87LX Head Gasket Questions

[commonsensehuh]

Ok whats the best way to mark the vaccum hoses? should i do the valve ajustment before or after i replace the head gasket? what are the special unlisted problems usually ran into? Do i need any other parts besides the gasket kit? I think it would be a good idea to replace the radiator, water pump, thermostat, timing belt and whatever else i run into. I have only done mostly minor work and i am going at this thing by my self, i honestly am a little worried about getting the manifolds off. It looks like a serious pain. will i be able to see warpage if its warped? Thats about all i can think of for now any advise would be greatly appreciated. (this website is awsome along with honda swap good sh*t).

[A18A]

when i replaced mine, i left the intake manifold and exhaust manifold bolted to the head, are you replacing the gasket cause it's blown, or just maintenance? if its blown you might wanna get the head checked if it's warped. another good thing to do is valve lash thingy mijig.

you also MIGHT wanna valve cover gasket, but if the one on there is good, it should be ok. i just bought a head gasket and that's it. oh and DON'T use gasket cement otherwise it would take for ever to disapear lol

[commonsensehuh]

OK i will leave my manifolds bolted, where did u disconnect at the down pipe and whole carb or what or u got EFI. ya i got a leaky head gasket leaking pretty bad no smoke but losing alot of oil. i wont use any cement i saw your car smoking and i think i would like to avoid that. Will i be able to see warpage visibaly or is it manditory that i take it to the shop and get it checked. --->"another good thing to do is valve lash thingy mijig"<--- what u mean by that lash thingy??

[A18A]

Yeah, I disconnected the manifold at the down pipe, theres also 2 bolts that go from the exhaust manifold to the block. and asuming you got a carb, there is 2 12mm bolts going from the intake manifold to the block aswell. hard to access if you dont have the right extentions. other than that, it's pretty straight foward. and when you're loosening the head bolts (might not mean anything seeing your head is most likely warped anyway) i think you undo it from the oppisite sides going from 1 corner to another doing a quarter turn, this will make it less likely to warp your head. and by the sounds of your head, you could probably notice it warped if you put it on a very flat surface, would recommend taking it to a shop though. but it sounds like you will have to get another one, just a junk yard one should do. i think all A series engines heads are the same (i think).

there's a helpfull manual at www.pauldesign.ru/honda/shopmanual.html

Valve lash, hope this helps:
valve lash 1
valve lash 2

edit: undoing the head bolts might be going from inside to out, or vice versa, i forgot.

[A18A]