Honda Vamos Overheat Repair Part 1

“Sound flowing water” from the lower center of the driver’s seat

Although it is Honda Vamos of Heisei 2005, from around the mileage exceeding 100,000 kilometers, the sound of water flowing from the vicinity of the heater core in the driver’s seat and the feeling that the output of the engine has fallen somehow, the radiator subtank When inspected, bubbles appear and burning gas smells. It decided that it is probably the cylinder head gasket coming out, the combustion gas enters the water line and it is overheated and it is judged to be a symptom peculiar to this car and we will start repairing.

This symptom seems to be an ordinary symptom no longer for older age bamos, akti, hobio, etc. Because there are popular cars, there are many cases where repair of this car’s overheat has been carried out. This time repair was carried out at home. I would like to keep the repair process as a memorandum.

When “Water flowing sound” has come, request for early repair

Apparently, if this “water flowing sound” occurs on the driver’s seat side, it seems to overheat reliably and if the cause is that the cylinder head gasket is missing, its repair cost will be close to 50,000 yen even for parts cost alone . Although the work cost is mixed, it will be work of disassembling the engine body, so even if you estimate it cheaply it will cost about 100,000 yen or more in total. Even if the red lamp of the water temperature indicator indicator of the driver’s seat meter blinks, it is unlikely that it will heal completely. This “water flowing sound” seems to occur frequently, for example, when starting the engine first thing in the morning, and it disappears when the engine warms up. Also, it seems subtle symptoms, such as the car strangely becoming gasoline or getting hard to climb a steep slope. So, I think whether it is better to ask for repair before overheating completely.

Repair process and required replacement parts list

In this overheat repair, replacement of the cylinder head gasket is the main, so it is necessary to overhaul the engine body accordingly. Since the engine of this car is a horizontal engine with a rear engine, as a rough flow I will repair in the following order.

Disassembly of exhaust manifold and exhaust system
Decomposition of inlet manifold and intake system
Fuel system (injector)
Disassembly of electrical system (IG coil · spark plug)
Disassembly of timing belt and water pump
Decomposition of tappet cover
Remove the cylinder head
Change cylinder head gasket
Assemble 1 to 7 in reverse order
Bleeding of cooling water

Since I am removing the cylinder head with much effort, I overhaul the cylinder head body. Valve stem seal exchange and valve clearance adjustment. Then we also did something so frustrating and like to talk about valves.

Replacement parts list

Inlet manifold · gasket
Exhaust Manifold · Gasket
Timing belt relationship
- Timing belt
- water pump
- Tensioner · Idler
- Front cam shaft seal
- Front crankshaft seal
- Thermostat · Packing
- Timing belt cover · Packing
- Alternator belt
- Air conditioning belt
Tappet cover relation
- Tappet cover packing
- Seal washer
- Plug hole seal
- Plug hole seal (rocker arm · shaft side)
Engine Oil 10w – 20
LLC 2 liters
Cylinder block · Oil orifice
Cylinder head gasket

This time almost all manufacturers used genuine parts. The cost of parts was around 40,000 yen in all above.

Preparation to start repairing

Raise the car with a jack

Fasten the tire and jack up from the front with a garage jack and hang a rigid rack (horse).

How to jack up

After that, remove engine oil and cooling water (LLC).

A compressor is required when using air tools such as impact wrench and air ratchet, but it is quiet type with capacity of about 30 liters. It would be enough if you have additional subtanks. This compressor is very recommended because it is very quiet, relatively lightweight and convenient to carry. Would not it be useful for home garage, outdoor work and business trip repair?