headgasket

[amalgumjoe]

I'm going to be needing to replace my headgasket soon and I have a couple of questions. Is it hard to do myself and how would I go about doing it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[A20A1]

first track down a good technical manual... Chiltons, Haynes, Shop Munual... I used chiltons. I think it covers 1984 - 1995 Accord and preludes.

[OldSchoolSwap]

If you've never done it or seen it done or have no experience in ripping motors appart, i don't think its a good idea!

Seak help, it requires proper torquing and alot of electric wires, vacume hoses and stuff to be torn out, you'll have a headache.

I just did mine a few months ago but i don't want to do this shit again

My .02

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Originally posted by OldSchoolSwap
If you've never done it or seen it done or have no experience in ripping motors appart, i don't think its a good idea!

Seak help, it requires proper torquing and alot of electric wires, vacume hoses and stuff to be torn out, you'll have a headache.

I just did mine a few months ago but i don't want to do this shit again

My .02

Well I think it also depends on the person doing it. Even if you have never done it before, but have a good understanding of engines and parts, then I don't think you will have any probs. I too did mine all by myself without help from anyone else except the manual, and it was the first time I had ever done something like that. Got it done without any problems, and it's been almost 1 year and 25,000 miles and I haven't had a single problem with it (getting 200 psi compression!). If you do have a good understanding, then it's really not that difficult if you just take your time and FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Get a manual and just go in order, step by step. And please, if it says label the vacuum hose, just label the damn vacuum hose already, lol. Don't take shortcuts (like..errm..not labeling vacuum hoses), or you'll have an even bigger headache at the end. Be sure and follow all torque specifications exactly (especially the head bolts--you must torque them in a certain sequence), or you may find yourself doing this all over again...Ahhhh!!

When I did mine I got a box of Ziploc "snack size" baggies, a roll of masking tape, a large rectangular tupperware container, and a sharpie marker. Every vacuum hose I took off I labeled with masking tape around it "A....B....C...etc" on both the hose and where the hose came off of. Also, every nut/bolt/screw I took out went into a baggie with a piece of masking tape on it with a label of exactly where it came off of. Then when I put it back together I just matched up the "A, A", "B, B" vacuum hoses, and when I needed to bolt something back in, just looked for the baggie marked for that item. Makes things much, much easier, trust me.

It does take some time, especially your first time when you're still getting used to everything, but it's not actually difficult to figure out how to do. Boy my back hurt when I got done with that, lol. Those parts are heavy!

Good luck!

[dj99]

Good advice Jared!

It's probably best to have somebody help lift that sucker off. It's kind of awkward to bend over and lift at the same time!

[lionel]

I agree with Jared and his advice. I've done it myself alone without having done it before, but I carefully followed the shop manual.

The hardest part was indeed to lift off the whole thing alone. So either get help from somebody, or remove the exhaust header before lifting off the whole thing.

Also it might be a good idea to replace at the same time the thermostat, and check the exhaust header bolts as they sometimes stripped off inside the head. (Then your only solutin is helicoil inserts).

Good luck,

--Lionel