wife blew the head gasket in my civic today.
i started tearing down the motor. if my head is warped or beyond repair, should i replace it with a used one or could i do a vtec head on it. what are the pros and cons of the vtec if it can be done. it's the d16 motor i believe.
you guys will know for sure.

i'm in the process of fixing/resurrecting this civic. the previous owners didn't know jack about cars or mechanics so there is a ton of stuff to fix.
i changed the timing belt and water pump a couple of weeks ago and she ran like a top til now. other than the engine fan intermittently working it was
doing great. i think the fan had something to do with it overheating and blowing the head gasket. i'm no slouch at mechanics i just don't know that much
about the honda world.

thanks

here's my jeep

 

Well, locate the fan switch (Tstat housing - follow lower hose to engine), unplug it and jump it with a paper clip. The fan should come on. If not, the switch is bad. Make sure you get the cause of the overheating dealt with in addition to the HG.

You have an EX Civic? It should have a D16z6 in it, which is a vtec motor. Look at the engine code to the right of the transmission bell housing. It will be stamped onto the block. If needed, get a new D16z6 head (should be ~$120 for something complete and 100% functional) and rock out.

Also, I would suggest getting replacement head bolts since the stock ones are "stretched" when torqued down. Many have reused head bolts, but is it really worth it if not correctly and the HG goes again? Not to me. Either OEM replacements from the dealer ship, or go for some ARP head bolts.

I always love me a nice lookin' Jeep. Sweet

 

thanks man. i don't think my motor is a v tec, but i could be wrong. i'll check when i get home from work.

the fan will come on and blow really strong. it just comes on whenever it wants to.
it keeps the car cool when it's blowing it just doesn't work all the time. i think that's the overheating issue. i pulled the valve cover and exhasut manifold off last night. i found the heater hose that goes into the head split in two places so that's where all the coolant went to.
if i don't have a v tec is it worth it to put a z6 vtec head on? mini me swap is it?

thanks again.

 

found out it is a vtec head. i pulled some of the stuff apart. i should have the head off tonite and see how much damage was actually done.

 

so i got the head off tonite. took about 2 hrs. the inside of the cylinders had light surface rust on them but i could not see any scaring. i'm gonna try to clean them really good tomorrow and recheck them. meanwhile i'm trying to find a machine shop to take a look at the head to see if it's warped or cracked. anything else i should look for?

 

i did the jumper on the fan switch. it comes right on. i'm guessing its a bad temp sensor or bad wire somewhere. i still have the stupid low idle and a pretty good oil leak. i dunno about the low idle but i think the oil leak is the rear main seal.