I believe I blew a headgasket...

[Josh89accord]

Ok, engine is realy low on power, and make s ticking noise, and it becomes more evident at anything above 3k. I really am not sure, but I blieve this is what has happned... I am thinking, if its true, I can get the other running 3gee for 100, put its head and get a new head gasket on it... or get a b20 . But i had to have it towed home, which was 100 bucks.

[OldSkoolA20accord]

perhaps it jumped time.

[Josh89accord]

Thats what I kinda think, but im not sure... I might check it out tomorrow. Kinda sucks this happens on my birthday.

[OldSkoolA20accord]

dang that suck. sorry bro. yea mine did the same thing. it jumped time.

[Josh89accord]

Probaly means bent valves then? damn dude this sucks.

[Civic Accord Honda]

nope 3gees dont bend valves when the belt snaps or skips lol A20A FTW

[Josh89accord]

nope 3gees dont bend valves when the belt snaps or skips lol A20A FTW

Seriously? When I bought my accord, I was told the valves were bent. okay, well thats a relief. Thanks

[OldSkoolA20accord]

Yea dude they really dont. Mine jumped time like 8 teeth. (i could here it everytime it skipped a tooth) and when i pulled the head off the valves look new. (only a year and a half old) but the number 1 rod got bent somehow. I dont know. i think it was like that since i had the car. and if thats the case its pretty damn fast for 3 cylinders. lol

[2drSE-i]

Thats really not true guys. They are well built motors, so a lot of times valves wont bend, but they can and will.

[Josh89accord]

What happened when it skipped and advance the timing? My car is making very low power, was making a ticking noise, and it has progressed to a clunking noise. idk. I really hope I have not bent vavles, and have not busted a headgasket. Its coming from the drivers side though, so I'm not sure?

[evil88accordLX]

if you are concerned with a blown headgasket, there are some things you can check for. how is your coolant? if its milky looking, you are leaking oil into the coolant. if it is low and you now have some colored smoke from the tailpipe (cant remember what color is water, always get those messed up), you are leaking coolant into a cylinder. check your oil. if it is low you might be losing oil into a cylinder, and that would also come with some colored exhaust. do a compression test. a blown headgasket will yield a lower compression reading at the cylinder where the gasket has blown, or possibly two if it blew between cylinders. are you leaking oil down the front or back of the block between the head and block?

as far as what i think it sounds like, i would say you have a bearing that is about ready to let go. ticking into clunking generally indicates an actual mechanical piece nearing complete failure. and there is always the possibility that you have snapped a ring. the power loss would fit this, and the ticking could be the ring hanging up and breaking free as the piston goes up and down. if it actually manages to jump out of its grove and either gets deposited in the cylinder or crankcase, the noise would progress into more of a clunking or banging sound. could also be a valve that needs to be readjusted. anyway it sounds like you kinda need to open her up and see what the problem is....

[Josh89accord]

if you are concerned with a blown headgasket, there are some things you can check for. how is your coolant? if its milky looking, you are leaking oil into the coolant. if it is low and you now have some colored smoke from the tailpipe (cant remember what color is water, always get those messed up), you are leaking coolant into a cylinder. check your oil. if it is low you might be losing oil into a cylinder, and that would also come with some colored exhaust. do a compression test. a blown headgasket will yield a lower compression reading at the cylinder where the gasket has blown, or possibly two if it blew between cylinders. are you leaking oil down the front or back of the block between the head and block?

as far as what i think it sounds like, i would say you have a bearing that is about ready to let go. ticking into clunking generally indicates an actual mechanical piece nearing complete failure. and there is always the possibility that you have snapped a ring. the power loss would fit this, and the ticking could be the ring hanging up and breaking free as the piston goes up and down. if it actually manages to jump out of its grove and either gets deposited in the cylinder or crankcase, the noise would progress into more of a clunking or banging sound. could also be a valve that needs to be readjusted. anyway it sounds like you kinda need to open her up and see what the problem is....

My dad believes its a headgasket, but I really dont think so... I didnt overheat the engine, and at first, the power was the same, it just started making a ticking noise. I would of stopped driving, but I am going to springfield ( on the highway) and didnt want to be stranded. Got to springfield, was a little low on coolant, but I refilled, and it has yet to go down from the spot it was at. I start driving it home, and it sounds really bad. Pull over on the side of the highway on ramp, and it sounds like somethings about to blow up. Basically, i sat there with my friends til a tow truck arrived which I had my dad call and it took over 2 and a half hours for them to arrive. Keep in mind I bearly drove my car, the engine was bearly yielding any heat, and i couldnt run it anymore to get any more heat. Oh yeah, it was negative 16 out yesterday! But thats besides the point. I think I'm going to call the place i got the engine and complain to them.

[Josh89accord]

Called the company, told me they are sending me a new engine. Oh, How I love warranty

[lostforawhile]

Thats really not true guys. They are well built motors, so a lot of times valves wont bend, but they can and will.

when i snapped a timing belt, i put on new stem seals while i was working on it,I was able to drop the valve all the way to the keeper groove with the piston at TDC before it hits,they never drop this low while running, the spring won't compress that far. same on both exaust and intake valves. according to my engine charts the early version of the a20 is slightly different then the later version, this might explain the difference, also doesn't the FI one have slightly more compression? this might mean you could bend the valves on that one but not the earlier one.

[Josh89accord]

Ok, pulled the dip stick today and found metal shavings on it. Well then... Whats up? oil pump go bad? Cuz I'm good on oil!

[russiankid]

If you don't have oil pressure problems then sounds like either you spun the bearings or your engine needs a rebuild.

[Josh89accord]

Got the engine with a brand new rebuild on it. Its never been low on oil.. engine has no more than 2000 miles im sure

[russiankid]

Got the engine with a brand new rebuild on it. Its never been low on oil.. engine has no more than 2000 miles im sure

Sounds like whoever rebuilt it did something wrong.