idiotfortier

Alright.. took my car to my usual garage for a checkup. We found out that 4 out of 5 spark plugs were soaked in engine oil. (the first 3 from the front of the car and the one nearest the firewall) So I need a new valve cover gasket. In addition, we noticed some plain white smoke coming out of the exhaust for like 2-3 seconds after I start the engine. That sounds like a head gasket failure right..? (?)

I called him the next day to see which options I had. And what I'm probably gonna do is buy a set of gaskets from eBay, since the OEM set retails for 570$. The other option would be a motor swap, my mech found a 74000 KMs one for 1500$, but this is already out of my budget, before labor. I cried 10-15 times thinking that this could be the lowest mileage g25a4 in the world, available in my city, and I can't afford it. Bah.

So I have two questions for you guys:

How much can I drive the car in that condition..? (the car feels fine when driving) I was told that I could drive kinda safely until I do the repairs in like 2 weeks, but what are the risks?


And, what do you guys think about those gaskets sets? Is it all I need?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HEAD-...spagenameZWD1V

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Acura...spagenameZWD1V


Good evening all.

pi1996

i think you are jumping the gun here..
i would really make sure its the head gasket, since its not a cheap fix.
seeing little smoke is definitely not a sure sigh.. if you see billowing smoke when the car is warmed up.. then yes..
i thought i had a head gasket too.. my car overheated, coolant leaked out.. i freaked out and thought the car was totalled..
just replaced the radiator, and its fine..

main70072

you should really get that check to see if the head gasket is blown. have you check your dipstick to see if the oil have changed to a milky color? have the car ever overheated? as for the oil that was found in the spark plugs...i think you should not have a problem driving like that for a few months since my uncle's car (a vigor with the same exact engine like ours) had the same problem and he is still driving like that for well over 6 months now. his was really bad bc when i pulled the ignition wires off from the plugs and looked in, i can see a puddle of oil sitting around the spark plugs.

TexasHonda

There are tube ring gaskets that seal each spark plug tube. They come w/ a new valve cover gasket set from Felpro and others.

More diagnosis is indicated before replacing head gasket. A chemical test of coolant for exhaust gases is available that is considered a good indicator of heat gasket leakage. Also as pointed out look for coolant in oil and oil in coolant. You can have neither of these symptoms and still have a head gasket leaking coolant into combustion chamber. This will usually produce billowing white smoke on startup and loss of coolant w/ time. Sometimes overheating will occur as exhaust gases displace coolant from the cooling system into the overflow reservoir.

It could be that valve stem seals are leaking a little oil into combustion chamber. This will cause a puff of oil smoke (grey-blue) on startup and upon acceleration after a long idle w/ a hot engine. These can be replaced w/o removing the head.

good luck

meazz1

It is probably your spark plug seals.
I had the similar problem, once I replaced seals and valve cover gasket, problem went away.

you can get the kit, or order from the dealer. Will not cost more than $50.00

A diy will not take more than 30 min.

idiotfortier

Good advices good advices. I'll probably buy one of those eBay gasket kits, since it has everything I need for the valve cover / valve seals job, and all the other gaskets if needed.

And I'll defenatly do some chemical test about that HG issue before doing anything. Thanks for pointing that out TexasHonda! For the record, the car never overheated (as a matter of fact, I've never seen the needle higher than 1/4 of the temp gauge. And most of the time it doesn't go up at all), I have no coolant leaks and the radiator is just a few years old. I'll check tonight for coolant level and color as suggested.

Thanks for everything, I'll keep you guys updated on this. Second opinions are always very useful.

TexasHonda

Coolant temp should come up to just below mid-point for normal operating temperature. If it stays at lower end of range, the thermostat is stuck open. This will cause poor fuel efficiency due to cold operating temps.

good luck

TRIP_rock

If you do decide to go the route of a new motor I would suggest looking for yourself on www.car-part.com. I just recently replaced my blown 2.5 with one I found there that had 72,000 mile and was only $750. That was a rather good find as the best qoute I got prior to that was about 2x with almost double the miles.

As far as gasket set check www.rockauto.com. They may have what you are looking for at a cheaper price. Good luck with whatever the route.

idiotfortier

Hmm I'm affraid that might be the case.. I'll ask my mech to check it out for sure next time. On another note, my oil seems to be normal, odor and color-wise. We'll see for the coolant.


TRIP_rock: Thanks for the heads up, but I decided not to go with the motor swap route. Thanks anyway! And ebay is beating rockauto this time for the price hehe. Looks like a good parts source tho.

Hvytoys

Unfortunately, the 1994 legend i just bought billows clouds of white smoke at a cold startup.
what would a person look for with the coolant? would it seem darker than usual and smell like exhaust or what?

Hvytoys

unfortunately for me, the 1994 legend i just bought to keep the motorcycle off the ice this winter billows clouds of white smoke at startup.
what would you be looking for in the coolant to determine if exhaust gasses are getting into it and confirming the blown headgasket? darker than usual and smell like exhaust or what?

Hvytoys

i also had a question about resetting the abs to turn off the abs light on the dash. it doesn't have any codes as it just stays lit after coming on a few seconds after starting the car. i pulled the fuse while the plug under the glovebox was unplugged and it did go out but it came back on. what else could i do?