well, if we reason that the coolant is throwing the P0420 code, than the fact that the code trips every 2 and sometimes as many as five days after resetting as pretty good news. It might just be a minor leak.
How much should I expect to pay to have the head bolts re-torqued? And what’s the likelihood this will fix the problem? What are the chances of the head being warped? The P0420 code has been on since The summer or 2011, the first time I documented it was October, 2011 but I suppose it was sooner. I can’t remember if the car had a check engine when I bought it, but I highly doubt it. If it did, I would have asked about it surely.
Thanks so much for all of your feedback, I feel a coming resolution to this problem I’ve been troubleshooting seriously since the first of the year!
The aluma-seal will not clog your radiator, but I would retorque the heads first as well. You have to first loosen the head bolts, then torque them down. If you can remove the valve cover, and you have a torque wrench, you can do this yourself. You do not need to remove the rockers or cam.
Loosen all cylinder head bolts. Then remove them, clean and oil the threads, reinsert finger tight. Torque in three rounds, 29 lbf-ft, 51 lbf-ft, 72.3 lbf-ft. A dial type or beam type torque wrench is preferred over a click type.
When you torque a bolt, the torque is only accurate when the wrench is moving. Move the wrench smoothly and continuously until the desired setting is reached. If you stop, then you must back off the bolt a little and redo it.
I went ahead and I told them to replace the head gasket and do the timing belt stuff. The engine feels pretty strong and the transmission is holding up, so I hope I get at least a couple more years out of it to make it worth my while.
Honestly, I tend to agree with your mechanic, but there is the slim chance that it would help. Since I have the needed tools and on this vehicle, it is easy to do, I would do it, but I wouldn’t pay to have it done. Its an effort/cost vs reward thing. Very long odds but if the effort/cost is low enough, I’d do it.
Well, mechanics finished up the job Tuesday under quote by about 50 dollars. Car starts up like a dream now, no more rough starts. The engine drives about the same, I don’t notice much difference in it’s performance, I’m interested to see if my gas mileage improved any.
Thanks for the thought Big Marc, checked the coolant today and it’s tip-top, and so is the reservoir. I think the head gasket will probably improve my gas mileage a little bit, but that exhaust leak I have on the manifold where my broken stud is hasn’t been fixed. I talked to my mechanic about it and he said they’d replace the head to fix it…might just try to put some sealant in there.
Keith, on your Honda have you ever had to replace the water pump? While they were in there I went ahead and them replace the water pump, along with the camshaft and balance shaft seal that was leaking. It’s no longer they were leaking, those seals are like sealed bearings. Nobody builds anything to last anymore. Craftsmanship is a lost art, unless you’re dropping dough on a an expensive VW or something.
I see the OP has already repaired his head gasket but, I’ve heard good things about this product for repairing head gaskets. http://www.steelseal.net/?gclid=CIvT-oS83rACFQRl7AodRx1v5A Has anyone ever tried it? I don’t have a problem, but would like to know whether it works or not just in case I ever have a problem. They also offer your money back if it doesn’t seal the leak or ever fails. It’s a bit expensive at $69.95 for 16 oz (4 cylinder dose), but if it works it would be worth every penny.
HondHonda, when I had teh belt replaced, I had the waterpump, balance shaft belt and teh oil seals done as well. That was 7 years ago, I’m getting ready to do this job myself this time, I got the special tool to hold the harmonic balancer in place while removing the crankshaft bolt. I didn’t have that 7 years ago and I couldn’t get the crank pulley bolt loose.
HondaHonda, when I had the belt replaced, I had the waterpump, balance shaft belt and the oil seals done as well. That was 7 years ago, I’m getting ready to do this job myself this time, I got the special tool to hold the harmonic balancer in place while removing the crankshaft bolt. I didn’t have that 7 years ago and I couldn’t get the crank pulley bolt loose.
That’s the safe bet, I think. I still don’t know if I made the right decision, only time will tell. I hope the car at least lasts me a couple more years, to really be worth it.
You ever rebuilt or had your transmission in your Honda replaced?
Check engine came back on today, which didn’t completely surprise me, I still have that exhaust leak in the manifold and a few elsewhere. This is a new record though, it took 9 days to come back on.
Still have the original transmission. The original recommendation for fluid changes in it was first at 90k and then every 30k after. found out that they changed teh recommendation to every 30k about the time I had 90k on it. I did two changes about a week apart and have been doing them every 30k since, no problems. What code are you getting?
It’s the P0420 code. I thought it was the coolant throwing it, but since it came back that’s a good thing. Maybe it means my engine didn’t take a beating.
Do you agree that the modern transmission is designed for the life of the car? And when they say life of car what do they mean? 100k miles? 200k miles?
I’m at 180. Take care of the car and who knows how long the transmission will last. I do not understand the exhaust leak. Do you have a broken stud on the head? If so, why didn’t the shop fix it while they had the head off? Fortunately, the exhaust is on the front of the engine so it is easy to work on. studs are not hard to replace, you just have to remove the manifold.
I do have a broken stud on the exhaust manifold. When they took off the head they took it off from the 3 bolts at the elbow and left the manifold attached. Should they have fixed it? They said they couldn’t fix it, my dad tried to drill it out, drilled into the head. This was after he broke off the bolt more and then shaved the bolt down flush with the head. I really messed up letting him try to fix it.
They would have charged you extra to fix it, but they should have at least made you the offer. With the head off, they could clamp the head into a vise and drilled out the stud with a drill press. Trying to drill out a stud with the head on the car with a hand drill is a hole through a water jacket just waiting to happen.