I am brand new to the forum, so please be gentle... Know that out of respect for everyone's time, I've already been looking through previous posts for nearly three hours now, and can't find a similar situation. Therefore, please don't reply with a general 'use the search' response I have seen in several posts. That being said, I thank you in advance for your time, knowledge and response.

I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX which had the familiar 'pushing the water out until it overheats' issue. At the behest of a local mechanic shop, I took it upon myself to replace the head gasket, thus avoiding their $950 fee. After a month of dealing with it (I had the also-familiar issue of removing the crank pulley), I finally got everything back together, replacing the timing belt while I was at it.

On that glorious day when I was able to turn the key and fire it up, everything seemed to be going o.k., except for idle fluctuation that eventually ironed itself out. For the first 10 or 15 minutes, all was well, no engine warning light or weird sounds coming from the motor. However, after about 15 minutes, the oil light on the dash started to flicker, only a little at first, then getting gradually worse, until it was on solid. To my dismay, in a matter of minutes (of me trying to make sure I didn't miss hooking anything back up while it was running), the engine started knocking quite bad. I'm not talking about little love taps - I mean KNOCKING.

Of course I shut it off immediately. A few notes - when the oil filter was pulled off prior to firing it up, we noticed that there was no oil in the filter. Also, I pulled the valve cover back off and noticed that while there was a tiny bit of oil here and there,I fired it up for just a second (with the cover off) to see if it was sending oil up to the top - there is no oil coming up from the bottom.

Fromwhat I've read in the forums, I don't feel that this is an oil pump issue. Also, I think that it would be too coincidental for the PCV valve to go out at the same time that things are getting put back together. Is there any way I didn't put something back on properly during reassembly?

I am really at my wits end, and would wholeheartedly appreciate any information you can provide me with. Please feel free to ask me any questions if I have not addressed everything that needs to be known.

Thanks!

 

Did water (antifreeze/coolant) get into the oil at some point? "Rod knocking" means that the crank bearings are shot from lack of oil or getting water instead of oil. When the bearings are gone then they don't hold oil pressure in. No matter what caused it, now the only cure is to rebuild the engine or replace it.

 

When I initially drained the fluids, I saw no evidence of oil getting into the cooling system, or evidence of water getting into the oil... Also, it's just wierd that it ran fine for about 10-15 minutes after the initial fire-up. Could it be that I did not torque something down properly (I definitely torqued the head bolts to spec), or is there anything else that could cause the drop in oil pressure? Prior to the head gasket replacement, there was never the issue with the oil light coming on, or the engine knocking. If the oil light was not a factor, I would say that the timing belt jumped a tooth; however, due to the oil light, this is ruled out. (Also, water in the oil still would not explain the lack of oil in the oil filter when it was removed)

Could it be that the galleys/ports, the path which the oil travels from the bottom half to the head, be clogged?

 

Oil not in the filter I guess is not uncommon. I did an oil change in my honda civic 89 dx and there was no oil in the filter either. I called my friend who also has an 88 and he told me yeah that is normal not to worry because that is the way they are. I guess the oil draians out of the fiter. There was a little oil in the filter but not a whole lot.

 

If you used too much sealer (which means any at all) on the head gasket, it could have clogged up the oil passage, so no oil to the head. But the oil pressure is measured before that point so you still have a major problem in the bottom of the engine that wouldn't be related to the head gasket.

 

I did not use any sealant with the head gasket. I guess I'll just have to write this off as coincidence that the bottom end decided to puke on itself at the same time the top end was getting repaired. No more time or money will be spared for the situation. It sucks, too, as it's a nice car. Thanks a lot for everyone's input.