question on head gasket.

[crx91]

I need to replace my head gasket.I just want to know if anyone has gotten one done, and how much?

[crx91]

its for a 91 accord f22.

[whyte Gsr b0i]

go buy one and do it yourself.. prolli cost you 5 hours?? and ionno less then 4 bucks for the gasket... you got vtec??

[whyte Gsr b0i]

less then 40 bucks.. heh sorry

[JoeK]

Don't do it yourself unless you've done them before. It's a lot of work.

Whenever I've done a head gasket on an aluminum head, the head has been warped. There is a reason why you need a head gasket. They don't just stop working. The head might have to be machined.

Just call around - people will quote a price. I don't know how much the job costs since I've always done it myself.

Good luck.

[whyte Gsr b0i]

hmm.... its free labor if you do it yourself.. i will admit.. it could be alot of work.. but that means your gon save alot in labor changes... but if you still dont think you can.. then take it somewhere.. lookin the phone book.. take it to a specialist.. and gaskets do just stop working.. when they have been used for 13 years.. cracked and what not..

[stopmenot2002]

DO it yourself is easy, just take off 4bolts
on top of head gasket cover, then unplug the pcv valve, and the hose the going to it by the clip, use scew driver(flathead) prine it out then take old one out and replace new one in 40$ part, also buy some gasket sealant, applied abit along the gasket. Put it back is in rverse order, LET THE CAR SEAT FOR COUPLE HOURS, 3+ hour to for realant to dry before taking it out, do not over tight for bolt. Hope this help, 1 hour or less, may want to clean abit of oil on the headgasket while it's out open. Goodluck!

[thepolishmafia1337]

uhh hahah i think u got head gasket confused with valve cover gasket. big difference. if you know nothing about valve timing or how to setup a timing belt you could get into trouble. you have an interfearance engine. which means if the crank to cam timing screws up the valves will go into the pistons. i would call your local specialty import shop. they are usually cheaper for things like that because they do that all the time. prolly want to do a valve job and a new timing belt whil your in there. just a thought

[whyte Gsr b0i]

just mark the belt and the cam gear with some white-out.. then MAKE SURE YOU DONT TURN THE MOTOR OVER OR TURN THE CAMSHAFT.. then that will kepp the timing out of your way..oh yeahs you may need to mark the distirbutor too soo take off the cap and mark where it is.. its been awhile sence i messed with the head and timing.. but if you do all that you shouldnt have to worry about that.. there are about 10 head bolt that you will need to take off for the head.. and those can be a B... nom'tawkin'bout but yeahs..

[F23A4Racer750IL]

polishmafia1337 that is the best username ever. y didnt i think of somethin like that. o yea im a dum polock.

[thepolishmafia1337]

there is a lot more to it than just ten bolts and marking the timing on the gears. it should be at tdc when ever you do that. you should also replace all of the head bolts because there are special bolts to bolt aluminum to cast iron. since they contract and expand at different rates the bolts have to compensate. there is also a certian procedure when torqueing down the head bolts. they need to be torked to just before breaking point then backed down to specifications. this allows the bolt to stretch its full amount and insures proper reading on final torque. many enginebuilders also put just a little dab of oil in the underneath side of the head of the bolt to free up the spin on the head before torqueing it down. this gives a super accurate reading. that last thing isnt really a must but it helps you be positive that you have the correct pressure. there is alot more than ten bolts what about the fifteen or so in the exaust manifold and intake manifold that you will also need new gaskets for and what about any accecories that bolt into the head like tha alternator and the power steering i mean come on. you could coax some one who has no buisness taking on that task into like mental break down. plus a car that doesnt run and some kid with a honda minus a head and a few vacum lines says its easy. thanks for the comp on the name its been my handle for like 7 or 8 yrs now. do not under estimate the brain power of a dumb ass polock

[JoeK]

thepolishmafia1337 - a great name that I also appreciate from my background. Your warning is right - if someone doesn't know how to work on cars, this isn't the first job to try. You have to move a lot of things to get at the head. You either unhook the intake manifold or take it off too. I couldn't torque the intake manifold on the car when I did this job. The bolts are too inaccessible. I had to torque it on a workbench and then drop them both in place. Even on the workbench, you can't get a straight shot at the bolts and nuts that hold the manifold to the head - so you have to use offset torque extenders and recalculate the torque allowing for the offset extenders.

I did want to comment on this:

"they need to be torked to just before breaking point then backed down to specifications"

That isn't recommended on this engine. If you do that, you could crack the head. I wouldn't do this on a small aluminum head like this. It is preferable to start the engine and retorque the bolts if you are concerned, although honda says that isn't necessary on this engine.

[blazinmiller]

Between the machine check work you SHOULD be doing whenever you take a head off(straight edged-Checked for warpage, magnafluxed-checked for cracks), Timing/dist, and timing cam/valve related this is NOT a first timers job!

I would say you should pay someone $500-$700 to do this for you.

Now if this was a pushrod engine and he isn't that expeirenced, that would be a good time to learn, but not here, not now.