2001 honda accord v6 overheated

By removing the top of the motor, what do you mean.. The head?

-Karl

It sounds as though the car has a blown head gasket…The oil is from the cylinders and there is a gap that allows oil and combustion gasses into the cooling jackets. This will cause the overheating condition and boiling…. The head will need to be checked for straightness and if necessary will have to be machined. The head and engine surface must be perfectly flat for a new head gasket or the same thing will happen again… Also it may need new head bolts… I don’t know about your model, but some engines use stretch bolts that cannot be re-used, and new bolts will have to be purchase if they are stretch bolts…

Some engines are more prone to head gasket failure than others… Sometimes, the head gasket failure is attributable to overheating from another source and the aluminum head warps, and thus the head gasket fails… Such things as electric cooling fans not running, a leak in the system or a bad or clogged or covered radiator (like with leaves) will cause the overheating and in turn the head will warp and ruin the head gasket.

-Karl

[quote=”Fabian” post=67263]got it but is it possible that the coolant would only enter one half of the heads or motor because if the other side is fine should we just focus on the side with coolant and oil mixed together[/quote]

Yes, it is entirely possible that the other side is completely fine… Ironically, it always seems like the bank closest to the firewall (hardest one to get to) is the one that is bad…. 😛

Good luck

-Karl

[quote=”Fabian” post=67265]thanks again for your replies so do you think that we should check out both the head gaskets even though one seems fine just to be safe im assuming so and can i check the block and the head with something like a level or should i have it taken to a shop and check with a computer in other words is there a cheaper do it yourself method thanks again[/quote]

What can be done is a compression test of the other head. Your vehicle should have a service limit on the PSI in each cylinder. For example a Toyota 1.8 engine should not be less than 150 psi and the top end should be no greater than 212….Of course these specs are for when the engine is warm….

To do the compression test, you need a compression tester… HF sells one at a good price…I recommend you do a cold test (not warming up the car) because oil and antifreeze mixture will damage bearings and other things if you keep the car running.

To do a compression test, take all the spark plugs out and one cylinder at a time hook up the compression tester and crank the engine for 5 seconds or so… Then record the pressure results… I.E. 175 PSI… do this for each of the cylinders on the “good” head you are hoping is still ok.

No readings should be off more than 25%… I.E. if you come up with 175, 180 and 185. then you are still showing good compression… A cars compression should be between 150-230 psi and these amounts vary according to manufacturer, but usually higher is better when you are looking for results.

If you come up with 175, 100 and 185, then you know you have an issue… A wet test (same thing but just add a few drops of oil to each cylinder will let you know if you have bad rings or bad valves.

To precisely know what is wrong, you do a leak down test… but that is more than you need to do right now…

A compression test will let you know if your other bank is still good.

As for checking the head that had a blown head gasket.. You need an absolutely straight straightedge… Then you need to check for flatness laterally and across the head in several spots… If you haven’t done this before… just take it to a machine shop… they can tell you very quickly….

Good luck,

Karl