How To Change Your B18 Head Gasket V2.0

So you have a bad head gasket huh? Well here is a little write up on how to change it.
I'm going to go through this with assuming you have some basic wrenching knowledge.
Ask questions if you need help.

Tools Needed:
Ratchet & Extensions
10MM Socket and Wrench
12MM Socket and Wrench
17MM Socket and Wrench
Breaker Bar
Crank Pulley Tool - OR - Good impact gun.
Torque Wrench
Phillips Head/Flat Head Screwdrivers
Pliers
Floor Jack w/ Jack Stands
Feeler gauges. (For adjusting valve lash after reinstalling it all.)
Cardboard large enough to store everything on.



Parts Needed:
Head Gasket
Timing Belt
Water Pump
Oil Filter
Oil and Coolant
ARP Head Studs or new head bolts recommended.

Other Costs:
You will need to take the head to a machine shop to make sure it is not cracked. Have it tested in every way you can.

Steps:
Jack the car up and put it on jack stands. I prefer to put them just behind the rear tires under the car.
When you are sure they are in a good location you may remove the jack.

Remove the four lug nuts and remove the drivers side tire.


Remove the inner fender well so that you have access to the crankshaft pulley.

With the 17mm socket or wrench, remove the drain plug from the oil pan and drain out all of the oil. If the oil is more of an ugly sludge, you may want to pour some diesel in to flush out all of the sludge in the motor. If it's super bad, remove the pan and clean it. This isn't necessary unless the oil is almost solid. (Yes I have seen it happen.)

On the passenger side end of the radiator there should be a drain plug. Remove it and drain all of the coolant out.

Disconnect the negative cable from the battery and unbolt the ground wire from the head.


Disconnect the air intake and get it out of the way. This part should be fairly straight forward. Undo the hose clamp on the throttle body and pull away the intake piping.

Second Generation Integra's Only
Loosen the adjustment nut on the clutch cable until it is loose enough to remove. Then move it out of the way.


Using two 12mm wrenches loosen the nuts on the throttle cable until you can unhook it from the throttle assembly and then move it out of the way. Remove the hose on the middle of the intake for the PCV valve while you are at it.


Loosen the tensioner (10mm) on the power steering pump and remove the PS belt.


Remove the two bolts (12mm) from the power steering pump holding the pump on to the brackets. One bracket is on the block and one bracket is on the head.

With the pliers or screwdriver, remove the clamp from the hose on the power steering pump. Remove the hose and move the pump to the side. I put it over by the windshield cowl.


Remove the alternator top bolt and loosen the bottom bolt. Remove the belt. Leave the alternator attached.

Disconnect all of your vacuum lines. Be sure to mark them with tape or take pictures if you do not think you will remember how to hook them back up.


Unplug these three connectors on the drivers side of the engine bay along the firewall.


We will want to remove the wiring going over the top of the intake manifold.


Remove the two 10 or 12mm nuts holding the injector wiring on.


Using a flathead screwdriver, pop the metal clips off the fuel injectors so you can remove the plugs.


There may be some random 10mm bolts holding the harness to the body.


Your harness should be free from the top of the engine.

Remove the wiring under the intake.
Oil pressure sensor, one wire.
Coolant Temperature Sensor, two wires-green plug.
Alternator wiring, one green plug, one bolt on wire with a 10mm nut.

Your wiring harness should now be free from the bottom of the engine. Pull the whole wiring harness out of the engine bay and flop it out over the fender to get it out of the way.

~CONTINUED ON THE NEXT POST~

With a 7/8" wrench, or the metric equivalent remove the cap for the fuel line on the fuel rail.


Unbolt the three 12mm bolts from the distributor and remove it from the engine along with the spark plug wires.



Remove the throttle position sensor and idle air control valve wire plugs.


Remove any miscellaneous plugs and hoses on the intake.


Remove any hoses connecting the block to the head.
There should be some coolant lines on the back of the intake manifold going to the block.

Remove the metal bracket on the back of the engine that connects the intake to the block.
I don't really feel it is necessary to reinstall it. I left mine off and have had it off for quite some time.

Unbolt the crankshaft pulley with a breaker bar or an impact gun.
A lot of people have trouble with this. There is a tool to help hold the pulley in place.

Another good tip is to put a socket on the bolt, and give it a few good whacks with a hammer.
There are several threads out there already about this, so please, don't make another.

Remove the valve cover. (10mm nuts.)



Remove the timing cover.



Be sure to take note of how the timing belt is routed on all of the gears. The tensioner pulley must be loosened now as the final step before you can pull off the belt. Using a 14mm wrench, loosen the bolt in the center of the tensioner pulley. After it is loose, remove the timing belt.

This is where the head removal actually begins!

With your 10mm socket, loosen the camshaft bearing bolts 1/4 turn at a time until they are all broken loose. Then remove them.

Set the caps on the cardboard in the same order you pull them out. This helps with reinstallation, but they all should have a letter "i" or "e" and a number stamped on them to help reinstalling.

Lift the cams out of the head, setting them on the cardboard.

Lift up the rocker arms and put them on the cardboard too. Make sure to keep them in the same order.
(It's not all that big of a deal if you mess the order up. A valve lash adjustment is a good idea afterwards anyways.)



Now get a breaker bar and get ready to take the head bolts out. ( I used a 9/16 Socket, but I believe they are metric.)

Break the head bolts lose in 1/4 turn increments.


Start with 10, and work your way down to 1. When they are fairly loose undo them by hand.
Set them all on the cardboard the same as they came out.

Lift the head off of the engine and set it on the cardboard. Be sure all hoses and wiring is removed before you try lifting off the head or you won't get very far.

With the head on the cardboard, remove the 12mm nuts holding the intake manifold on.


Now is a great time to change the alternator!


And to clean this! (IACV)

Take the head to the machine shop to be checked out. Pressure testing should tell you if it's cracked. Good time to have your valves done as well.
I would recommend a full head rebuild, just so you never have to worry about it again.

Clean the block as much as possible. I used carb cleaner and acetone.


Used a straight edge on it to tell if there are any high or low spots. This would indicate warping and machine work would need to be done to the block as well.
(That usually requires removing the engine, unless it's a damn good machine shop!)



Now you can start re-assembling your engine.

Bolt the intake manifold back onto the head.

If you are using ARP head studs install them now. They should come with instructions, be sure to use the ARP anti-seize that comes with them!
Make sure you have the studs in as best as you can. Wiggle them as you thread them in with your hand, once they are in as far as you can by hand use an allen wrench to snug them down.

Set the head gasket onto the block.



Make sure the block has the two dowels in it.
When installing mine I had one in the head and one in the block, to make it easier.

Set the head on the block and thread in all of the head bolts. (Or install the ARP nuts onto the ARP head studs.)

With your torque wrench set at 22 Ft/Lbs tighten down the head bolts in order, starting with one and going to ten.



I went over them twice to make sure each one was at 22 Ft/Lbs. It is a good idea to do that as well. Just repeat the steps after you get to ten.
Do not go further than the click of the torque wrench.



Now set your torque wrench to 62 Ft/Lbs and go through the process again, following the tightening sequence in the picture. Go over them twice just to be sure they are at 62.
The instructions that came with my ARP head studs said to go to 80ft/lbs with the studs, so that is exactly what I did as a third step to the 62ft/lbs. Normal head bolts should be torqued to 62ft/lbs.



With the head bolted on, start installing the rocker arms. Set them in place the same as they were removed.

Coat everything in motor oil as your installing it to make sure nothing is dry.

With the rocker arms set in place, install the camshafts. Make sure the exhaust cam is on the correct side and the intake cam is on the correct side. There should be an "E" and an "I" marked into the cams.

Set all of the bearing caps into place. (There are E's and I's stamped onto them, with numbers.)



Torque the bolts to 7 Ft/Lbs. (84 In/Lbs) Working from the center out.



Unbolt the old water pump and install the new one with the new gasket.

Turn the crankshaft so that the mark on the bottom timing gear lines up with the mark on the oil pump.

After you have the crank lined up you can turn the cams so that the timing marks point to eachother and the "UP" marks point "UP."

Starting at the crank, place the new timing belt on and work your way around the tensioner and water pump and finally place the new belt over the cam gears.
This can really be a pain in the ass, and it might be a good idea to have some assistance. When the camshafts are in place you can put a small nail through the bearing cap nearest the cam gear to hold the cams in the correct location.

Once the new belt is in place, you will need to retension the pulley. Turn the crankshaft counterclockwise three teeth and then tighten the tensioner pulley.

A valve lash adjustment is a very good idea to do at this point. You can find a guide on how to do it here:
Cause For Alarm - Valve Lash Adjustment

Reinstall the timing cover, crankshaft pulley, drive belts, valve cover, wiring, hoses, distributor ect..

Because the distributor was removed, it is a good idea to set your timing now. This can be done by loosening those three bolts on the distributor and twisting it. If you need more information on timing, let me know!

Change the oil filter and fill the oil and coolant.

Your done.

If you have any questions, or see anything that I missed-
PM me, Post Here. Do what you have to do to let me know.

Thanks, and good luck. Hope it helps someone out there.

In case anyone is wondering. I was going to edit my original How-To but I could not add more pictures, and I didn't have another post of mine to edit. This is a bit more detailed then the first anyways. Hope it helps someone out there!

And please let me know if there any any errors I need to fix in the How-To, especially if I have steps in there that counteract one another or repeat themselves. I was writing it as I was editing my old one, so there may be some mishaps. I'll try to proof read it though.

Reps if its helpful.

Nice write-up :thumbs up


Two quick things id add, make a clearer mention of removing the timing belt prior to the gears/cams, its implied but its usually best to be specific. Second id mention re-timing the engine at the end due to distributor removal.

Thanks for looking it over! I've made a few edits to the guide, and thanks for the suggestions! :thumbs up

+rep for such a good guide! We need more stuff like this on the forum, Completely idiot proof! Great write up! luckily my head gasket is doing well so far, but will need to be changed before the next milestone in miles.

I originally wrote it when I was removing my head for head work, but I just went through and added a lot more detail + pictures for a friend. That's why some of my pictures show a motor with a stock exhaust/intake manifold and some pictures show all my new parts. There are some hoses in there for my turbo setup, that you can ignore too lol. I might end up adding more detail and pictures to if need be.

So if ANYONE needs clarification on a certain part of it, don't hesitate to ask! :thumbs up

Damn, I do good work. ^_^

You must have no life, lol

Blame Mitch, I made "Version 2.0" for him. THEN he decided to not even do the damn head work himself. Bastard. LOL.

damn, removing the 14mm head bolts is not easy. so far i have broken two craftsman 14mm sockets. i will go exchange them and buy a snapon socket (hope it will do the job)

CaliBoy said:

damn, removing the 14mm head bolts is not easy. so far i have broken two craftsman 14mm sockets. i will go exchange them and buy a snapon socket (hope it will do the job)

Click to expand...

Someone torqued those too high .use a bigger wrench

Posted by Thunderbolt using tapatalk

CaliBoy said:

damn, removing the 14mm head bolts is not easy. so far i have broken two craftsman 14mm sockets. i will go exchange them and buy a snapon socket (hope it will do the job)

Click to expand...

What drive socket are you using, I assume 3/8's? When you pick up a new socket get a 1/2" drive or an impact socket. I never break sockets lol.

Another option to remove the crank, is to put the car in 5th gear, and step on the brakes, but the down fall is, you'll need a second person to help