Atticus

Since I’m asking for help I figure I might as well do an introduction
My name is Carl and I live in B.C. Canada
93 civic HB
14 b @ 8 psi with boost creep to 14’ish
Dsm bov
450cc injectors with bbks famous tune
Fmic with 2.5” charge pipes
Custom DP with 2.5” straight pipe (no muffler)
Act clutch
Custom hmt style manifold
Auto meter boost gauge
2” aluminum rad
Some chrome catch can
Z6 swap with an si trany stock internals 190,000 km so the guy said

Ok so I just did the z6 swap on x-mas with the car started and running before new years
It started easily and idled / ran nicely, trany was a little bagged on but what can you expect

Here’s my problem
I think my head is lifting under boost
Every time I stop I bleed the coolant system before I shut off my car and refill it before I hit the road
It seemed that I got rid of the air bubble in the system after my drive to work Tuesday morning (it was cold, raining low revs no boost drive)
On the way home I wanted to test the engine so I broke in to boost (10 psi max no over revving)
When I got home my over flow canister was full with coolant sprayed all over the engine bay and there was a lot of air coming out when I was bleeding the cooling system
I’ve done this a couple of times and it seems I can get rid of most of the bubble if I drive like a grandma and as soon as I break in to boost I start getting air in to the cooling system

I’ve hooked up compressed air to the cylinder and there was no bubbles in the rad (on tdc) I think it was around 100 psi
There was milk’ish white fluid about a shot glass worth (I’m guessing water) catch can line coming from the back of the block
There was a jelly type paste white’ish green in color in the beginning of the catch can line from the valve cover it smelled and tasted sweet (no I did not eat it)
There was very little water in the catch can no oil

Yes I am doing research but not every one posts there experiences or tips
I am open to any suggestions or advice (smart suggestions)
And yes I’m pretty much getting ready to do a head gasket / Arp stud swap
oh and my temp sensor never shows over heating
also my timing is at 16 and i don't if it should be to be at 18 for the bbk tune


iv posted **** before heres the link ill up date it when i get more time
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/forum/...?topic=71314.0

whiterice

So you hooked up compressed air via the spark plug hole and liquid came from the rear breather (black box) and the top breather from the valve cover?

Atticus

no no when i hooked it up nothing happened that was yesterday
my bad i should of specified that was today when i checked everything again after my drive home
which was a slow drive maybe like 4 squirts of air came out of the bleeder screw
but after i went around the block hitting 10 psi 2 times for about a second and when i bled it again there was a lot more air
i cant figure out if my head is lifting or i still just have an air bubble from the swap

88dx

After the cars warmed up with the radiator cap off dose it constantly have bubbles?

Erich

I had similar issues with my mustang. Not sure what kind of gaskets are on the hondas but the felpros I had on mustang had paths cut thru the graphite part from the metal cylinder ring to the water hole on both heads. I think when my fuel pump half died at the track, I got some head lifting and the boost sort of cut a path thru the soft part of the gasket. Bottom line was coolant loss and bubbling in the coolant overflow.

Part 2 was replacing stock headbolts with ARP studs and using multi layered steel gaskets. The problem was way reduced. My theory is that I did not get a good seal with the mls gaskets and a stock surface on the heads/block (mls need some super smooth surface prep which I did not do).

Part 3 is in progress-back to the felpro graphite gaskets along with the studs. Reassembly almost complete.
Erich

Atticus

No not really it bubbles a little bit but then seams to be les and les
The car runs fine like theres nothing wrong I can drive it no problem
if I drive slow shift at low rpm and don’t hit boost there dosent seem to be any problems
the over flow canister wont fill up and if I bleed the system there is very little air coming out (the bleeder screw by the head where the top rad hose hooks up)
if I rev high and/or hit boost my over flow canister fills up and there is a lot of bubbles coming out of the bleeder screw

Iv been bleeding and refilling the cooling system for a couple of days now and I still cant get rid of the air. Something tells me that is it was only an air pocket it would have gone away by now

Erich

Not an air pocket. HG problem.
Erich

Atticus

ok so today after work i started my car, filled up the rad and played the waiting game
at first there was a bubble coming out of the rad every 30 seconds'ish
then when the engine got warm it was about every 5-10 seconds

ok so where is the best place to get arp studs fast
i have a KP metal head gasket any one know if they are any good

i called my local parts dealer they said they had Honda arp studs 1.2 - 1.8 length at 8mm and a pro series 1.8 length at 9mm
$40 for the first ones and $100 for the pro series
any one know if these will work on my z6