Need advice on changind a head gasket on 1990 prelude help!

[higginso]

im new to this honda head gasket replacement. ive always been a jeep person, but i got this car for free. i figure i would try to change it myself not only to save money but because i want to learn how to do this and learn what i am looking at. I pick up quick but i have never done this before so please if anyone could give me any helpful advice i would be very greatful. so far i have the valve cover, distributer, time belt casing off. what else do i have to take off and which bolts actually hold the head to the top of the motor?

Also the gasket(s?) that i am replacing, is it the gasket that goes between the head and the motor? and is it just one gasket that i am replacing? and while i have the head off/tore appart is there anything else i should maybe fix just for the heck of it? so i dont have to come take this all back appart a week after its fixed. i tried to d/l the manual but my cpu is old an want let me.

[spiffyguido]

Yes, you are replacing the gasket between the head and the motor. If you already have the valve cover and timing belt off, you're 50% of the way there. You'll also have to pull off the coolant lines and a few wires, but after that, just undo the head bolts (on top of the head) and you'll be able to pull the head off. You'll also have to pull the intake and exhaust manifolds off to get the head out of the car. The exhaust manifold is easy. The intake manifold will give you a bit of trouble because some of the nuts are very hard to reach. One tip I can offer is to get under the car and reach up from underneath to get to the hard to reach nuts that are on the underside of the intake manifold runners.

There's not much else you should replace with the head off. The gasket is the prime area of failure. However, since you've taken the timing belt off, it's not a bad time to change the belt, or the water pump. We have a video serious on youtube that full describes this procedure for your car (see our videos section).

Once you have everything back together, you'll have to make sure the timing is set correctly and refill and bleed the coolant. These are topics also covered in the timing belt video.

Also, use a good quality gasket. Get one from Honda if you can.

[mludeman]

just a small addition to this procedure. I myself am replacing a head gasket on a 91si with dual overhead cams. You will have to remove the cams to get to access the head bolts if it has dual cams ( it's pretty obvious). Make sure to run a flat bar on the head to make sure your head is not warped. Not trying to be a know it all, just trying to help.
Monty