I’m pulling the head on my 89 Integra today. It has about 280k miles. Cylinders 1&4 have about 170# compression (cold engine, throttle not opened), 3 has about 150#, 2 has zero. I don’t want to spend a lot of money rebuilding everything, just enough to get on the road again. Is the head gasket a good assumption? Oil & coolant look good. Guess I ought to inspect the valves looking for problems. Thought about replacing valve stem seals to try to cut oil consumption. Any advice beyond chiltons? Would getting another head at junkyard be a waste of time on this old of car?
This car has lived a much longer life than usual for most cars. Either put it to pasture or maybe find a used engine at the junkyard. Either way it is going to cost. This engine is done.
What other symptoms have you had besides zero compression? If the head gasket has failed there should be symptoms, such as overheating, loss of coolant, etc.
At 280K almost anything is possible, but I’d want to know more before I pulled the head.
Coolant bottle was empty, but radiator was full. Just noticed a loss of power and vibration from missing cylinder. I assumed it was from the #3 plug well being full of oil. Replaced plugs, wires, VC gasket. It’s been a great car, just routine maintenance. Was using a quart of oil about every 500 miles, but some was leaking valve cover and camshaft seals. That’s why I’ve been thinking about valve stem seals. Never has overheated. Coolant is very dark and oily looking. Oil looks good, though.
This car has lived a much longer life than usual for most cars.
Yea…but NOT for Honda’s and Accura’s. I can’t tell you how many I’ve seen with well over 300k miles on them.
I sure wouldn’t put a lot of money into it. Even though they are great vehicles, the vehicle is close to 20 years old and no where near worth what a new or possibly a used engine would cost.
Pull the heads…Check the gasket when you pull it off. Also check the cylinder walls for scaring. For a little more money…drop the pan…from below unbolt the pistons/rods from the crank and push through the top. Then replace the rings. Reassemble. I’ve done this method a couple times on cars. It’s a good way to keep a car going for a few more years. However if there’s bearing damage or other damage the engine will still have problems and you wasted your money.
A cylinder leakdown test will tell you where you are losing compression. Even with the number 2 cylinder with zero compression, applying air pressure to the cylinder will tell you what the source of the leakage is. Once you know what’s leaking, you can plan accordingly.
Never mind, I found out how to do the leakdown test if I invest in the materials.
Remove all the valves when the head is off. Don’t get an old head from a junkyard. You have to replace all the exhaust valves. You can usually save the intakes. If you do find valve problems such as one stuck open, get a remanufactured head or replace all the springs, they are fatigued and have no more tension. You will need new head bolts at this point. It should cost about $1500 to $2500 to have a shop do the repair, depending on how many valves you have. You need a newer car. Yours is already going to cost a fortune. Once you replace the head, the rings won’t be able to take the compression. Then there are the main bearings…