Cylinder head re-fitted but have a few problems


killa_vtec

Active Member
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Nov 28, 2008
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780
Guys I need some help please

I re-fitted my cylinder head yesterday, I noticed the following day that around the head gasket it had been leaking oil?

I've torqued the head bolts down using the torque specs from here
FAQ B series torque specs - Honda-Tech

I'm not sure where i'm going wrong its a brand new Honda head gasket the dowels were put back where they were removed from and the head seemed to have fitted on fine!

The second problem is the car doesn't start, I'm getting fuel and spark all sensors are connected and the engine check light goes off as it should, it does crank but doesnt want to tick over.

I checked everything over several times and even did a compression test which was quite shocking 124psi on cylinder 1... before removing the head I was getting 250psi.

I'm guessing it could be the following:
Timing out
Valve clearence
Head Gasket not sealing properly

I could be wrong so im hoping someone can help me out please
 
You haven't timed the engine up correctly! Your symptoms point to your crank pulley marks not lining up with the cam pulley marks! Double check it :)
 
Mr Jimbo to the recue yet again! thanks for the quick reply mate :)

The process in which I followed was as below

I removed the cam's and cam pulley with the arrow (up mark) facing up
this is how I re-fitted them

To get the crank pulley TDC i dropped a rod down cylinder 1 and turned the crank pulley untill the piston was at it's highest point, my understanding is this is TDC?

so with the cam pulleys facing upwards (up marks) and the crank pulley TDC I loosed the tensioner and put the timing belt on, I then turned the crank pulley a couple of times and then tightened the tensioner bolt
 
What engine is it?
There are marks at 3 and 9 o'clock on the cam pulley these should be level with the head surface.

What you have done is correct! My advice would be to take the crank pulley off and check that the marks are lined up and you are 100% at TDC, remove the belt, make sure the cams are correctly positioned.

So basically start again from fresh, I'm not saying your wrong dude, you'd be surprised how easy it is to make a mistake :nice:

Let me know how you get on mate, feel free to PM me :)
 
What engine is it?
There are marks at 3 and 9 o'clock on the cam pulley these should be level with the head surface.

What you have done is correct! My advice would be to take the crank pulley off and check that the marks are lined up and you are 100% at TDC, remove the belt, make sure the cams are correctly positioned.

So basically start again from fresh, I'm not saying your wrong dude, you'd be surprised how easy it is to make a mistake :nice:

Let me know how you get on mate, feel free to PM me :)

It's a b18c mate, I tried my best getting the crank pulley off earlier but no joy :(

I'm pretty sure it's the timing myself but i am doing this particular job for the first time so no doubt I must be doing something wrong

Really appreciate your input mate
 
Not a problem mate, I'm happy to help :)

Got to say the pulleys are a bugger to get off!

Any problems just give me a shout mate :)
 
Just been thinking, your symptoms sound like your timing is 180 degrees out!

Did you use number 1 cylinder to get TDC? number 1 is closest to the cambelt!
 
That sounds pretty bad?

Yeh I used cylinder 1 to get TDC as thats the cylinder I stuck a thin rod down and turned the crank pulley untill the piston was at its highest point... this was done while the timing belt was off so it wouldn't have turned the cam pulleys

I then alligned the cam pulleys so they were TDC making sure the 'up' mark was facing up, I then loosed the tensioner to get the belt on, once the belt was on I turned the crank pulley a few times before tightening up the tensioner bolt.

I hope that makes sense :)

Thanks
 
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This does sound like your timing is out mate or your head gasket ant
Sealed properly!:secret:

As Jimbo said you need to make sure your timing is set 100% right.:nice:

TBH you really need to have the crank pulley off to be 100% sure!

I have a tool for removing the crank pulley on B-series engines you can borrow if you want????

I will PM you my number & I will talk you through the process step by setp if you want!:secret:
 
This does sound like your timing is out mate or your head gasket ant
Sealed properly!:secret:

As Jimbo said you need to make sure your timing is set 100% right.:nice:

TBH you really need to have the crank pulley off to be 100% sure!

I have a tool for removing the crank pulley on B-series engines you can borrow if you want????

I will PM you my number & I will talk you through the process step by setp if you want!:secret:


What would cause the head gasket not to seal properly as I think that may be the case :(

I tried tackling the crank pulley earlier to try and get it off with no luck, I guess I'm going to have to take it all apart again and make sure it's all alligned... I wont be able to do this without taking the crank pulley off to check the marking behind.

I just want to make sure im doing it correct

1 - Turn the crank pulley untill cylinder 1 is TDC (i'll use the rod down the cylinder method) at this point the cam pulleys should also line up facing up (up marks on the pulley)
2- Undo crank pulley (easier said then done!)
3- Remove lower casing (once crank pulley is off)
4- At this point im guessing I should be able to see some markings behind the crank pulley? I then need to line this up with a mark on the crank pulley?

Im sure i've missed things out or I may even be completely wrong! :eek:
please correct me if im wrong

Thanks
 
Not that I'm an engine expert or anything but when you torqued up your head bolts, did you do it in the right order? could that cause a leaky h/g too?
 
Not that I'm an engine expert or anything but when you torqued up your head bolts, did you do it in the right order? could that cause a leaky h/g too?

Thats a valid point been searching around and there seems to be more than one sequence on different websites

my engine is a b18c and I followed the sequence below

1 5 9 7 3

2 6 10 8 4

EDIT:
I think the leak may be down to me re-using my old head bolts :(

I was told they could be re-used but searching online it's a different story majority people have said to get new ones.
 
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this sounds so familiar to me.......:shocked:
i had a similar problem with my new head swap last week.
it cranked, just didnt wanna fire up, my mechanic told me the timing was 180 degree off. he told me there is a simple trick to test it.

swap #2 and #3 spark plugs lead, see if it fire up, it did on mine.basically he was telling me the ignition timing was wrong:angry:

and i was told by different people never re-use the head bolts, i bought mine for 20 odd quid, not oem one.
 
When you torque the studs, dont you generally start from the centre and work you way out?
 
Headgasket on the right way up?? That makes it leak if it is the wrong way..
 
it'd be pretty hard to get the head gasket on the wrong way round. i used arp's on mine so i had specific torque settings with the bolts. as far as your timing take the cams out and with the spark plugs out. turn the engine over while keeping the belt tight against the crank as it turns. (makes sure the belt isn't sitting incorrectly. i didn't have the bottom pulley off of mine but does it not have a woodruff key i.e. impossible to have 180 degrees out?

TDCChart.jpg

crankpulley.jpg


this guide i found very helpful

How-To Install Valvesprings & Valve Seals - Team Integra Forums - Team Integra
 
Thanks for the input everyone appreciate it :)

Gorbash thanks for the link mate, I need a crank pulley tool to get it off so I can make sure its in line with the markings behind it.

Im gonna go and see if I can do anything about the oil leaking through the head gasket, I can't do much about the timing without the crank pulley tool :(
 
**Update**

I checked the timing and made sure the white mark on the crank pulley was in line with the marking on the cover.

I noticed that the cam pulleys were ever so slightly off TDC so I to the belt off and lined up the cam pulleys, I found the the up marks were facing up however the TDC groves ( as pictured up) were not lining up although the up marks were dead centre facing the sky...

I put the belt back on and tried starting the car, it DID start this time however it sounded very rough and then cut it self off after a few seconds...
 
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