Need some help once again

just the rings on #3??? that's highly irregular. what is the compression on that cylinder now?

and did you deglaze the cylinder before re-fitting the piston? if so, how did you clean up afterward? also, how did you clean the head/block before reassembly?

excess oil consumption is typical if rings don't seat or wear excessively. if you didn't deglaze, the new rings won't seat, or if they do, only /VERY/ slowly. and it'll suck oil.

otoh, if you used abrasives in cleanup and/or deglazing, you could have wear problems already. after deglazing, you MUST clean up very thoroughly because abrasive remains embedded in the metal surface. you need to scrub the walls thoroughly with a wooden bristled brush and lots of soapy water to do a good job of clean-up. if you used abrasives on the head/block, same problem, only it's now stuck in the cylinder/piston gap.

bottom line, rebuilds, unless undertaken by an anally obsessive freak that charges a fortune, or you are an anally obsessive freak, are usually doomed to premature death. much better use of time to buy a cheapo jdm motor and enjoy a nearly new lease of life.

Yea just on #3. On a college budget, so I really couldn't swallow the extra 70 for the rest of them at the time. The compression on that cylinder was around 165. The others ranged between 175 and 180.

I did the work with my girlfriend's dad, who is very particular with the work. We did deglaze the the cylinder, measured all the rings up with a feeler gauge, cleaned the piston with a broken old ring, etc. as far as the head, just used light pressure with a scrape and then cleaned it up with some sandpaper and wiped it off with a rag. taped off all the coolant and oil ducts with painters tape to make sure nothing fell in.

being that i only burn oil on the highway, 3k+ rpms, it just makes me think that the exhaust valve gets stuck open or something. i have been looking around for another d15b7 engine, but it seems like that might be a bit of a challenge..

the only reason i am concerned is because i travel a lot and oil is definitely not cheap right now haha

next time, use a scraper and solvent only. i've seen this stuff under the microscope - it's almost impossible to /not/ get abrasive into the critical parts of the engine if you use abrasives.

paradoxically, the coolant channels are probably the least critical.

doesn't burn oil.

d15b2's do the same job and are readily available.

fixing it properly is the right thing to do. technically, you can repair that motor, but in reality, it's not worth it when you can buy jdm so easily and so cheap.

depending on state, you could even get [and legally smog] a single cam zc motor for

there are other sources, but this is the one i have in mind.

i can vouch for the cam because i have one in my crx - lotsa lotsa fun!!!

oh wow nice find.

i'm unfamiliar with how the whole liter thing works...any special things that would need to be done for this to be swapped in or is it just a straight bolt on exchange...besides the belts, hoses, sensors, etc..?

afaik, it's bolt in - why i mentioned it. seen many such transplants in junkyards. belts and all accessories are standard d16. oil cooler is like the prelude, but you shouldn't need to mess with that. get an exhaust from your generation of ex for best results. otherwise, works great stock. junkyards are your friend. use quality oil 'cos this motor revs high and hard and pulls best up at the top end.

speaking of the devil, i was just there today. very cool, thanks for the find. your're a rockstar

wait..a few more things. do these bolt up to an auto tranny ( not sure if all the zc's are 5 spd) and do they have a space for the air conditioner? possibly idiotic questions, but you never know

yes, i've seen them bolted up to auto transmissions. [all the zc's are

jim beam wrote in news:97WdnRinOvsPBrnXnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

Oh this is BAD BAD BAD. My mechanic (who has rebuilt countless engines and replaced countless head gaskets) SPECIFICALLY says ***NEVER*** under ANY circumstances to use ANY sort of abrasive to remove head gasket remains.

It is, as you say, impossible to keep the "sand" particles out of the cylinders, and the result will be very rapid wear and very high oil consumption very quickly.

i've come up with a slightly expensive, but temporary solution. being that the compression wasn't bad and i only burn oil at high rpm's on the highway..i can only think that the exhaust valve may be getting stuck open or the seal may be leaking. called around today and i can get a head from a local junkyard for $75 and i could send it off to a place that the honda dealership recommended for a complete rebuild for $250.

I kept digging to find another d15b7 engine, but couldn't find one without going to a vtech and having to change my exhaust & intake manifolds..

thoughts on this?

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:fabce8e1-3702-40e8-b548-7902a5a2e851 @c9g2000yqm.googlegroups.com:

That would have nothing to do with oil consumption. If a valve was stuck open (or burnt) you'd get pretty much zero compression in that cylinder.

Not likely to do much for your oil consumption.

I think your problem is in the block, not the head. Are you quite certain you installed the new rings the correct way around? Installing them upside down will do very bad things for oil consumption (they are NOT flat). Did you rotate the rings so the gaps are properly away from each other, and did you check the ring end gaps to make sure they were correct? Are you certain the bore was not worn oval? Are you certain the pistons' ring groove clearances are not excessive?

A VTEC engine will still function well with the VTEC disconnected. You'll just lose the "high rev" cam lobes, that's all.

yea, all the rings were put on with the letter facing up and turned so it was not on the compression side of the piston or whatever the manual called it. we checked every ring by pushing inside the chamber with the piston and using a feeler gauge. all were well within the new limits. it's just completely throwing me off that it only occurs on the highway. i think a may do a leak down test either tomorrow or friday to see if i can pin point it further.

I would definitely be willing to throw in a vtech if i didn't have to get the manifolds from the donor car. i just can't spend all that money for those right now.

hopefully this leak down will give me a better idea of whats going on.

-Ricky

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:5b76d2ff-d886-4157-a916- snipped-for-privacy@g1g2000yqh.googlegroups.com:

I suspect the problem is bore/ring/piston wear caused by the abrasive particles from the sandpaper you used to clean the block surface. In other words, the engine is now permanently damaged. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong.

You're burning oil only on the highway now, but you'll be puffing everywhere before long.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:5b76d2ff-d886-4157-a916- snipped-for-privacy@g1g2000yqh.googlegroups.com:

Did you put all the ring gaps so they were in line with each other?

no the manual had the gaps at arranged at different points around the piston

i don't believe any particles could have made it into the cylinder because they were taped off until i was finished. when the oil pan was off, my crankshaft looked amazing and all looked well under there.

i could really find out how fast i am getting rid of oil on the highway if i had remembered to throw the new oil pressure switch on there while i had the engine out. now i just have to stop every two hours and do a check.

i hope you're wrong as well about the problem being in the block. i guess we will find out in the next few days!

I could also be a ventilation issue/emmissions etc.

JT

complete waste of money. valves aren't sticking or they'd either be sticking open - measurable as zero compression - or making a clattering noise you could hear in rio. and valves themselves don't burn oil. even with no seals, oil consumption is minor.

don't need to change manifolds afaik. it's better if you do for performance, but i don't believe it's a prerequisite for bolt-on.