SLICK40

Ok, if I have a bhg, and I fix it, will this even fix it? It seems like these engines just keep on blowing them --no? what about what originally caused my bhg - i.e. fan sensor or something?

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Hotstartup

once the HG is done, and if done right ur good for another 150k. just take good care of it, changde ur coolant every year, and ur golden, also if using the head bolts tq them up to 60lbs, instead of stock specs of 56 lbs

FlipLegend

From what I've been reading, the blown head gaskets are caused by a design flaw on the #3 & #6 cylinder. I'm basically regurgitating words that someone else on this board has already researched. My BHG was diagnosed last week but I still drive the car 85 miles/day. I just have to add about 2 quarts of coolant everyday.

thusu

It could be that your fans are not turning on when the temperature is going up, when you car starts to heat up check and see if both the upper and lower hose are warm or hot. If only the upper hose is hot and the lower is considerably cooler you have a coolant circulation problem. this could be because of air in the system or a bad water pump. if it is the water pump you will hear it making noises. best of luck.

FutureX 2001

No, bgh aren't really a design flaw, it's a maintainance flaw. If you do not change out your coolant often, if you do not use HONDA COOLANT ONLY, if you do not replace your radiator after 80-90k. The systems can be damaged easy under these circumstances. Most people buy their cars used, and most shops, dont bother with honda coolant as well, they put regular stuff in like Prestone...which eats away at the honda headgaskets because they lack the proper silicone levels to protect them.

These radiators on most Hondas suck, half plastic, half metal/aluminum, they develop very very small cracks that lets air in.. the air travels to the headgasket forms a bubble, were it instantly heats up and eats ur gasket away.

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KeithQNguyen

And this is a fact that's been proven now? I had a BHG but honestly I think it's not preventable. From 150-250 you're bound for it. I'm on top of my maintenance more then anyone I’ve ever known, but it still happened to me. I saw the crack and got it fixed the next day. I changed all of my hoses at my 180k tune up (which was done at 175) The car was dealer serviced from day 1 - 112k and from 112-180k it's been in my mech. hands. So if you're telling me 68k of other type of coolant ate my HGs, I say BS... --=Keith

Any way, if the heads are tqed at 56lbs, is it still more likely to blow again?

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Tinkindling

Overtorquing head bolts can be just as bad as undertorquing. The steel bolts (or studs) will pull up where they fasten into the block, and this will distort the block. Translation, your deck surface will not be flat, and a possible outcome is, you guessed it: a BHG! The concensus of opinion seems to be that 56 lbs is a bit low, and that 60 would be better.

As for the coolant question, I think the price difference between Honda coolant and other brands is not enough make it worthwhile to run a risk of damage.

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83,000 Miles & Counting
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FutureX 2001

From NSX-PRIME website;

Coolant Should I Use?
[A/H, KS] Recently, several people have questioned whether the coolant (anti-freeze) sold by Honda and Acura dealers is different from the popular mass-market brands.

Honda has sent the information attached below to its dealers. While you might not expect the source to be exactly unbiased, it does provide technical information and justification for differences in their formula.


Genuine Honda Coolant is the Only Way to Go

Increasingly severe operating conditions and the advent of lower maintenance requirements have resulted in significant changes in the variety and the concentration of additives used in engine coolant. Also, the continual improvements in engine and vehicle design have challenged coolant suppliers to design products that perform well in a more demanding environment.

To meet these needs, Honda engineers have developed a superior, high-quality coolant that has several advantages over the competition.

Some antifreeze, although labeled as safe for aluminum parts, may not be compatible with Acura cooling system components. Extensive research and testing by both Honda R&D and CCI, the manufacturer of the Honda coolant, have proven that the abrasive silicates and/or borates found in most domestic coolants can cause these problems:

- - Silicates bond to the surface of the water pump seal and act as an abrasive, causing considerable seal erosion and coolant leakage. In actual tests, the silicated coolant caused early leakage. This leakage increased dramatically until a substantial portion of the coolant had been lost. In contrast, the Honda coolant had almost no leakage through the duration of the test.

Chart here, entitled "Coolant Leakage from Water Pump Seal", showing Leaked Coolant Volume in ml as follows for each test duration in Hours:

24 hrs: Honda Coolant 0, Typical Silicated Coolant 21
48 hrs: Honda Coolant 1, Typical Silicated Coolant 36
72 hrs: Honda Coolant 2, Typical Silicated Coolant 47
96 hrs: Honda Coolant 2, Typical Silicated Coolant 55
120 hrs: Honda Coolant 2.5, Typical Silicated Coolant 56
144 hrs: Honda Coolant 3.5, Typical Silicated Coolant 57
168 hrs: Honda Coolant 4, Typical Silicated Coolant 58.8
192 hrs: Honda Coolant 6, Typical Silicated Coolant 63
200 hrs: Honda Coolant 6, Typical Silicated Coolant 64

- - Silicates tend to gel and settle in the coolest parts of the cooling system, causing radiator plugging and overheating.

- - Borates cause pitting corrosion on the cylinder head.

- - Silicate inhibitors are difficult to stabilize and, therefore, limit coolant shelf life.

Most commercially available coolants were originally designed for cast iron engines. Silicate, an inexpensive additive, was added to coolants to prevent aluminum corrosion, but the long-term durability of the combination was not tested.

In contrast, Honda coolant was designed specifically for aluminum engines. It contains an organic corrosion inhibitor instead of silicate. This superior formula gives these advantages:

- - No silicate abrasion of water pump seals. For example, these graphs show the surface roughness of two aluminum water pump seal rings. Seal A, exposed to silicated coolant, shows considerable damage. Seal B, exposed to Honda coolant, displays only minute wear.


[graphs here, showing roughness across the surface, with A a very wiggly line, and B a very smooth line]


- - No plugging or overheating caused by silicate gelling.

- - Excellent corrosion protection for aluminum components.

- - Long-term corrosion protection for other cooling system materials (steel, cast iron, copper, solder, gaskets, seals, and O-rings).


You can find less expensive coolants on the market, but now you can see why genuine Honda coolant is the only coolant approved for Honda and Acura vehicles (it MUST be used for warranty repairs). Honda's non-silicate formula delivers added protection not offered by 95 percent of other brands. Since our customers expect lower maintenance, you're doing them an injustice if you use any other coolant.

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yetchh

i think excessive over torquing only applies to cast iron blocks where distortion has less chance of occuring.. you could get your heads(or block) o ringed but thats mainly for high comp engines(forced induction) i think the only way to stop corrosion is proper anti-freeze and keeping an eye on things.. bars leaks is only a temporary fix too

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KeithQNguyen

Alright alright alright, I'll get it changed, but still i highly doubt this is the reason for BHG. what's the pricing for it again? --=Keith

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Dethred

Why hasnt anyone mentioned that we have ALUMINUM engines? Under any major heat parts will warp and never be the same, even with some machining.

All this crap about coolant type, mileage, etc, is just babble. My engine has 172k miles on it and it has never had a BHG. Why? Design flaw? Maybe if you let your car overheat. All this while I have only had Honda coolant for the first coolant cycle in my car. Thats about 165k miles on generic brand coolant.

My car has NOT ONCE gone past 3/4th heat and that is the reason I haven't had any bad head gaskets. Proof? How about repeated Bhg's on certain cars and none on others? Chances are the car overheated with the current owner or previous owner and the block or head(s) is warped.

smth_hckr

I'm a firm believer of the Honda coolant. I'm on the original radiator. My car has only been serviced at the Acura dealer, and all service has been performed by the book.
My car currently has 174,xxx miles on it. Temp gauge has NEVER fluctuated from the norm.

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Eli

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GREYLEGEND

The NSX, G1,G2 and RLs are derived from the same engine family. On G1s, there have been cases of blown head gaskets but they appear to be quite rare. On the G2, the probability of getting it seems higher than a "maintenance issue". I've seen one instance of it on the RL board. I don't know about the history on the NSXes but they have a different head altogether.

All these engines are aluminum. So forget that one.

There's obviously a design weakness in the G2 engine somewhere that causes this to eventually happen.

SLICK40

these last times i overheated it was different than before when i was overheating. no boiling over, and there was a sort of squeeling noise from the engine (near pulleys and waterpump) and i looked through my records and the timing belt was changed but not the water pump. also still on the original "denzo"-i think- radiator

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Dethred

The whole point of my post is that aluminum engines warp easier under extreme heat, our engines probably have a design flaw, but if you take care of overheating issues quickly you'll have no problem.

Just because you don't hear of BHG from the RL guys doesnt mean they aren't just as common. Count how many G2 guys are on here compared to RL and G1 guys, then find a percentage of those with BHG.

If someone has no problems till 100,000 miles and then replaces the HG 3 times over the next 50,000 miles then something happened by 100,000 miles to create the problem.

Point is, if there was a design flaw then the car would blow head gaskets no matter how low the mileage without it overheating.