B16, B18, B20
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By foxtuning65
#185594 I know that teal did a Diy on a head gasket change for a d-series. :woot: I thought that maybe the b-series guys who have never done it would appreciate a write up. So here we go.

First thing is the tools you will need.
-10mm socket
-12mm socket
-17mm socket
-13mm socket
-14mm socket
-couple of extensions
-torque wrench (ft lbs)
-rags
-clean place to put head
-2 drain pans (coolant, oil)
-new head gasket
-new valve cover gasket
-new intake/exhaust manifold gaskets

I would also recommend Arp headstuds to anyone who is doing this. They are expensive but worth the price because they are reusable :thumb:

NOTE: Make sure to set the motor to TDC. Makes things a lot easier :thumb:

Ok, so first you need to let your motor cool and you would start with something like this
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After the motor has cooled you need to drain your coolant. Although you do not need to drain the oil, now is a good time to do an oil change 8)
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*I know i got an oil leak, it was fixed as well. My next write up is how to do an oil pan gasket :thumb:

Now i would remove the upper radiator hose from the head and move your overflow bottle
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Then you should go to the top of your motor and remove your spark plug wires/intake and distributor.
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Next i would remove all the plugs for your sensors on your head.
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*vtec pressure switch is broken. I broke it and replaced it

Then i would remove your fuel line from your fuel rail
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Then remove the return line from the back of the fuel pressure regulator.
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Then remove your pcv valve and your throttle cable. NOTE: I am running a skunk2 manifold. For a stock gsr manifold it might be a little different.
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Next, remove the coolant hoses from the intake manifold, there should be one to the iacv and one from the manifold to the thermostat housing. Also remove all your sensors.

Remove your exhaust manifold now as well. I didnt take pics of it because it is pretty much self explainitory.


Now you can remove the ten 12 mm bolts holding the intake manifold on. For gsr motors, this is a bitch.
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After you remove your intake manifold it should look something like this
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*NOTE: Be careful with your tps sensor. They tend to break.

Now remove your valve cover. There are 8 10mm nuts holding it on.
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So this is what you should end up with. There are 10-12mm holding the cam caps on and 4-10mm bolts. Be careful. Ive snapped these in the head before. You are going to need a deep 12mm sockets for the middle studs.
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To remove the cam caps, i used a rubber mallet and gave em a few taps. Worked fine for me.
IMPORTANT NOTE! Every cam cap has an arrow on it. The arrow points towards the timing belt. If the cam caps are put on wrong. You can blow your motor :thumbdown:

This is what you should have now.
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*NOTE: My way of doing this does not involve any loosening of the timing belt tensioner. Jeff Evans does it, so i figure i could as well.

To remove your cams, you need to cut the little timing cover piece. One slice worked for me
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This is how your head should look after removal of the cam. This is reveal the headstuds.
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Then remove the ten headstuds (they are tight, use some force) And you should end up with this
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Make sure you have a clean place to place all your parts :thumb:
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Make sure you remove all of the old gasket and use steel wool to clean up the block and bottom of the head.
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To prepare the new gasket i used copper gasket sealer spray. I put on four coats on each side of the gasket. My friend who has a 22 psi tt 300zx used it, so it should be good for my na motor :D
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If you are using Arp headstuds, now is the time to put them in the head. Hand tight only!
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Now slide the gasket on without touching the copper spray gasket. It is hard but i did it 8)
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Now slide your head onto the block, make sure you get no binding anywhere.

Once you get the head on the block, use your arp lube and lube up the nuts and studs and torque them down. ARP says 3 increments to 80 ft lbs for the gsr motor. I did four. 50, 60, 70, 80.

Now put everything back on the way you took it off. I was too lazy and it got too late to take pics of the reinstallation.

-When putting the cam caps back on, use honda-bond/grey rtv on the cam seals. They will leak if you dont. You can quote me on it :P

Cam caps - 12mm - 20 ft lbs/ 10mm - 8 ft lbs (handtight)

Remember to heat cycle your ARP's correctly. 5-10 times and retorque them :woot:

Hope this helps 8)
Last edited by foxtuning65 on Mon Apr 05, 2010 3:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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By J'95
#185595 Very Nice !!! :woot:
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By elrompetoto
#186197 thanksss imabout 2 dothe same shit 2 a b16
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By foxtuning65
#186401
teal_dx wrote:Thanks for posting this! Added to the growing DIY list :thumb:


Awesome. Glad i could help. :thumb:
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By ChicagoMike
#186407 Very good write up, only thing I do different is leave the intake mani on the head. There's no point in taking it off just for a headgasket.
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By foxtuning65
#186418
ChicagoMike wrote:Very good write up, only thing I do different is leave the intake mani on the head. There's no point in taking it off just for a headgasket.


True. I guess i took it off for ease of moving things around, plus i had to port the throttle body opening in the intake manifold 8)
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By Verocyn69
#198239
ChicagoMike wrote:Very good write up, only thing I do different is leave the intake mani on the head. There's no point in taking it off just for a headgasket.


true i alwaysd leave my mani on to it just makes life easier lol but i also dont use the copper sealent...last time i did ii lost compression on 2 1/2 cylinders after about 2 miles of driving ...right about wheen it hit normal operating temp....but i always use honda oem gaskets to, thats my 2 cents lol but i must say great write up! :thumb:
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By RSuave
#242371 How long did this take?
By cjw_89
#242436 Why did you use that copper stuff all i ever used was the headgasket with that weird grey stuff already on it.d15b7 that is..Also how do you line up the timing without the bottom cam gear showing? The little slit in the crank pulley to the plastic casing ?
By blueg
#285013 Remember to heat cycle your ARP's correctly. 5-10 times and retorque them :woot:

Hope this helps 8)[/quote]

does this mean you need to run the motor for 5-10 min and then pull it aprt down to the cams and then tightem back up??
By bks84
#285082 heat cycle = run engine to operating temp, then shut off. repeat 5-10 times.

also, ARP's are only re-useable so many times. granted they're cheaper than buying new headbolts from the dealer.

i too would have left the intake manifold on. to me it actually makes pullin the head a lot easier.
By 801ej1
#320270 is there one for how to set timing on your engine