Removing Head Gasket

[freelucien]

I know there is prolly a thread on this but I can't search, on my phone atm. So my question is can I just take out the head and remove the gasket and see if its warped, or do I have to do a lot more stuff?? The accord is a sedan I4

*my head gasket blew about a week ago fyi*

 

[Kampfer]

If you've got a blown head gasket there's a fairly good chance you also have a warped head. So...

remove the drive belts, pulleys, covers, water pump, timing belt, intake and exhaust manifolds...basically, anything attaching the head to the engine needs to come off.

remove the camshaft, then the head

take the head to a machine shop for a flatness check. If it's not flat, they'll hone it. Give them money, thank them profusely and go to a Honda dealer. There you will buy a head gasket, new head bolts, a timing belt and a water pump.

return home and put the car back together. As the book says, installation is the reverse of removal.


Now get it done Lucy, we need some rolling shots

 

[finch13]

One thing I wouldn't do is remove the cam... Its just pointless to do and you could cause more problems

A machine shop would be the easiest thing to find if its flat... Might want to have it magnafluxed as well to make sure you didn't crack it. You can also use a good straight edge and a set of feeler gauges to check yourself.

Don't forget to account for higher compression nevise the head is shaved, are if you can get a thicker headgasket so its the same as it was before.

 

[Dinzdale40]

wth does nevise mean?

oh and..you might want to save removing the cam shaft for the machine shop if they want to clean up the ports...you may not even need to...but you need a special tool to remove valve springs and all that shiz before getting the cam shaft out....i think...

i could go out and look...but im lazy

 

[BlkCurrantKord]

Nah...cam caps come right off with the whole rocker assy, cam lifts right out. Only things left in the head are the springs/retainers/valves.

 

[onthe3rdday]

Springs/ retainers and valves are easy to get out if the shop you go to requires you to take it out (to save you money). 22mm socket over the spring/retainer assembly. Give it a good tap w/ a rubber mallet and keepers will release retainer/spring assembly comes off. Valve seals should be replaced when you do the HG job. Seals come of with a pair of pliers.