one time use head bolts

i have a1995 honda civic lx and i just changed the head gasket and it kept doing the same problem with burning antifreeze and i was wondring does anyone have a heins owner manual to check this> any info on this would help.

Jason :shakehead

You can re-use the head bolts if they were not over-torqued. 5lbs over is enough to cause problems
http://icelord.net/honda/repair/ServiceManual/CivicManual/pdf/6-54.pdf
http://icelord.net/honda/repair/ServiceManual/CivicManual/

how soon after you rplaced the gasket did it start to burn coolant again? it it was a while later (say 5000 miles or so) it could be that you did not torqued it down properly. when i did mine it leaked again after about 7000 and it was beause i did not re-torqued the bolts. i replaced it again and re-tourqued and it hsa been 9000 miles without inciden

I never use the bolts a second time it is too much of a risk, and not worth the time and money you will waste if they are streched. They are not that much compared to haveing to tear it back down and buy a new head gasket, valve cover gasket etc. my.02

how soon after you rplaced the gasket did it start to burn coolant again? it it was a while later (say 5000 miles or so) it could be that you did not torqued it down properly. when i did mine it leaked again after about 7000 and it was beause i did not re-torqued the bolts. i replaced it again and re-tourqued and it hsa been 9000 miles without inciden

i just replaced it and drove it no more than 3 miles when it started to have the same problem as before with the blown head gasket.

then i'd say you really didnt tourque them to the proper spec or the there just messed. are u sure that its not a cracked head or block, it would have similar symptoms to a leaking head gaskit

Did you have the head inspected while it was off?
Was the engine over-heated?

then i'd say you really didnt tourque them to the proper spec or the there just messed. are u sure that its not a cracked head or block, it would have similar symptoms to a leaking head gaskit

I took the head in and got it pressure checked and the works so this wouldn't happen. the head is fine i got it resurfaced and i did torque the bolts in the proper sequence.

if you do a crappy job cleaning the old gasket off the block it will leak.

if you do a crappy job cleaning the old gasket off the block it will leak.

i did a a good job cleaning that old gasket off. i used a chisel and scraped all the old gasket material off.

You shouldnt be using a chisel on the block, just like a wire brush. It can very easily leave gouges or scrapes that will cause the gasket to get a bad seal. I've changed over 5 head gaskets on different cars, and I've always used the original bolts, as long as they dont look damaged. To clean the block I used little scrub brush like pads that you put into a drill to make them spin. They do a great job quickly and never leave any marks.

i have used a chisel, its alright if you are carful but you're rite, you can easily cause damage. when you removed the old head gaskit could you see where it was leaking, it could be pretty suttle. if you cant find where it ws leaking it mite be a cracked block which is very hard to see sometimes. you say it leaks after 3 miles, what exactly is happening, a lot of steam and your engine over heats or something else?

You shouldnt be using a chisel on the block, just like a wire brush. It can very easily leave gouges or scrapes that will cause the gasket to get a bad seal. I've changed over 5 head gaskets on different cars, and I've always used the original bolts, as long as they dont look damaged. To clean the block I used little scrub brush like pads that you put into a drill to make them spin. They do a great job quickly and never leave any marks.

Those are the same things I use except I put them in a die grinder, makes it easier to hold. Anyway yes these are about the best things you can use they do a great job and you can use them for other things as well. They have different discs that are finner and more coarse etc. You should pick up some of these if you are going to try it again, and look for any marks on the block where you were using the chisel, just a small grove from not holding it flat aginst the surface can cause it to leak. good luck

i have used a chisel, its alright if you are carful but you're rite, you can easily cause damage. when you removed the old head gaskit could you see where it was leaking, it could be pretty suttle. if you cant find where it ws leaking it mite be a cracked block which is very hard to see sometimes. you say it leaks after 3 miles, what exactly is happening, a lot of steam and your engine over heats or something else?

The antifreeze is leaking into the oil and i an also burning antifreeze and its comming out the exhaust.

it could just as easily be a cracked block, however usually when the block is cracked the car just over heats extrememly fast, is there antifreeze or oil running down the outside block, if that is the case is defiantly the gaskit but as i_a_n112784 pointed out using a chisel could have gouged and created a leak in the water jacket in which case you would not see anything on the outside of the block. mu suggestion is to pull it apart again (i know its a pain) and look for obveous points where the gaskiy has not sealed, it may be hard to spott but you are looking for darker areas betewen cilinders and anywhere the water jacket comes close to the cilinder wall, remember to look at the block and head. when mine went for the shits i had the same problems as you are describing and the areas that were leaking the gaskit was completly burnt up except for the metal portions, when i replaced it i used a whole shit load od Permatex MotoSeal 1. but the problem i had was i did not re-torque the bolts after a few hundred miles and i was putting an old head on an old block so there was some warpage problems as well

if the antifreese is comming out of the exhaust, my guess is that you may have a crack head. or unless you route a coolant line to the intake thinking that it was a vacuum line.

you know it might just be burning whatever coolant that was left there from before. have you check you coolant, did you loose any. if you did a good job of cleaning and torqued it the rite way. and if you head was checked good than my guess is that it's just burning off the coolant that was already there from before. but if it is still doing it after a while you may need to check your head again. they may have over looked it and missed the crack.

you'll never know..

it could just as easily be a cracked block, however usually when the block is cracked the car just over heats extrememly fast, is there antifreeze or oil running down the outside block, if that is the case is defiantly the gaskit but as i_a_n112784 pointed out using a chisel could have gouged and created a leak in the water jacket in which case you would not see anything on the outside of the block. mu suggestion is to pull it apart again (i know its a pain) and look for obveous points where the gaskiy has not sealed, it may be hard to spott but you are looking for darker areas betewen cilinders and anywhere the water jacket comes close to the cilinder wall, remember to look at the block and head. when mine went for the shits i had the same problems as you are describing and the areas that were leaking the gaskit was completly burnt up except for the metal portions, when i replaced it i used a whole shit load od Permatex MotoSeal 1. but the problem i had was i did not re-torque the bolts after a few hundred miles and i was putting an old head on an old block so there was some warpage problems as well

I think i found the problem. one of the bolts loosened really fast so i think is wasn't torqued enough. going to pop the head off tomorrow. thanks for the input and the situation.

no problem, let us know how it turns out

You should check the head again when off the car to see if it warped any. The bolts not all being tight can cause it to warp, so if you have a good straight edge then check it from front to back then corner to corner etc. use a feeler gauge to see if there is more space in one spot than another.

i just change the head gasket and got the hole car back together and turned it over and it wouldn't start. forund out it didn't have spark :banghead: i am so pissed off. found out the carbon point in the coil in the distributor broke off and and new coil is $71 and i can get a used distributer for $75. any input would be appreciated on what i should do.

perhaps this is a foolish question but what do u mean by carbon point and why would anything in the coil be messed, i can understand breaking the roter on the distrubutor. where is the broken part?

if your dizzy has the twin inner posts on the cap,fit a new cap.your other problem with over heating?-could be down to thermostat closed/and if the engine is fitted with liners,could be lower seal/s.

if your dizzy has the twin inner posts on the cap,fit a new cap.your other problem with over heating?-could be down to thermostat closed/and if the engine is fitted with liners,could be lower seal/s.
sorry did,nt read all of the problem and replies.on some of these engines the inlet manifold gasket has been known to leak,(it has a waterway) and thus it gets in the cylinders.

I think you need tojust take it to a shop because it sounds like you don't know what you are doing or you are rushing / being carless. :2cents:

I think you need tojust take it to a shop because it sounds like you don't know what you are doing or you are rushing / being carless. :2cents:
:bs: i know what i'm doing because it runs now. i just got a used distributor and put it on and she fired right up. so now it runs great. just shows that you don't know what you are talking about

:bs: i know what i'm doing because it runs now. i just got a used distributor and put it on and she fired right up. so now it runs great. just shows that you don't know what you are talking about

:worshippy Oh I am sorry, I guess you must have known exactly what you where doing sense you had to get on here and ask for help. Oh and ya you are right I don't know what I am talking about, after all I have only been working on these cars and other cars as well for 12yrs. And for the two years I have been on this forum I have had to ask 2 questions and they were for a friend and the questions had nothing to do with engines. But yet I have some how come up with enough knowlegde to answer close to or maybe even over 1,000 questions. So you sir can just have these :thefinger:flipa: