quick rebuild question

[newaccorddriver]

i plan on rebuilding my engine, how important is it to rebuild the head as well if its in good condition already?

money isnt tight right now, but i also dont like wasting money on something i dont need

[AccordEpicenter]

how many miles and how bad is the engine?

[newaccorddriver]

around 320,000kms. oil leak on the distributor(probably the o-ring), oil pan gasket leaks a bit, and the head gasket is starting to leak. asides from that the rest of the block is clean. the compression is pretty bad though.

theres no noticably blue smoke or anything as my friend drove behind me a couple times. i dont suspect its burning oil as its probably just leaking it. its not burning coolant or anything, so i doubt the block is cracked. i think low compression and oil leaks are the only problem it really has.

[newaccorddriver]

odd question here, my block is currently a 'BT' block. is it possible for me to grind down the "BT' and stamp on A20A3 or A20A3T? its not like im grinding down alot, just enough to get rid of that code and putting on my own code, so maybe 0.2mm grinded off and smoothed out roughly

[shepherd79]

If you are going to rebuild engine, why not spend extra few dollars and rebuild cylinder head.
all you have to do is take the valves out, sand the carbon off and grind them into place. Put new valve seals and put everything back to normal.
I did that on my engine and my compression is 180 psi on all 4 cylinders.

[newaccorddriver]

If you are going to rebuild engine, why not spend extra few dollars and rebuild cylinder head.
all you have to do is take the valves out, sand the carbon off and grind them into place. Put new valve seals and put everything back to normal.
I did that on my engine and my compression is 180 psi on all 4 cylinders.


i how much is a few extra dollars? ii think hondaautomotiveparts lists head parts for this car extremely high. factor in the fact that i live in canada and itll be much higher, thats why i questioned wether or not i needed it.


i cant recall what i used to rebuild the head at school. i think i measured out the valve guides to specs, and did a few other things like grind off the carbon and such.

i cant remember if i used a wire wheel to grind off the carbon though... what was that part that grinds off a bit of the mating surface to the head? it just takes off a bit of the valve which is actually touching the heads surface and lets it seal better after you use the lapping compound.

[shepherd79]

I am not sure, i used regular dremel with metal grinding bit to grind off the carbon on the valves and head. That didn't cost me anything since i had it.
Valve steam seals, well they came with head gasket set, or you can pick them up for $25 (price may diff).

[88Accord-DX]

Anytime you rebuild the lower end, your better off if you rebuild the head, or have it done.
If you try to do it yourself, (which I don't recommend for a first time) make sure you put everything back where you removed it from. (valves, springs,shims)

Need to know what prussian blue is & have a valve grinder & be able to lap valves. Recommend for proper seating.

Edit- IF you don't do anything to it, at least have the cylinder head pressure tested & checked for warpage!!

[newaccorddriver]

im bringing my thread back from the dead:)

i have access to cheap valves and valve guides and such and my rebuild kit is going to come with the valve stems. id like to know if its possible to use new valves and guides, and grind them into place with a valve lapper/compound, and then slap everything back together without any ill effects from the new hardware

[88Accord-DX]

The valve guides need pressed in. Check the squareness of the springs & height, shim if need. Check tension, valve float will occur if there is low spring tension. Do all the valve lapping after you get new valve guides pressed in. Sometimes you have to resurface the valve seats for good seating. (edit) Look at the valve stem height too. Good luck

[newaccorddriver]

i guess ill take it to the machinest with all the valves and get them to reseat the valves for me and put new guides in, i can do the rest:)

[AccordEpicenter]

id just have the valves ground if they are in good condition, and replace the valve seals. I have yet to see a high mileage stock a20 head that had fubared valve guides.

[88Accord-DX]

On old school v8's they can knurl the valve guides.

If he wants to get technical about it, he needs a dial indicator to rest on the valve while he moves it.

[88Accord-DX]

Since you got a ton of money wrapped up in the motor & going turbo later down the road. Might consider getting a 3 angle valve job done.

[newaccorddriver]

ive looked into the possibility of a 3 angle valve grind, but i just cant justify spending another dime on unneccesary things which have no 'out of this world' effect once im turbo...

[newaccorddriver]

ive got a question for anybody here whos replaced valve stem seals before. if i take out the valve and replace the valve stem seal, would i have to use grinding compound to reseat the valves still?

[88Accord-DX]

ive got a question for anybody here whos replaced valve stem seals before. if i take out the valve and replace the valve stem seal, would i have to use grinding compound to reseat the valves still?
No, you can get away without it. Just make sure before you put the head back on. With the cam removed, turn the head upside down & pour water on the valves. If the valves leak any water past them, you will need to lap the valves for better seating. Possible having the seats resurfaced in lapping doesn't seal them up.

[newaccorddriver]

No, you can get away without it. Just make sure before you put the head back on. With the cam removed, turn the head upside down & pour water on the valves. If the valves leak any water past them, you will need to lap the valves for better seating. Possible having the seats resurfaced in lapping doesn't seal them up.


great, ill get them resurfaced and change the seals and lap the shit out of them:)