Civic 1997 Dx engine issues

darthtony360

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posting here because Im having this situation with my civic. A week and half ago I was driving my car with A/C on the highway and I was going to a meeting in Orlando. When I parked the car , I saw that smoke was coming out from the hood. Then I opened the hood and I saw that smoke was coming from the overflow tank. That car didnt overheat. I never opened the overflow tank , but it is like it was like the level of coolant wanted to go up or evaporating or something like that. I let the car cool down and I opened the radiator and put a the correct amount of coolant below the max line on the overflow tank. Then I drove to Kissimmme and then back to where I live near Sanford , which was like an hour and half drive and the car didnt overheat. I thought everything was running like it supposed too. Then I went to Orlando again two days later and I saw that the AC was not throwing cold air like it supposed too. I knew that the tempetures were going to be in the 90F ,but something was not right. As I drove back to where I live in Sanford , then first cold and hot air got inside the car.

There was a lot of traffic in the highway and I took another route. During my time driving , the temperature has always been below the first line of the boat and not overheat. It was this day that the temperature started to go up and I park in a supermarket and turn off the car. I open the hood and the same thing from two days ago was happening. To make sure I didn't do any damage to car , I call a toll truck to bring the car back to the apartment. Then the next day on Saturday , I was checking to see what was going on and I opened the radiator. When I turn on the car with the radiator having the cap off , the it spilled out some coolant. I was pushing the gas to heat up faster and it was spilling coolant , so Im not sure it is supposed to be that way. Then I was waiting for the car to heat up till the thermostat and the radiator cap. Then on that Saturday I used the car without the AC system for around 40 minutes and it didnt overheat. Two days , my mechanic was going to come to check the car , but didnt came. So I checked again to see what was going on and I read that it could be a blown head gasket and also possibly damaged engine. I took this pictures this past Monday opening the the radiator and checking the oil to see if it was like a chocolate color to see if water got mixed out. Then I called the mechanic and I told him thinking that the color I saw was indicative of a blown head gasket and that the coolant levels I was dealing with it were confirming of that problem.

I drove the car for at least 30 minutes and it worked fine. Going to the call , the mechanic told me that the engine was damaged and that if I drove the car more , then it would be more costly. He said that since the blown head gasket happened , then it also need to change or repair the engine. I was confused as to why they mentioned the engine and told me that the whole cost of the repair and parts was going to be a $1200.00. For that price I can get another car , especially since my car need a paint job. I was feeling sad and depressed and frustrated because I have invested so much money in this car by putting the ac system , new clutch , etc. Then I called another mechanic and it only mentioned the head gasket problem , which would round up around $620.00 for parts and repair. I didnt use my car for almost a week and I been wondering how Im gonna get more money to get a used car because of working a part time job. yesterday Saturday , I decided to check if the radiatorfan was working. I opened the radiatorand overflow tank and I saw the coolant color. Then I checked the oil and it was still the same from Monday. I was heating up the car since I have not use it and I was checking for other symptoms of a blown head gasket. The only symptom I saw was bubbles coming out of the radiatorand when I turn on the car with radiatorwith no cap , it spilled out some coolant. Then I had the car one warming up for almost an hour and I saw no leak on the exhaust manifold. I saw some smoke coming out of radiator, and no white smoke from exahust pipee. I began to wonder If have a blown head gasket ]or not and if my engine still works. Then I drove the car for only 10 minutes and it didnt overheat. Even the AC was working. So right now ,

I dont know if I need to fix the head gasket and also repair or replace the engine. ICould this be the problem with some other parts like radiatorcap and thermostat?? I also get the feeling that the bublles that came out of radiatorcan indicate that there is air in the system and that it needs be flushed so I can put in new coolant. I cant afford to get a another car and I want to know what Is really happening in my car. If anyone's have a any advice , I really appreciated it. Thanks

Pictures Monday May 16 and Saturday May 21
 

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Esotericimage

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Wow, theres so much information to swallow here..


OK, so the rad fan Does in fact work? On the highway, theres adequate airflow.. Its sitting in traffic and also under heavy throttle where the cooling system/head gasket will show. I ask this because you said the AC was intermittent.

So my next question, when you drive around town and you dont baby the throttlw, does it show signs of smoking? Just because water/oil doesnt mix doesnt mean hot exhaust is seeping past the headgasket.


Now you seeing coolant overflow while you start the car and hit the gas means theres not a free flow to the cooling system. Possibly a blockage or a bad thermostat..


Take off the thermostat, and boil some water on the stove.. you should see the spring open up. If it doesnt, you have found the issue.
 


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mrwicked915

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Same thing was happening to me in my 99 ek. I had just bought a new thermostat and did a coolant flush but still did the same. I took the thermostat off and ran the car like that no more overheating... The thermostat was bad.

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HeX

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The first post is wayyyyyy to long and poorly written. Please make an effort to write clearly and to the point to encourage others to not only want to read but understand your issues quick enough to provide helpful responses.

I personally got halfway through and just didnt want to continue reading from how poorly its written with needless rambling.
 


darthtony360

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My apologies for the long article. I was trying to be as detailed as possible. This is my first time writing a post on this forum. I checked today with my mechanic and he did a test , using a type of lube that started in blue coolant and turned yellow. I forget the exact name of the tool , but it turned yellow and the head gasket is the problem. But , it leaking a little oil and oil is not mixed with water or white smoke is not coming out so it is not really bad yet.. He told me to get and put head gasket fix from bar's leaks in the system and also take off the thermostat and run it for at least a week. Then put the thermostat back on.
 

HeX

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Details are helpful. Rambling and overexplaining is not.

Blue Devil is the best head gasket sealer. While Ive heard to add the Blue Devil with out the thermostat removed, Ive never heard about leaving it off for such a long period of time. That opens you up to potentially overheating and blowing up your engine. Experts, chime in please.
 

Esotericimage

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Never use any Fix-In-A-Bottle stuff in any cooling system or oil.

Find the issue and fix it. If its a head gasket, then you need a new HG. Miracles in a bottle only cause problems in the future.
 

darthtony360

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Alright , I checked the reviews for both bar's leaks and blue devil and there were a lot of negatives. I'm not going to put any of those sealants because it make matters worse. The debate is if I get a mechanic to fix the head gasket , would I also need to change or repair the engine? The mechanic told me that it would cost a total of $1200 to fix head gasket and engine. Another mechanic told me that it would cost 622.00 , but there is a possibility it could rise into the $1,000.00s if the engine got damaged. Would it be worth it to fix my car?
 

Shaaaft

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Would you rather rebuild your engine and replace major maintenance parts or spend the money on another car that may be ready to blow?

I bought my civic and a few months later I noticed the head gasket was showing signs of failure, I had it rebuilt and now I know it's 100% healthy and running strong.

If you truly didn't overheat the engine then you probably didn't warp the head which is how it was for me. If it needs resurfaced it'll be a bit more but if your head checks out then you'll save a good bit.
 

Esotericimage

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^^

Perfectly said.

With some internet knowledge, some basic tools, you can do it yourself. Probably cost about 200 to do it right with new coolant, gaskets, and misc stuff.

With the mechanic, you dont know if they will send off the head or not.. youll be charged for it either way. 1200 for a simple HG job is crazy
 

darthtony360

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Alright , at this time I decided not to buy any head gasket fix or sealant product. I try to see if I can fix the head gasket myself. What would be the tools and products necessary to be able to do the job?? How long with it take?What would be a way to check if the engine is damaged or not? The key here is that the engine never overheated and it has small leak at this time.
 
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XpL0d3r

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Alright , at this time I decided not to buy any head gasket fix or sealant product. I try to see if I can fix the head gasket myself. What would be the tools and products necessary to be able to do the job?? How long with it take?What would be a way to check if the engine is damaged or not? The key here is that the engine never overheated and it has small leak at this time.
I would recommend picking up a haynes manual. It should give you just about a step by step along with correct torque specs etc.

Also, do some google searches for how to replace it, and you'll surely find all the info you need. I did a quick search and came across this post: http://hondaswap.com/threads/how-to-change-a-head-gasket-lots-of-pics.71528/

It's not the correct gen, but the process is nearly the same.
 

Joe Mason

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DIY is totally possible on these motors for folks that don't have a lot of XP. Also take into consideration changing the timing belt, water pump, and crank/cam seals. If you're going in to the motor that far do as much as possible to save the time and $ later.
 

darthtony360

New Member
Hey everyone , Im just posting an update in terms of my situation. Two days ago I checked the car again with the mechanic and we saw that the engine block also got damaged. There was oil in the black box behind the engine. Now I have the choice of spending $1200 to replace/repair the engine or sell the car as it is. For how much could I sell the car?
 

mrwicked915

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I bought one with a bad tranny for $600 but it's an easier fix than the engine. I would say modestly for $500 if someone wants a rolling shell .

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