Skinflute22

okay i have a 1991 Honda CRX just a base model. I bought it used with about 157000 miles on it. It was burning wat we thought to be oil so I had the head rebuilt including guides new seats and we replaced the gaskets. Got the head back on still smoked. The color of the smoke btw is hard to tell but is usually blue or white but more often blue. Now I just replaced the PVC valve still burns. Also the plugs aren't wet just have lots of carbon build up so i don't think the rings are bad. The compression is good. My guesses are either the catalytic converter, cracked block, or bad rings. I NEED HELP BAD! any words of advice are greatly appreciated.
Thanx
Bryan

Skinflute22

comon fellas someones gotta have ideas

slammed91-hatch

compression check should help you diagnose it a little further. If it's just a base model dx or hf or whatever you can pick up a used good running motor for like 1-2 hundred bucks. I'd consider that route rather than puting more money into a cheap motor.

Provocateur

I will put my money on rings.

I had the same problem and I just replaced the rings and didn't bother with that head rebuilding crap, and I haven't seen any smoke since.

jaje

you have the tell tale signs of bad rings...you should notice your oil level goes down over time (depending on how bad and how many cylinders are burning oil)

Skinflute22

okay i had a compresion test done today and it turns out the rings are bad what is the process for puttin new rings in do you have to like hone out the block and bore it?

jaje

though when you wind up doing work like replacing rings i'd suggest honing the block as it is already stripped to do so

Provocateur

I did my rings all myself and I can give you a basic outline of what needs to be done. You can PM me if you need more info.

It was a bitch of a job that took me about 12 hours of labor all by myself. Keep in mind it was my first time and if I did it again, it wouldn't take as long.

You start by completely removing the head. Shouldn't take more than 1-2 hours since you are just ripping everything apart, putting it in bags to keep it organized, and making mental (or written if you are lacking brain functionality like I sometimes do) notes of where everything goes. Mine takes a bit longer since my turbo manifold can only be removed with little asian hands and tons of patience.

Once the head is off, you need to get comfortable underneath the car. Drop the oil pan and all oil pickup hardware underneath until you can see the main caps and connecting rod bolts. Start loosening the rod bolts a little at a time to prevent any warpage to anything. Once all the bolts are off, pop the pistons up and out of the cylinders with a hammer handle. Keep all bearings and rod bolts intact with the respected piston/rod.

Then you need to hone the cylinder walls to get the glaze off and provide a scratchy surface for the new rings to "bite". Then you need to remove the old rings, clean the grooves, and install the new rings in a staggered position making sure that none of the gaps fall on a thrust surface. Then you need to compress the rings and tap each piston into its respected cylinder. Then you retighten the rod bolts to spec and make sure the bearings are properly seated and then replace everything that was removed to get to them. Then put the head back on and you are done.

A service manual is very recommended. This is a highly in-depth job and I don't recommend it to anyone except those that know and are comfortable with what they are doing, have the proper tools and reference materials, and have plenty of time to ensure the job isn't rushed and every precaution is made to avoid critical mistakes that could lead to the complete destruction of your motor. I went through the steps very, very vaguely just to give you an idea of what is involved. If it were me though, I would just buy a new engine. Unfortunately, I have a very expensive engine, so I wanted to repair what I had for under $200 and 12 hours of hard labor instead of shell out $2k for a new motor. It is all up to you.