How-to head gasket change

[88hondaaccordlx-i...]

i have seen that many 3geez need the head gasket change


can any one do a How-to change the headgasket :)

[bobafett]

haynes manual and FSM online has the instructions.

basically pull the valve cover, and unbolt the head bolts, starting at the (outside?) and moving inward, and jumping to alternating edges, like when doing lug nuts. once you have the bolts out u can yank on the head and pull it off, and replace the gasket, and slap it back together carefully...

u will have to have your exhuast manifold off, and most likely remove a lot of wires and lines to your head in order to pull it off... but u dont need to pull the intake manifold. depends what else u want to tackle when changing the HG.

but just check out the fsm. www.pauldesign.ru has hooked u up already. :)

[Deadhead]

I would remove the intake manifold personally, but that's just because your going to have to scrape off parts of that old head gasket. Holding the intake manifold and scraping at the same time doesn't seem too easy to me.

[88accordlxcarb]

I did it. It is by no means the easiest task, but there are also a lot harder things on this car.

When you take off the exhaust manifold make sure you dont strip out the bolts. Odds are it will be on there pretty darn tight. There are also some really hard to reach bolts under the intake manifold(i removed it).

Also make sure you dont strip any of the head bolts and torque them down exactly according to the honda shop manual. This is pretty important.

Dont rush, and if you have any questions, its like the old saying goes, "Measure twice, cut once". You dont really want to screw up. :cool:

[Immeraufdemhund]

i have never stripped any head bolts... were you using a 12 point socket?...or maybe i'm just lucky.

[88accordlxcarb]

No, i was just saying dont do it. As a friendly reminder to take your time. That is the last thing that you need during an install like this is screwed up threads, know what i mean? :cheers:

[Soundy]

You'll need to remove the upper timing belt gear as well, and lift out the camshaft... now's as good a time as any to put in a new timing belt if it hasn't been done within the last 50,000km.

[88Accord-DX]

I'm going to give this a run down of the top of my head.
I first labeled all the wiring & vacuum lines that went to the cylinder head with masking tape. I labelled everything to where it needs to go, especially vacuum lines. Then I removed the valve cover & top timing cover. I then removed the side motor mount. Cranked the pistons to TDC by turning the crank bolt. Removed the the crankshaft pulley. Made sure the everything was lined up on the crank & head. Removed the tensioner (can loosen the tensioner) & belt. Took the bolts loose on the the bottom of the exhaust. (exhaust manifold can come off with the head) Took out the bolts under the intake. Take off all heater hoses under intake & to the head. Remove the distributor.

The intake & exhaust manifold can come off when you pull the head. There is no need to pull the cam either. Just pull the timing belt off.
Loosen the head bolts starting from the outside working inwards in a criss-cross pattern in 1/4 turn increments, or the head will warp!!

The reason I did this is cause I didn't want to heat the sockets that go to the intake from the exhaust manifold. They need heated up with a torch to break them loose.
The pipe going to the intake from the exhaust was removed later on using a torch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/ddude2uc/A20A1intakebottom.jpg
Installation is reverse to removal, just remove the air pipes. It will make life easier.

[Immeraufdemhund]

I'm going to give this a run down of the top of my head.
I first labeled all the wiring & vacuum lines that went to the cylinder head with masking tape. I labelled everything to where it needs to go, especially vacuum lines. Then I removed the valve cover & top timing cover. I then removed the side motor mount. Cranked the pistons to TDC by turning the crank bolt. Removed the the crankshaft pulley. Made sure the everything was lined up on the crank & head. Removed the tensioner (can loosen the tensioner) & belt. Took the bolts loose on the the bottom of the exhaust. (exhaust manifold can come off with the head) Took out the bolts under the intake. Take off all heater hoses under intake & to the head. Remove the distributor.
The intake & exhaust manifold can come off when you pull the head. There is no need to pull the cam either. Just pull the timing belt off.

Loosen the head bolts starting from the middle working outwards in a criss-cross pattern in 1/4 turn increments, or the head will warp!!

The reason I did this is cause I didn't want to heat the sockets that go to the intake from the exhaust manifold. They need heated up with a torch to break them loose.
The pipe going to the intake from the exhaust was removed later on using a torch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/ddude2uc/A20A1intakebottom.jpg




Installation is reverse to removal, just remove the air pipes. It will make life easier.
and dont forget about the electrical plug in stuff. Most of it falls into relative posistion so marking it isn't critical, but it does help though!

man you made that head removal for the carb seem soo easy i fought like a crazy person getting that thing off... took no time on the a20a3 though.

[Cant Stop]

errrr why would the head warp removing the bolts out of sequence?
seems this would mean it is not a very good product if the head warps when you remove it out of order.

[bobafett]

errrr why would the head warp removing the bolts out of sequence?
seems this would mean it is not a very good product if the head warps when you remove it out of order.

i thought u wanted to remove the head starting from the outside, and moving in... this is the reverse of installing the head, where you start with the inside, and move in a criss cross pattern, towards the outsite.

its important to remove and install the bolts in the right order because aluminum is very soft, and if you have 50ft lbs holding it on one side, and no bolts in the other side, the metal tends to warp...

[88Accord-DX]

Right, removal is opposite. Loosen from outside to inside following torquing senquence. I said that backwards in the previous post.