Coolant coming from Oil Bolt PLEASE HELP!

Short answers - Yes, there is something very wrong. There is no second gasket below the head gasket. It matters very much which way the head gasket goes on - that is my top suspect at this point if you are uncertain which way it went on. It is possible there is still something seriously wrong with the engine, but don't borrow trouble. Take it one step at a time.

NOTE: see Eric's post and my question to him on the subject of "89 Prelude." If the coolant passages do reach the intake manifold gasket, it may not be necessary to remove the head for the first checks - the problem could be at the manifold gasket. I recommend his advice on that.

Otherwise... sorry to say, the head has to come back off. Whatever the problem is, you can't do anything about it until the head is off, and you can hope the gasket is not on right. In any event, do not reuse the gasket you have now once you remove the head again. They are "crush fit" and the gasket will not last long (may not work right at all) if you reuse it. Use a genuine Honda head gasket for your own sanity.

There is a chance the block or head is cracked (since the head was milled, I would hope the shop at least looked the head over first) since you got it with the engine not running. But, here's the thing. If the coolant is running into the crankcase faster than when it had the blown head gasket, it is reasonable to expect the problem you are seeing to be related to a boo-boo in reassembling it.

Mike

This doesn't seem likely. The leaks into the intake manifold runners are usually small. Moreover, the intake manifold gasket does not usually seal coolant passages.

I agree with Mike. The head needs to come back off. I suspect that the head may be cracked and that it needs to be pressure checked. If the machine shop checked it then the problem lies elsewhere. My next likely suspect would be that the gasket did not seal. This could be due to an unclean block surface, the gasket was not installed correctly, or perhaps the head was not torqued down correctly. With respect to the latter case, I've heard a report of someone who torqued their head bolts down starting from the outer ones first and then working inwards. This prevented the head gasket from seating flat. The car ran but was leaking compression from between the head and block. I imagine that this condition would not last long as the leaking compression would quickly destroy the gasket. Anyways, the last suspect would be a damaged block. I put this last since Honda's engine blocks have historically been pretty reliable.

Eric

Alright I will pull the head back off and try to reseal the head with a new gasket. What are the chances that the block is cracked and seeping into the oil pan? What should i clean the block with that will be more effective? How can you tell which side of the head gasket is supposed to be upwards. With the multi layer steal gasket both sides look alike the only difference is the openings that are around the cylinders. One side is open wide while the other has smaller pin hole openings.

I forgot to ask the painfully obvious but necessary question. That is, are you absolutely certain that the coolant is coming out of the oil drain plug hole or could it possibly be leaking down the back side of the engine from a broken coolant hose?

Eric

You didn't mention what you did to clean the top of the block. It's harder to clean than the head because of the studs.

To have coolant coming out like you describe, you have to have done something wrong. The flow through a crack is usually less fluid than you describe.

2005 13:05:18 -0700, Eric wrote:

Its no problem eric. I do appreciate the question cause it could be something i overlooked, but i did examine it closely to make sure that it was for sure coming directly from the oil bolt.

My hat's off to Eric - any possible and simple alternative to removing the head again undoubtedly looks mighty attractive!

Mike

Charlie I used scotch bright to clean the block. The machine shop recommend it. Would you recommend something else to clean it with? Any recommendations on how or what to use to clean the block would be appreciated.

There is a chance that the guy who was driving the car without coolant could have done something real stupid and there were two failures and you only fixed one.

Before you take the head off again.....check the availability in your area of used engines from Japan. They used to be a law in Japan that at 30,00 miles you junked the car. Last time I looked, these engines and trannys were still available. It's worth a look.

Last time I blew a head, I used SteelSeal to fix it.

this web page. You may learn someth>> Its no problem eric. I do appreciate the question cause it could be