Mini-Me Rebuild

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GlassHeadlights

West West Yall
I think I've decided to rebuild my D16A6/D16Z6 Mini-Me. Its burning oil and both the head and block have high miles.

So for the D16A6 block I was just thinking of...

~Honing, if necessary
~Decking, if necessary
~Rings, OEM or aftermarket?
~Bearings, I heard I should buy OEM because of a teflon coating or something
~I already did main seals and oil pan gasket, so gasket wise in the block its as tight as a drum

Then onto the D16Z6 head...

~Valve seals, OEM or aftermarket?
~Valve grind?
~Decking if necessary?


Anything else I should do?

The machining I can not do but all of the assembaly I can do...I've done it before.
 
~Rings, OEM or aftermarket?
~Bearings, I heard I should buy OEM because of a teflon coating or something

Then onto the D16Z6 head...

~Valve seals, OEM or aftermarket?
~Valve grind?

Rings; NPR works just fine, and is cheaper.

ACL and then OEM for any bearings that are out of spec. You can go All-OEM too but it'll be more expensive.

As for the head, any seals will work fine as for the "grind"(I guess referring to valve seat cutting/valve job?); only if needed or installing new valves.

Milling/decking is only needed if the head or block is warped. But, you can do either just for increasing compression.
 
Thank you, this is turning out to be cheaper than I thought.

What do you mean by "ACL and then OEM for any bearings that are out of spec."
 
Also what if I wanted to get an aftermarket camshaft? Would I have to get stiffer valve springs and retainers?

I don't need to replace my valves do I? I have great compression...Its actually a shame it burns oil, its balanced at 210 PSI in each cylinder.

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Thank you, this is turning out to be cheaper than I thought.

What do you mean by "ACL and then OEM for any bearings that are out of spec."

ACL bearings are all the same size; Honda "green". When you install the ACL and after plasti-gauging them, and find one or more out of spec, just replace it with correct-size bearing from Honda. ACL kit is like $75 vs. like $20 for onejournal from Honda(~$110 for everything; then you'd still have to measure them). The rod bearings is about $70(ACL) vs. ~$100.

Also what if I wanted to get an aftermarket camshaft? Would I have to get stiffer valve springs and retainers?

I don't need to replace my valves do I? I have great compression...Its actually a shame it burns oil, its balanced at 210 PSI in each cylinder.

Valves are probably fine; otherwise it wouldn't hold compression.

Valvespring upgrade depends on the cam itself. But, in general, it's always a good idea to upgrade if you're switching to any agressive cam.
 
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I'm also going to run power steering in that car also. The pulley, which is off of a stock D16A6 that came with power steering, doesn't have a harmonic dampner like the non-power steering Si's do. Would it cause any harm?

And thanks for your help man, I can't rep you anymore. :(
 
Also, don't know if you're interested, but FJ Distributors sells "Engine kits" which includes just about every seal, gasket, pistons, rings, etc. for about $350

I always thought the D16A6 pulleys had the damper ring(unless it's off an 88). I'd look into running a dampened pulley especially for a D16.
 
I still have two questions...

First, should I be able to buy Plastiguage at an "advanced" auto parts store?

And second, should I be measuring my cylinder hone or can I just put new rings in there?
 
Actually I'll tell you where I'm at.

I have three D16A6 blocks in my "collection" to choose from. All three have about the same mileage, all three have high mileage.

The first one burns oil, not too bad but noticable. Right now it's stock with about 190 PSI in each cylinder. It runs like a champ, really strong.

The second block is on my Mini-Me. It burns about the same ammount of oil as the first block, maybe less. The no. 3 piston had a valve go through it. I re-used the origional bearings and replaced the rod and piston as a whole from another A6 block that spun a bearing, including the rings. This was about 8000-10000 miles ago. It has 210 PSI across the board with no noticable difference between the piston I changed and the rest.

The last block is a basket case. It has the most miles. It didn't appear to burn any oil but it has a blown headgasket so I couldn't run it for long. I couldn't remove one of the spark plugs because of a boot thing that came off of the plug wire. So for the compression test I got (starting from the timing belt) 150, ???,120,150.


Which block to choose?
 
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I still have two questions...

First, should I be able to buy Plastiguage at an "advanced" auto parts store?

And second, should I be measuring my cylinder hone or can I just put new rings in there?

I've seen them at Auto Zone, and Napa should have them. But yes, parts stores should be able to get them.

Chances are you'll need to hone your cylinders. It's always recommended when you're putting new rings in(honing helps the rings seal).

Use this block:

The first one burns oil, not too bad but noticable. Right now it's stock with about 190 PSI in each cylinder. It runs like a champ, really strong.

If not that, the third one. I'd avoid the 2nd one because of the spun bearing.
 
I've seen them at Auto Zone, and Napa should have them. But yes, parts stores should be able to get them.

Chances are you'll need to hone your cylinders. It's always recommended when you're putting new rings in(honing helps the rings seal).

Use this block:



If not that, the third one. I'd avoid the 2nd one because of the spun bearing.

The second one never spun a bearing, the piston just got like 3 holes in it.
 
Would these work fine? I'll buy plasti-guage soon, strip apart a block and figure out what I need before I buy parts. Or maybe I'll send my striped block and head over to the machine shop and get him to check some clearances.

Acura D16A1 Honda D16A6 Engine ACL Race Rod bearings:eBay Motors (item 200349736638 end time Jul-05-09 12:20:32 PDT)

88-91 HONDA CIVIC 1.6L SOHC 16V PISTON RINGS D16A6:eBay Motors (item 400016980157 end time Jul-09-09 18:26:09 PDT)

HONDA CIVIC / ACCORD VTEC VALVE STEM SEALS:eBay Motors (item 130314730481 end time Jun-30-09 23:24:12 PDT)
 
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