic bag(old bread bags work)and try not to hit the distributor with any water as it can cause no start/lousy running problems.mines got 150k miles on it and still running fine. The engine I got seems to be doin' okay, it's just that at 194,500 miles I kinda am worried about problems starting to crop up in the very near future. I did invest in a can of degreaser, but I haven't gotten around to cleaning out everything like I should. I did clean up the crankcase nicely when replacing the valve cover gasket, and that makes a huge difference. Most parts from D to B are not compatible. Your exhaust will still bolt up, but header will be different. I say go with the D, and eventually turbo it. You'd be more than happy with it. B and D transmissions are totally different, so the clutch wouldn't be compatible either. I say go D. Sounds good. I'm pretty much set on D, and it's good to hear that it's not gonna come back to haunt me later. Understood, I think he was talking about if he upgrades, will he be able to use those D series upgrades on his newly purchased B. And to that, the answer is no. Yeah, I was hoping to be able to replace things like clutch/flywheel and exhaust now, while my stock engine's still kickin' and then later go for an engine swap. When I heard that a B series engine wouldn't be compatible with the new stuff I was hoping to throw in there on top of it being about four times the cost, I figured I'd go D, at least for a while. Maybe in several years I'll do a total changeover in the car from B to D but that'll only be when it's not my daily driver and I've got the time/money to spend on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I say do a head swap, and call it a day. Get a new ECU and Z6 head, and you can have VTEC and more HP. Then boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 You think it's worth it to throw money into that old an engine, especially one with only 102hp? I was hoping to grab an SOHC VTEC engine off hmotors that had 130hp and only 35k miles for like 500 bucks. Would the head swap and all that be much cheaper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Well that motor is only a D15b. Get a Z6 if you are going to get one. Check this place out. They are awesome and have the entire Z6 swap for 850. You'd be surprised what a built D15b7 block and Z6 head boosted could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 I may have just found the site I'm buying my engine from. Thanks, man. Also, I'm sure I would be surprised what a built D15b7 could do, I just am worried about the mileage is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Well, when you build it, that takes care of that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 If I get that Z6 swap that you linked me to off Sunrise JDM Motors, it says it comes with the manual transmission. Does that mean I won't need to buy a new clutch for a while, because I'll have a better one coming to me with the engine? I know I'll be upgrading clutch/flywheel/shortshifter eventually, I just am thinking that if I am getting a new(er) clutch with the engine purchase I can hold off on that sizeable expense for a while longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Yeah, you can keep it. It will be OEM spec clutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 Cool. That will put off the whole $500 clutch/flywheel thing for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 listen to soles dude if your goin D hes the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolLesHonda Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Thanks man. It wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the clutch and flywheel while you have it apart though. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 I agree with that. Let's hope I can pull all the spending together at the same time then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 you can get exedy clutch kits that come with a fidanza flywheel for a reasonable price. but to be realisitc , maybe soles will agree , all you need to do since your just tryin to get car working properly rather performance is taking your old flywheel in and get it turned(lathed). makes them like brand new again and its all you need really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS John Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 True, right now my car works properly, it's just that I have the stock D15B7 102hp engine in there with almost 195,000 on it. I actually am looking to start with performance stuff soon, too, so I figure any money spent on my car should be on upgrade parts, not of fixing the stuff that I'm just going to replace eventually. Check out my thread in the del sol section, cranny. I would very much like your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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