Honda Car Forum

This is my first time changing a head gasket. Clouds of white smoke came out of the exhaust pipe, so im guessing its antifreeze.































It looks dirty but not look damaged. How can I tell if this is a bad head gasket?















Will chose best answer, any tips would help. thanks































http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/P1020945.jpg















http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/P1020946.jpg















http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/P1020937.jpg















http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/P1020939.jpg















http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/P1020938.jpg

Yeah it's bad, top right corner in the second picture it doesn't look too good. Too much wear over time.

It appears that in the first photo up at the top of cylinder 2 and 3 there's leakage between the coolant ports. It is however extremely difficult to tell without a closer inspection of which a photo will not show. Also if when removing the head you didn't lift it straight up off the dowel pins you may have damaged the gasket. Your best bet is to straight edge the bottom of the head to check for warpage, as well as clean the head of ALL foreign gasket material. You may want to consider bringing it to a machine shop to pressure test, check for cracks and lap the valves etc...It's extremely important to be sure both mating surfaces are very clean. Also be sure to follow the torque sequence and torque specs when putting the head back on. Doing a decent size job like a head gasket is best done when you only have to do it once, and if you pay close attention to detail it can be accomplished. Good luck and hope this helps.

It looks good. A bad head gasket feels dry ie the black asbestos area, and also brittle, breaks of easily the pictures you sent does not show any of these signs. A new one, replacement would not cost much, it might be worth the while replacing it.