Dimitriy

Hi,

So here is the problem. I bought a CRX that had bad/no compression in one of the valve/cylinders. Its 95% sure that its a bent valve. My brother is an auto mechanic for over 10 years and after playing with the car for a day he got it running ok (except now its spits gas out of the exhaust apparently because the valve is just letting the gas flow through) but the he is positive that it is the valve/cylinder is bent. He adjusted the timing belt for me and also raised my idle throttle to higher so that I dont die at the stop lights.

I am by no means a car mechanic but hey they is always a time to learn.

So I am decided I am not going to be a loser but I am going to GET IT DONE! (easy said then done ofcourse....)

Car:
Honda CRX 2D 1987
180,000 Miles
Assuming DX edition not sure....
(if anybody needs more info give me a shout)

I have just about any tool I need because my brother has them all (at least most of them).

First things first:
1. What should I begin taking apart first? Wires,tubes, pipes, etc...
2. I believe I am going to need a engine lift. How soon should I bring that in?
3. What parts do you think I should replace/clean now that I have the engine in front of me?
4. What parts should I buy from a junkyard and what parts should I just go and buy from the store/factory?

Thats just about all the question I have for now.
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I am located in the Mukilteo, WA area and if anybody can/wants to stop buy and give me a hand I would definitely appreciate it. If you have some parts or a engine I would also be interested.

LAST THING -- I am aiming for to finish before the 18 of September 2006.

TurboMirage

you dont need a lift to replace a headgasket

check out these pics of a headgasket i did on a prior crx that i owned for a short while. they should help.

Index of /mycrx

reckedracing

as stated above, easiest is to just pull the head, fix whatever valves are bent and throw it back together

first thing you should do is a leakdown test to determine if its valves/head, or if the rings/piston/cylinder walls are causing the loss of compression

if it is in deed in the head then you should just yank the head as if you were doing a head gasket, and fix whatever is bent after you pull it

invest in a good book, likes helmes or a factory service manual

haynes books are garbage
helmes will have step by step instructions with some pictures
or just search for a head gasket write up


i have a complete EW4 motor out of an 86 SI approx 110K on it, runs great
i am also looking to get sell my DOHC D16A1 swap thats currently in my 1986 crx si
its a bolt in swap for an SI but prob more trouble than its worth for a non-MPFI car...

__________________
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Dimitriy

So you believe I need to replace the head gasket?

Any tips on what to remove first though? I am hoping to come home today and just rip the damn thing out of the engine bay, tie it up or put on the ground and take the whole thing apart!

reckedracing

if you bent a valve you NEED to pull the head to replace it, if you pull the head you NEED to install a new head gasket...

head gasket may or may not be the cause of your problems but you will need a new one unless you get a junkyard/replacement motor...

Dimitriy

I bought one and must say I agree.

Dimitriy

Hey reckedracing, what price are you looking for that engine? The 110K one.

As for the head gasket do you think i should buy a brand new one along with a valve? Sorry if that is one of the stupidist questions you ever heard but I am trying to get there.

reckedracing

some people use copper spray sealant and re-use headgaskets, but for the 50-60 bucks or less for a brand new one, and the time involved in changing it, i ALWAYS USE BRAND NEW HEADGASKETS, everytime

headgaskets seal in the explosion, bad headgasket = loss of compression, and can lead to overheating, or water getting in the oil or oil/water getting into the combustion chamber

water in oil will destroy your motor, overheating can destroy your motor
just get a new headgasket

if you bent a valve you will absolutely need to get at least one new one, possibly more...
you can price valves here...
Majestic Honda - The Internet's #1 Honda Automotive Parts Store

use mapquest and get driving directions from your zip code to 12428...
see how long of a ride it is and let me know if you're still interested...
also keep in mind this is an SI motor, EW4, you may have to change things like header/intake manifold etc for this motor to work in your car without extensive SI conversions...

__________________
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Dimitriy

Distance wise that is extremely far for me. I live in 98275.

What do you guys think is a good price I should offer people for a motor with 100k miles on it? I found several on Craigslist.

reckedracing

you found several first gen crx motors on craigslist?

they need to be first gen's...

Dimitriy

d15? Way to know if they are first gen?

reckedracing

Honda Engine List

the first gens are diffrent from later gen's of D15

Dimitriy

Is it possible to put on in? The fellow says the engines came from ZC swaps.

reckedracing

here's the thing
88-91's have the drivers side motor mount right on the timing belt side of the motor
the first gen crx's have the drivers side motor mount wrap around and bolt right onto the front of the block

i have heard of people finding the front mount blocks with the bolt holes behind the timing belt cover to convert it to a side mount, but to my knowledge there are no newer series motors with the holes to bolt a mount to the front of the block instead of the side of the block...

first gen crx's also have a completely diffrent exhaust manifold pattern...
they have 4 smallish ports that sit side by side with 2 being right side, 2 being left side

the newer D series motors have 4 equi-spaced exhaust ports across the front of the head...
this can be changed with a newer exhaust manifold being installed and mated to the existing exhaust system but no idea if the intakes are even close to being similar...

__________________
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Dimitriy

So to put in laymens language... first-gen motors are held up on the front end whereas the newer engines are held up on side.

aka You can't stick a second gen motor in without alot of modification?

reckedracing

pretty much

reckedracing

here's a first gen engine bay
you can see the mount location in this pic
http://i10.ebayimg.com/06/i/08/34/78/fc_1.JPG

now here's a 88-91 mount
http://i8.ebayimg.com/06/i/08/38/16/ac_12.JPG

Dimitriy

So i guess I am back to replacing the valve/gasket.... We'll it ought to be interesting!

reckedracing

try a leak down test first...
you'll waste a lot of time pulling the head with the motor in the car if the problem is actually in the lower end...

you said he put it back in time? do you mean the timing belt was off? and if so how much was it off? timing belt being off can definately lead to a bent valve...

Dimitriy

He checked the belt with his timing gun and apparently was two off (two of what I dont know maybe notches). We bought a new belt but we did not put it in because the other belt was fine. After that he properly aligned it.

this leakdown test... where can i get it done? My brother left to califorinia for 7 days and he told he was done with this piece of crap...so much for family.

The fellow I bought this car from says that it happened a when he was taking turn nothing too special just a turn. After that the car wouldn't idle properly and the he suspected lost compression in one of the cylinders. The car drives alright when its hitting 3thousand RPM but has trouble in the lower RPMS.

Also we started the car with two cylinders and it idled fine. However as soon we stuck the other too back the car was having up and down idles...

any clue

reckedracing

checked belt with gun...
you check IGNITION timing with a gun...
what did he do to adjust it? did he rotate the distributor? or did he move the crank vs cam gears to set the motor back in time ie: cam to crank timing, aka when the valves open in relation to where the pistons are in their travel...

you need a leak down tester and a compressor...
do you have a compressor?

turn and lost compression have nothing to do with one another unless he was low on oil and scored the cylinder walls...
i'd suggest a compression test before a leak down test...
compression tester is cheaper and no need for a compressor...

are you sure the wires and plugs are good for those 2 cylinders??
are you sure you don't have the wires mixed up?

__________________
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

reckedracing

check your other thread for firing orders

Dimitriy

In Regard to the belt he took off all the covers including the top (head gasket cover-- I am so sure i got this name mixed up with some other part -- but anyways the one that is black and says 16(or 12)vavles and he then released the belt and slid it off and rotated the gear that the timing belt is attached on (slowly) until he got the proper position (He was showing something about the lines aligning).

As for the distrubutor (assuming it is directly attached to the distrubutor cap) he loosened it and the cap also to find out where 1 is. But he tightened it all up.

Dont have a compressor or leakdown.

Brand-New NGK spark plugs. Wires are good.

As for there order we had trouble finding the exact order but after looking through two books and other places we got the correct order. The car start excellently. We have this saying in my language (russian): Starts from half a spin/turnover. Original - Nachenayet ot pol abarota!

But this car starts great! Better than many other vechiles I have tried.

reckedracing

top cover is the valve cover...
sounds like the timing belt "jumped a tooth" meaning lost its alignment
as the piston travels up the cam needs to turn at the same time to let the valves close so they don't get smashed by the piston when it reaches the top of its stroke

it sounds very possible that one or more valves could be slightly bent but honestly, if it starts that well, why mess with it?

and how are you so sure the wires are good?

Dimitriy

Mainly the reason I am sorta angery is that I have gas (or who the heck knows what that black crap is) spewing out of my exhaust. About maybe 1/3 of a cup every 10 minutes its on...

Its little spitting it out. Didnt happen before.

As for the cables... Easy way for me to check?

FYI: The exhaust is spewing out some bluish like smoke sometimes it seems. Could it be just because we readjusted the settings a bit? Also my car just has two pipes for the exhaust maybe I need the acutal exhaust system or what not?