Blown headgasket FTL! |
Blown headgasket FTL! |
Jul 7, 2008 - 6:00 PM |
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Enthusiast Joined Aug 30, '02 From San Juan, PR Currently Offline Reputation: 4 (100%) |
Well, it's been 4 and a half years since I rebuilt the engine and ever since, it has taken the abuse I've given it like a champ. High EGTs and 87 octane fuel was the order of the day. It took it like a man. Compression was perfect across the board, and everything else was good to go. Well, you know how they say that you shouldn't have sexy time in your car because it jinxes it? Well, I think that actually is true, because before breaking a piston the first time, my car was the place of some love encounters with my girlfriend, LOL. It can't be coincidence that it broke again after I disrespected it with my current girlfriend. Blown tires and some other things happened before, too.
Anyway, the last straw that broke the camel's back was a 15 PSI test run after tuning it with the eManage. We were gonna take it to the dyno to tune it at that boost level, so we needed to test if the engine would hold or if it would blow like a grenade. Too bad I forgot I had moose piss 91 octane watered fuel from a gas station I never go to, but I had to this time because I was running low. I thought I had Shell 93 and well, nothing made a sound. I nailed it from a dead stop, it just roasted tires with the 17s, put our heads against the headrest, and then coolant was all over the windshield when I let go the gas. Good times. The auto tranny is holding well. No signs of slippage or anything. I ordered a Cometic headgasket and should be here this week. This engine can sure take some punishment. I need to up the boost to see if a rod gives up before a piston. I need an excuse to install the Belfab rods and some other pistons I found. -------------------- |
Sep 21, 2009 - 11:37 PM |
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Enthusiast Joined Aug 30, '02 From San Juan, PR Currently Offline Reputation: 4 (100%) |
Update on this thread: I started playing with the car again after more than six months of having it downstairs doing nothing. Decided to test the compression last week and the #2 cylinder had like 135 PSI while the rest had 220. I pulled the pistons out and the #2 piston had a very small crack on the side, like an 1/8th of an inch long. The rest were fine. I installed new replacement pistons and rings, and King rod bearings. I still have to install new timing belt, water pump and oil pump since the rebuild kit brought them. Might as well, right?
My tuner broke the knock sensor accidentally while holding the flywheel (had to remove the starter to be able to access it) with a screwdriver so I could remove the aluminum underdrive pulley bolt. I'm waiting on one I got used on eBay. I was going to fool around and install two metal head gaskets for fun to see what I could get away with but I decided against it. My plan for this week is: 1) Paint valve cover, intake manifold, fuel rail and turbo compressor. 2) Re-do downpipe, intercooler piping (to fit GT-4 bumper) and exhaust piping (has restrictions I never noticed). 3) Install Honda Civic SI aluminum radiator 4) Install head. Then, to the dyno to see what I get at 15 PSI. I finally have no more fueling issues. The leaning problem ended up being a tired Walbro fuel pump. I installed a new one and the car was pig rich at 12 PSI. I found a 4A-GE tranny a guy is letting go for a good price. I'm thinking about it, because after dynoing the car, I can swap the manual tranny and see how much more power it puts down. Part of me wants to stay automatuc and just swap in a torque converter and do a few tricks to the tranny. We'll see. I change my mind everyday. Wish me luck, guys. -------------------- |
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