[Gabriel]

My 2005 Honda Element has been sitting for a while. Needed a head gasket replacement, just hadn’t got the time to put it back together. Is the engine block toast due to the rust in the very left cylinder? Thank

[Keith]

Go to JDM importer and buy a k series with 40k miles dirt cheap from Japan.

[Aiden]

Just scrap it or sell for dirt cheap and buy a brand-new Honda off marketplace, I bet you the thing still runs Hondas never die.

[Brian]

You can try filling it with vinegar and let it sit overnight, then scrub it gently with a scotch brite pad.

Vacuum it out and spin it over by hand and evaluate how it looks. But this is pretty bad. It might come back around?? But it looks pretty bad. Lesson learned here, though.

When you have a blown head gasket, don’t let it sit, it’s got to be torn down immediately.

[Jaxzen]

That’s cooked.

[Berry]

You’d have to clean it out and measure it to be certain. Likely better tested, measured by a machine shop. Bigger piston is a thing too. I don’t think all hood is lost.

[Zach]

Hit it with a dingle ball hone and send it. It’ll be fine.

[Chris]

Clean it up, and it’ll run, likely not very well and probably end up a waste of time and money on gaskets ect

[Brian]

Remove the piston and rod. It’ll run with three cylinders. My car runs fine with just three cylinders.

[Alex]

That’s where the coolant was going, should’ve drained the coolant and add some motor oil through the spark plug holes before leaving it to sit around

[Andrew]

Join and post on one of the Element FB groups if you want more specific advice. I’m one of the top contributors there. Don’t bother fixing that old motor. Install a JDM engine and you won’t be dissapointed!

[Chris]

Strip it and inspect that’s the only way to know for sure.

It may be a total loss, or you may be able to get away with honing that one cylinder and fitting new rings to the piston before reassembly.

Here, all you will get is suggestions, not concrete solutions.

[Justin]

I’m a Honda technician, and I’m in the middle of building a K24 to take boost for my EK Civic. The K24A4 in that element is pretty solid, can take 400 HP reliably daily. You could try a ball hone and check how much it was chewed out with an inside micrometer and re-ring it. You’ll likely need to punch that cylinder out to the next size over and go from there, though.

Edit: Also, look into replacing the exhaust valve springs while the head is off. They’re notoriously weak and they burn valves out. That’s exactly how I got my K24 I’m building, I saved it from the metal scrap heap due to a burned exhaust valve.

[Jimmy]

Put some CLR in it and leave it overnight. Then clean it good and spray it with a thin coat of lubricant.

[Akhil]

it wouldn’t have had this issue if you have covered it preventing water deposited in the cylinder which later turned to rust, don’t waste time either rebuild it by takeing it to resurface new sleeve piston and rings or change motor.

[Joseph]

You can vacuum n clean it up. Then hone with the flex ball. Hit with penetration spray or trans fluid n let sit for a few days, see if you can turn the crank… That cylinder. Will be lower on compression and be the first to go. But that’s the cheapest band-aid, If you can take off the oil pan n pull that piston out Re ring to match a new hone, that can last a bit. Without a motor pull better off. Other than that. New motor for longevity.

[Michael]

I’m just saying.

In another continent, this post would be laughed at. You can fix it cheaply, but may lose some long term reliability.

IDK if this engine is for a racecar build

[Author]

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