Another Gasket Bites the Dust

Just blew the Head Gasket for the 2nd time in 5 months. First time i was at 110K miles so I figured normal wear and tear. Now I'm only at 135K and it went out while I was sitting at a stop light. What gives? I had them check the specs on the block and heads to make sure it wasn't warped. Maybe I'll just do and engine swap this time instead.

Anyone know a good step by step site for a ZC swap? I don't race or anything so I don't need all the HP and cost of a B16. I see the ZC would be the easiest for my 88 CRX Si.

Anyone know a good place where I can get a motor online shipped to me?

Thanks in advance.
Sparsky

In my opinion, if you already have the 1.6l engine, the zc isn't going to do much more. I'd say spend the money on some mods or something instead. ZC's are hard to find parts for sometimes.

hmotorsonline.com-best dealer!! They cost about $525 + shipping. for a dohc zc Aftermarket parts are raqre to find. but stock ones are easy to find. I'd go with tha ZC

In my opinion, if you already have the 1.6l engine, the zc isn't going to do much more. I'd say spend the money on some mods or something instead. ZC's are hard to find parts for sometimes.

True, but the ZC is a cheap swap. From what little I've read so far, most of the motors have around 30-40K miles on them. My current is on 135K. Figure why put more money on a engine that's already that far along. But I am open to suggestions. I'm just tring not to spend a crap load of money ($1k+) on it. Called one of the local shops about the gasket today and he quoted me $850ish to fix it.

ZC is the way to go. That was my first swap a now its gone.

Word of advice/experience...Dont let the ZC rev up past limiter. My moronic friend did(didnt let him drive car, he just got in) and reved it way to far, and was fatal. :banghead: But the zc was great due to something called torque that it actually had.

You know... theres a reason why most ZC's are low mileage....

ZC is the way to go. That was my first swap a now its gone.

Word of advice/experience...Dont let the ZC rev up past limiter. My moronic friend did(didnt let him drive car, he just got in) and reved it way to far, and was fatal. :banghead: But the zc was great due to something called torque that it actually had.


LOL... He better have bought you a new motor or You kicked his ass enough to be worth it.


Edited to Add Poll

i swear to god if any of you buy that ZC from Hmotorsonline i will personally kill you.

THAT IS MINE ONCE I GET THE MONEy, I AM HALF WAY THERE AND I DON"T HAVE TO PAY FOR SHIPPING


AHHHHH!!!!

You cant really compair a b16 to a ZC, there not in the same price bracket or power bracket. Its like compairing apples and bigger juicy more powerfull apples with vtec.

You cant really compair a b16 to a ZC, there not in the same price bracket or power bracket. Its like compairing apples and bigger juicy more powerfull apples with vtec.


Yea I hear ya. I'd like to have a nice high HP Honda. But I don't really race or anything so I can't really justify it, I'm more for High MPG and just slightly quick.

Ok then either find the problem with your motor (sounds like its either warped or wasnt torqued right), or find another d16, I see them go for as little as 100 bucks. Or even find a newer d16 that has vtec. Most you can find in the 1-200 range and there nice little motors with alot of potential that will bolt right in.

i swear to god if any of you buy that ZC from Hmotorsonline i will personally kill you.

THAT IS MINE ONCE I GET THE MONEy, I AM HALF WAY THERE AND I DON"T HAVE TO PAY FOR SHIPPING


AHHHHH!!!!


dont worry they have plenty in stock im sure?? Oh well i just ordered my SiR II B16A swap from them for my teg.

Oh and he did get me a new engine and his lame ass helped me take it out. Plus i told him it cost 1000 bucks and he forked it over after almost killing him. Then i sold the stock tranny and voila made money off it.

Oh well hes not my friend anymore, hes a fricking moron who has a 94 maxima and he thinks it has like 300hp. He makes up so much B.S. like it has ooohh 600cc injectors, and a new tranny which lets him do burnouts.

OMG WTF?

well my 1991 Q45 had 278 HP, so if its got the same engine in it.. he might be right?

b18 !!!!!!!!

well my 1991 Q45 had 278 HP, so if its got the same engine in it.. he might be right?


Nice Car..

http://www.lude4life.com//tun/gw/11.jpg

OK, the d16 repairs are gonna run $850ish(???), the ZC costs $525 but what about installation cost?

don't get a zc, my friend got a zc and it sucked ass, . I could've beat him with my mini-me. Like everyone else probably said, you can't find parts for them as much as you could the a6 or z6. Try to find parts for your motor before you even get it. If you have trouble finding parts, you don't want that motor. Try the mini me..If your head gasket is blown, go get a z6 head get it checked out and slap that bad boy on there, get an rpm window switch, and away you go. There are plenty of good step by step procedures on how to do it.

i think u guys arent reading what hes saying, he wants a car to drive around, he said hes not racing it so aftermarket is outta the question, a ZC is a good idea because 1, u use stock 89 teg parts, 2, its a direct bolt in, 3, they ARE reliable, i've been screwing around with mine for the past 2 months, gave it a 4 day break in period (maybe 1000kms) before i started beating on it, and have beat on it ever since now and its been over 2 months. i dont know why people bash the ZC, yes, it doesnt feel like it has tons of power, thats not what hes looking for anyways. yes it is cost effective, cheaper to get one then to get his car fixed, hell, i picked up my ZC for a 100 bucks, put about 200 into it worth of gaskets and parts and getting it honed and cleaned up. thats 300 bucks, and i installed it myself, IMO BEST 300 i've spent.

I say go for the ZC man, not just because i own one, but because its a good swap

i think u guys arent reading what hes saying, he wants a car to drive around, he said hes not racing it so aftermarket is outta the question, a ZC is a good idea because 1, u use stock 89 teg parts, 2, its a direct bolt in, 3, they ARE reliable, i've been screwing around with mine for the past 2 months, gave it a 4 day break in period (maybe 1000kms) before i started beating on it, and have beat on it ever since now and its been over 2 months. i dont know why people bash the ZC, yes, it doesnt feel like it has tons of power, thats not what hes looking for anyways. yes it is cost effective, cheaper to get one then to get his car fixed, hell, i picked up my ZC for a 100 bucks, put about 200 into it worth of gaskets and parts and getting it honed and cleaned up. thats 300 bucks, and i installed it myself, IMO BEST 300 i've spent.

I say go for the ZC man, not just because i own one, but because its a good swap

As another fellow zc owner its a good swap. AFTERMARKET parts are hard to find, not stock ones!!

Besides im assuming if he cant do a headgasket repair he cant do a timing belt and swap heads.

For the engine installation usually costs around 350-500 bucks depending on person.

It's not that I can't do a head gasket repair, I was just sorta ranting from it being blown. I am planning to pick up the gaskets this weekend and do it myself this time. See it it holds out for a few months again. Least it'll give me a little more time to get another engine if I choose too. I've always played around with the notion of a swap and figured this might be a good excuse. Hell if it lasts long enough I may just get the B16. Seems they're just as easy to swap, just need a few extra little things. Thanks for all the info. I'll post later if the repair was a sucess or not.

well a b16a swap is easy but you need a LOT of extra things.
just my .02!! I'd still go zc instead of changing the headgasket. oh well GOOD LUCK!

Alright, I got everything back together tonight. I've changed the oil already, I'm probably going to run it for a little while and change it again. Just want to make sure I got all the water out of the oil. I filled up the radiator with new fluid, but I know theirs only a little bit in the block around the sleeves. Is thier anyways to prime the water pump? Or should I just start is up and just watch the temp gauge? I just worry about air in the watter ways and the pump not being able to pick up the watter.

well my 1991 Q45 had 278 HP, so if its got the same engine in it.. he might be right?


q45 is v8 and RWD. maxima is v6 and FWD. the I30 is the same as the maxima, but theres no nissan badged equivalent to the q45 here in the states. i think the Q45 is called the gloria in japan (i may be wrong) and the J30 is called the leopard, i think.

Well got everything back together and it's running again. I let it idle in the drive way for about half an hour after it got up to temp. No over heating so far. Took it around the block a few times. There still is a trail of steem coming out the exhaust, when parked and low RPMs. Not a whole lot, seem about the same as normal. I'm figureing it's left over water in the muffler, resinator, cat that needs to be burned out. I'll drive it around tonight and see what happens. Thanks again for your help fellas. I'll start saving up for a new motor just in case.