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89 Honda Civic Head Gasket

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  DoubleVision 
#1 ·
Checking to see if anyone has experience on these cars.
About a year ago a friend of mine was given this car so he
did a overhaul on the engine then drove it for about seven months.
It blew a head gasket so we snatched the head off, had it reworked and milled to assure flatness. We used new head bolts and a fel pro gasket. This time it's ran a week and today when he was riding home it blew the head gasket again. The car hasn't ran hot, which is another part of it that mystifies. The engine is the standard 4 cylinder. My thoughts are the block is likely warped. However if anyone has any tips on why it keeps blowing the gasket any help is appreciated.
 
#5 ·
Did you replace the headbolts each time?
Torque to yield bolts wont hold a head gasket if re used.
Also the torque sequence/procedure is pretty important. I have done some pretty crazy ones.
When the torque spec sequence is 5-7 steps and requires loosening and retightening plus a specific degree amount past a certain torque ......gets pretty crazy.
 
#10 ·
The last time the head was removed I inspected the gasket and found it failed at one of the steam holes since this engine has siamesed cylinders. His father, who's a 30 year master tech did the head torque and did so with the book opened to the page that gives the order, if there was a certain way it had to be torqued such as doing so in steps it was followed. His father did many head gasket jobs on honda's in the past and never had the issue of repeated failure. However now I don't think it matters much as I don't think he's going to bother to invest the time and money into again as the car really isn't worth it. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
 
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