CLyons0203

I have owned several brands of cars. I recently purchased a Legend 262k miles, fresh headgasket, tbelt, water pump etc....

I knew these cars were bad on head gaskets from just driving around. See a legend, watch it accelerate, white or blue smoke, probably a bhg.

Why do they fail so often? and they usually fail in the same spot.

I owned a 96 Eclipse non turbo. The block was iron and the head was aluminum. Two different expansion and contraction rates between the two metals. So the head and block would rub the paper gasket and eventually it would blow. But it would always blow on the back side of the motor on the corner. Well after years a technician finally found that the head bolt hole on that corner was a few 100ths of an inch off from the others. Basically the head bolt when torqued down would bottom out and not be as tight as it should. Mitsubishi and chrysler fixed the bhg problem by switching to a mutli-layer gasket.

So what type of gasket is the OEM legend gasket? And are the block and head different metals?

Also chrysler as the coolant that has some sealer stuff in it. Basically it reacts with air and seals leaks. Anybody tried this on a legend?

 

pro_foundac91

they fail because our cars are older now with the youngest legends being around 13-14 yrs old. so sooner or later, regardless, im pretty sure HG's on any car dont last forever and ever. they can last a long time with proper maintenance for sure but im sure alot are failing now because our cars are older now adays. probably in like 1997-1998 there wasnt any mass extinction of legend HG's like how there is now...feel me?? thats my philosophy haha.

__________________

DIABLO NEGRO

i believe that they are both aluminum. I used off brand head gaskets and they sucked one was defective and I replaced it with a felpro and the other one I am doing next week. so this sucks.

pro_foundac91

i heard felpro is good but OEM would be best from what i read. when i had my BHG i bought OEM HG's and a cheap full gasket kit off ebay and about 20,000 miles later my needle hasnt moved at all. good luck with that tho man....it'll all be worth it when u drive ur legend for the first time after its fixed.

__________________

legendhyphonix

that and it dont help usen the kickdown botton at the bottom of the gas pedal no but seriously time and heat takes its toll on all things

sugerbear008

exactly due to heat in the back (firewall side) of our engines causes #6 to fail. i have 150k on my coupe and just had to do a head gasket 2k miles ago.

__________________
Boost Ready Motorsports True racers run boost. Are you ready?

"In life you are the person who you have met through others". -Chris Roberts-
"Although you may think you walk in darkness, always keep your eyes open because you might miss that glimmer of light". -Chris Roberts-

Guidance and protection. Bless

LS92Sedan

um, I am amazed at some of these responses. First of all, the heat is not the sole reason in bhg's with our cars. #1 VIBRATION, the C32 doesnt use a balancer like the C35 does, basically the C32 was the founding technology for the C35, what worked on the C32 stayed and what failed on the C32 was either replaced or modded to work better on the C35. #2, the expansion and heat acting on 2 different metals at the mating surface, heads are aluminum and they tend to warp very easily when they are overheated, the other metals dont react as quickly to heat and do not expand or contort under heat as quickly and easily as aluminum does. #3, the OEM HG design isnt all that great to begin with, some aftermarket gaskets seem to be of the same cheap quality and design, the only way to get greater longevity out of our HG's is to see about having a MLS gasket made for it. #4 and Last, alot of people that owned these cars before we owned them had zero knowledge of our cooling system and how picky it was/is. Im sure along the way hoses were replaced, t-stats, radiators etc, and most time people try to save $ and replace with aftermarket parts, most of these aftermarket parts arent of the same quality and fitment as OEM. That being said, a hose that doesnt fit right, a rad cap not sealing properly, a radiator with an obstruction in it, etc will cause some sort of fault in the cooling system and reduce its efficiency. My best advice, dont cheap out on the cooling system, OEM or better replacements, and constantly check your coolant levels and for christ sake BLEEED the system regularly, as in every oil change or every other oil change. My last point, I see some of you guys are newer, and Im not trying to be mean, but we have covered this subject many times, by just doing a simple search for "headgasket" you would have seen this.......The Acura Legend & Acura RL Forum - Search Results. It def ok to ask questions, but please try and search, there is all this information out there, and then if you dont understand or cant find what you need, then please ask, but PLEASE search!

__________________

mktng

lets just say... honda and acura just dont care.

lets not even look at the HG's.

but

rear quarter panel rusting.. common.. they KNOW that its a problem.. but they dont do anything...

MarcD

LS92Sedan- I agree with everything you mention, but can you clarify this statement?
"BLEEED the system regularly, as in every oil change or every other oil change"
I do not see the need to bleed the system at every oil change? The cooling system is a closed system unless you have a way for air to get into it. If that is the case, then you already have a problem I would assume-

pro_foundac91

i knew that was coming....the long explanation. so mainly time and a little bit of neglect over time causes it. period

__________________

LS92Sedan

yes it is a closed system, but, over the period of its use, things get warm and cold causing the expanding and contracting of hoses and what not creating small pockets of air or leaks, most of which are VERY small. Also, whenever you bleed the system, you are getting MOST of the air out, not all of it. Anytime you open the radiator cap and add coolant you allow small amounts of air to enter the coolant system. Bleeding and checking the coolant level at a set period allows you as an owner to be ontop of any condition that may arrise. Say you bleed every 5k, and get very small bits of air out, but then suddenly one day you are doing your 5k bleeding and you notice alot more air coming out of the system, that raises and flag and tells you that you have a problem, whether it be a leak or what have you, at least you can attempt to take care of it before it becomes something major like a bhg. This is just what I do, not saying you all should do it, but it makes sense to always check given how picky these cars are with cooling.

__________________

LS92Sedan

I would agree with that. Id say 100% of all HG failures are due to either some sort of neglect or replacing one of the cooling system parts with a lesser quality/fitting aftermarket replacement or not using the proper type of coolant. Im not going to add to the honda coolant debate, Im just sayin make sure you use a silcate free type of coolant. If any of you have ever seen the inside of our motors, you would see how narrow our coolant passages are, so one minor foul up in the system can have some very catastrophic consequences.

__________________

pro_foundac91

do u use the honda coolant??? i have an aftermarket radiator and ive used prestone 50/50 since ive had the car. HG and all other gasktes were replaced last year along with machining, water pump, timing belt, thermostat, and other misc. parts. all OEM. prestone 50/50 is good right?? or next coolant change i do should i switch to honda coolant??

__________________

91sedan

Has anyone tried the ebay headgaskets? i was wondering on their quality

__________________
Mods: Short Ram Intake with K&N Air Filter, Custom Exhaust, Telion Chipped ECU, Type II Manifold (added 12 peak hp and cracked on 7-30-08), Type II Cluster,Throttle Body Coolant Bypass 15.35@91.6mph

Future Mods: OBX Headers,Custom Y-Pipe,Magnaflow hi-flow cat,Stromung B-Pipe,Remus Exhaust,Ported and polished heads and manifold,Web Cam regrinds, 6spd swap All after I Do the 3.5 Swap!! Hoping for a healthy 200whp N/A beast

LS92Sedan

Unless its Prestone silicate free 50/50 Id stay away from it. I do use honda coolant and here is why. Most silicate free coolant costs about 10-12 bucks per gallon, I go get the honda type II blue silicate free coolant for $12 a gallon. So why not just get the honda stuff made for your car, your paying about the same price anyways. The reason for silicate free coolant is simple, silicates break down seals in the cooling system and inside your waterpump you have bearings, if these become clogged with enough silicate deposits you can seize the waterpump.....Ive done it.....twice. And I changed my own waterpumps, lets just say its not hard, but it sure isnt fun, and damn, it isnt cheap either, between the waterpump, clamps, lube, rtv, coolant and what not, I paid like $275 or so in parts. Ive learned the hard way with these cars, I used to say that all the talk about oem this, honda coolant that, was subjective, but after mine and a few other peoples experiences, Im stickin with oem parts and the premixed honda coolant.

__________________