fyi the plastic berillow thing does not work it gets eaten by the gasket remover and the brakecleen

 

Did you ever find out if the tightening sequence was the same for the MLS gasket. I'm about to pull the head off my '91 D15B2 for the second time and replace with the new type gasket. BTW how is yours holding up?

 

this thread is dead. the person you are asking is not likely to reply.

 

I just bought a 1995 Del Sol S 16V non VTEC with 125K miles. It seems to have a partially blown head gasket which is leaking combustion pressure in to the coolant. I see a lot of chat about changing the heads for VTEC and making a minime conversion. I'm new to these new Honda engines and don't know all the variations. I'm fairly satisfied with the power and fuel economy as is. However, I'm wondering if the problems with head gaskets is due to the OE gaskets or if the OE head is part of the problem. Is this 16V any more or less likely to continue having gasket problems compared to swapping for a VTEC head if I use the new upgraded gaskets? What is considered to be the best long life head gaskets available now?

Can anyone direct me to a more concise info source on parts swap options for this car?

THX

 

A 96-00 Civic EX OEM Headgasket will give you the best sealing, it is 3 layers of metal gasket. It is the same thickness as the gasket for the D15B7.

 

Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any problems with the OE 16V SOHC D15B7 cylinder head? Would you know the manufacturer and part number of the gasket you recommend? I have purchased ARP head studs. The low head torque values seem like they would lend themselves to gasket failure. Has anyone compiled an interchange chart for this engine?

 

I've never heard of any problems with the head, it is a very reliable engine... I would say that the 92-95 D-series engines were probably the most reliable of all D-series (88-05 Civics). I guess the gasket just eventually gets really old and deteriorates. The metal gasket should not have this problem. The ARP head studs are said by ARP to need less torque but anyone I have ever talked to uses a higher torque rating than stock (About 10 ft-lb higher) since the studs can handle it, to create a better head gasket seal. You just add an extra step to torquing the bolts.

"Torque Sequence:

8 6 2 4 10
9 3 1 5 7
(front of car)

In 2 steps:

1. 22 lb-ft
2. 47 lb-ft"

add third step for ARP, around 57-60 ft-lb

"After about 10 heat cycles of the engine remove the valve cover and check the torque to make sure they're still at the final torque spec. tighten back to specs if necessary."

quoted parts copied from my DIY
https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=80541