problem with 91 civic dx!

ok I bought this car about 6months ago and now I believe my head gasket has gone bad, there is water in the oil and it over heats very often now. it has about 140k on it so I figure it would be worth trying to fix this problem, but I havent done head gasket replacements before, I am good with mechanics and and work on cars but this will be very new to me. was wondering what should I look for and how should I start about doing this. I read somewhere to look for wraped bolts and heads? what do they mean by wraped? and should I get the head machined or just clean it with low grit sand paper, what about the block part how do I get that machined? and last but not least do I need any special tools I need to purchase? any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks

It's not really that hard. Personally I would take the head and get it machined just to be safe. Should only be 20-30$.

It's kinda a straight forward thing, just unplug and unbolt the obvious things.

if you really plan on doing it yourself and its very new to you,
make sure you have a haynes manual beside you at all times,
theres certain ways to take the head bolts off & timing & more stuff & just be careful!

first off, buy a torque wrench before you even think about doing this, and also a helms is essential.

New head bolts are needed as well as a head gasket, and most likey, specially if you shave the head, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets.

You will also want to check the block for warpage, get a straight edge and run it diagonally across as well as parallel with it, if it is uneven at all it needs to be decked also. That is unless you really like changing gaskets.

[QUOTE=jeef]New head bolts are needed as well as a head gasket, and most likey, specially if you shave the head, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets.
QUOTE]

I kinda left that out hoping the obvious would come to him. Now that I think about it it's a good thing you added it. I could see someone doing a replacement the first time and trying to reuse crap.

thanks alot for all the replies, what brand of head gasket should I use (felpar?) , also if the block is warped how do I get that machined? is it very difficult to take it out the car? thanks in advance

I have a SCE gasket for sale if your interested. I bought it and realized that wasn't my problem.

ok here is an update I took off valve cover and it is a mess I got chocolate milk everywhere, is there a solution I should use to wash all this stuff off, should I use water! is that gona go well with the valve springs and ruber bushings,,, anyway I have marked all the position of the distributor and the timing belt and taken them off. bought a chilton manual(very helpful) and will take the head off probably tomorrow should I leave all the valves and camshaft intact or shoudl I take those off too before I take it to the machine shop? btw any ballpark estimates for how much a machine job would cost? will keep you guys updated, thanks again

Just leave the cam and valves in. Should only be 20-30$

it not to hard to do just follow the book an it will be fine when i did mine i took the raditor out to makeit easier....most book do mention that.....after ur done u may want to do a goood oil change after filling it up run for a while then drain and put new in again...i did this and now she rund perfect...besdies putting new clutch in a week later

Why did you take the radiator out to get to the head?

Why did you take the radiator out to get to the head?

I took mine out when I did my head gasket. Made it easier to get at the exhaust manifold bolts with my 18 mile long socket extension since I couldn't find any reasonable sized extension in my garage.

hrmm....I had no probelms with mine with just a wrench, oh well.

alright I am back, I was unable to do work for like 2weeks cause of namonia(or some bad ass flue) but anyways I got everything out 3days ago, went ahead and got the head resurfaced and got the special head gasket(mulitlayered steel) that is for when you are replacing a burned head gasket, got new head bolts (freaking $8 a peace) have put the head back on adjusted the valves now need to put all the other crap back on there but tell me this, when I took the head out on the bottom part there was alot of gasket residue on the engine block I got some gasket remover and dish scrubbers and a blade and went to work on the sobs, but at the end I could still see them(much less of them) but its surface was smooth and even (measured by the blade!) and then I put the gasket and head on there,,,am I screwed here? how long will I have before I notice if I messed up or not? will the special gasket save me? it was like 4layers of metal,,seriously doubt it would brake...have you guys had any experienced like this? thanks in advance

did you spray the hg down with copper spray?

ohh nope, didnt know I was supposed to do that..what does that do exactly?

thanks

helps to seal better

I havent put any coolant or oil in the system yet should I take the head off and put copper spray on the gasket or is it too late?

you dont need to put that copper spray on, it just helps alittle. nothing to worry about.

let me clear this up for you. you use the copper spray because it will help seal any little imprefections you may have on the head or the block.

if for example you just had the head and block resurfaced then theres no need.

alright, thanks for the replies, here is an update:

I put everything back on today went to start the engine and the engine cranks but does not run, I checked for spark and I get spark, so I am pretty sure I messed up the timing belt reinstallation but here lies the bigger problem, I didnt put any marks on the timing belt or the camshaft how should I align these now? or could this be a totally different problem? thanks in advance

the cam gear and the crank have marks on them for tdc

I realigned them, with the tdc marks at the right place(maybe of by a tooth of camshaft?) still nothing,,,,I forgot to mention I adjusted the valves on the head, but dont think that would keep it from running? and I can hear the fuel pump turning on so I guess that rules that out.. I am gona get a compression set tomorrow and do a compression test maybe I did a royal messup when I put the head on or something I will update tomorrow

Check your grounds. The engine won't start if your grounds aren't all secured... especially, the valve cover gasket ground and the one connected at the thermostat housing. GL

after u noticed u may be off a tooth on the cam did u allign it back by that one tooth?

thats why like the instructions say, to get an adjustable cam gear because it will be off like 1/2 tooth and if you dont get it then it will be off

yesss the car is running, thanks for all the replies I am such an idiot i had the distributer assymbly in 180degress wrong,,I know, I know,,,,,(what can I say its my first head gasket job) everything seems good accept I hear a ticking sound from the valve cover I am assuming the valves have to be adjusted since they resurfaced the head? and also like you said civickiller the cam has to be off by like 1/2 a tooth, but on mtchel on deand it doesnt say anything about getting adjustable cam gear!

thanks for all the replies