Please Help!-New to Preludes

Fourth Generation Honda Prelude topics

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lovemyprelude
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Prelude Model: 4th Gen

Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by lovemyprelude »

Im Nicole,
I am new to the Prelude world, I just bought a '94 and it started blowing whitish blue smoke out the exhaust. A man who is a mechanic looked at it breifly and said "its the oil gasket" now, this is a friend of my husbands. Im not sure if he took the O-ring into consideration. I also am not sure if he met the head gasket or the oil pan gasket. He wasnt very specific! I know crush rings are cheap to fix I just dont want it to be a huge problem when I bought the car 2 days ago!! :roll:

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spiffyguido
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Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
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Re: Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by spiffyguido »

It's probably the head gasket. Your coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber, leading to white smoke.

lovemyprelude
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Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:57 pm
Prelude Model: 4th Gen

Re: Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by lovemyprelude »

hmm you dont think it could have something to do with oil since it has the blue tint to it.. my husband says you can smell the oil burning when you turn the car on..

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spiffyguido
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Re: Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by spiffyguido »

A bad head gasket could cause oil to be getting into the coolant, and then it is being burned off.

Or, as you said, the piston rings are in need of a refresh. I'd start with the head gasket though.

lovemyprelude
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Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:57 pm
Prelude Model: 4th Gen

Re: Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by lovemyprelude »

are the head gaskets hard/expensive to fix? I dont have access to a lift if ones required(though i dont think on is). I dont know anything about the prelude engines except the basics. Im gunna check dipstick to see if theres coolant traces in it. should I do a compression check, if the pressures good then it wouldnt be my head gasket. im sure a mechanic would charge an arm and a leg for anything so I do as much as I can by myself. and this cars my baby I dont want it effed up right after i get it, esp since i was told it was an h23 motor and someone swapped it to an h22 (why someone would do that idk except maybe they blew the h23), also its not overheating its just the smoke so im hoping its not too bad yet.. the oil light hasnt come on so thats a good sign, if its the head gasket i should replace the cam seals too right..

sry its a long one I just wanna get it done asap so my engine doesnt blow!
thank you!!!

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spiffyguido
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Re: Please Help!-New to Preludes

Post by spiffyguido »

Installing a head gasket isn't too difficult. You can try doing a compression test. You might see some low compression numbers as a result of the crack in the head gasket.

You don't need a hoist, just a basic set of wrenches. The hardest part of replacing the head gasket is setting the timing when you put everything back together. You have to remove the timing belt partially to get the head off the engine, and this will require you to set the timing when you reassemble everything.

Cam oil seals can be done as well, but you'll have to remove the camshafts to swap them out. Not a big deal, just more work.

The previous owner probably put the H22 in because it has VTEC and more horsepower. That's my guess.



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