Need help blown head gasket??

Im new to the site I need all the help I can get.

I just bought a 89 civic si last night, I was driving it home and it just died on the freeway. there was a puff of black smoke out of the exhaust when it happened. I pulled off to the side and tried to start it to no avail.


Thanks for any help you can give

Wouldnt be a head gasket, that wouldnt really stop it dead. Timing belt, distributor or just blowing the damn motor up could all do that.

lol i was drivin my hatch back after buying it and didnt check the fluid levels..ten minutes later a ten foot flame shoots out the exhaust and my engine bay was on fire. i blew a rod and 3 holes in the block

timing belt is a big one to check..any fluids dripping anywhere??

I checked the fluids before we left. oil and coolant were good. It just lost power and the puff of smoke.

yeah im thinking the timing belt also..did u check everything to make sure eveything is intact? were u kinda racing the car b4 this all happened..ya know just a used car trying to see what the old girl has?

Well I just finished doing a compression test and it was like 80 110 110 125. I put oil in there and it went up to 150 135 125 130. I try to start it but it turns over but it just wont start. its getting spark and fuel. when i was test driving it I did redline it a few times.

Well I just finished doing a compression test and it was like 80 110 110 125. I put oil in there and it went up to 150 135 125 130.

Your piston rings are worn out. Still seems like enough compression to at least start the motor though, (given you have fuel and spark) especially since you ran the test when the motor was cold.

Yes, looks like the rings are worn, but that should be enough compression to start the car. I would start by checking the timing belt, timing, then fuel and spark.

the timing belt is good, I dont have a way to chech the timing. my next question would be Is it worth(financially) rebuilding this motor or should I just get a new one? I was searching on AF and thinking about a d16z6 or a d16y8 can I use my stock SI trans? what else would I need to do the swap or any info you can give me. thanks

Maybe u bent or lost some valves. Its the only other thing I can think of if all else has checked out. The head being screwed up bad wont let the car start either

the timing belt is good, I dont have a way to chech the timing. my next question would be Is it worth(financially) rebuilding this motor or should I just get a new one? I was searching on AF and thinking about a d16z6 or a d16y8 can I use my stock SI trans? what else would I need to do the swap or any info you can give me. thanks

What do you mean you dont have a way to check the timing? All you need is a 17mm socket to turn the crankshaft. Turn the crank to the WHITE TDC mark on the crank pulley. Check the marks on the camshaft. Since you have a DX, the lines on the cam pulley should align with the head and the "UP" mark should be straight up. This will tell you if your off a tooth or two.

I'll give it a try, I have an si it will be the same then, right?

I'll give it a try, I have an si it will be the same then, right?

Oh, I thought you had a dx. Actually the cam marks on an si are different. There is a special offset mark on an SI cam that, when at TDC (white mark on pulley), should point at 7 o'clock aligned with a mark on the head. I would highly recommend looking at a manual to see what I mean.

You can download service manuals here:
http://hondatech.info/search/crx/

so i check the timing and it was off by a couple teeth. I did a leak down test and the air just shot through cylinder 4. is it worth repairing? should I bother tearing it down? How much would a rebuild cost?

so i check the timing and it was off by a couple teeth. I did a leak down test and the air just shot through cylinder 4. is it worth repairing? should I bother tearing it down? How much would a rebuild cost?

Was cylinder number 4 also the one that had low compression? Fix your mechanical timing first, you need to loosen tension on the timing belt and adjust the crank and cam at TDC. Its hard to tell whether or not you have bent/ burnt valves. The leak down test only works when each cylinder is at TDC and since your timing is off the results aren't gonna be accurate. Fix your timing first.

You can download service manuals here:
http://hondatech.info/search/crx/

SWEET! nice link, its bookmarked now.:thumbsup:

Hell yeah..ive spent like 2 years searching for something other than the same shitty version of what I thought was a helms manual.. this thing is great!

SWEET! nice link, its bookmarked now.:thumbsup:

No problem bro, glad it helped you. I was even able to download manuals for my dads crv and now i do all the work on it too. :sunglasse

but to answer your question on the transmission off your current si motor fitting the d16z6 or y8 is yes it will bolt on. Rule of thumb...anything d seiries will fit anything d series. Same for b seires motors as well but parts off b esries will not fit d series. And vice versa. And good luck. I use to have an si. Man i miss the gold ol days......

but to answer your question on the transmission off your current si motor fitting the d16z6 or y8 is yes it will bolt on. Rule of thumb...anything d seiries will fit anything d series. Same for b seires motors as well but parts off b esries will not fit d series. And vice versa. And good luck. I use to have an si. Man i miss the gold ol days......

There are some exceptions to this rule, but most of the time you can go by it.