My first Honda- Need advice

Dave G

New Member
I bought this 05 civic 2 years ago. My question is does this model have a high pattern failure on head gasket and could the pressure enter the cooling system causing blowing coolant through the O/flow tank.... I know it's a lot of reading but if you need details, then here we go !!!!
The timing belt, head gasket and radiator were replaced about 5 months before I bought it. My main reason for buying it was for my long commute. I love driving it and other than regular maintenance it has not required any expensive parts. In November a deer ran into my front end and took out the front clip, hood and passenger door. Incredibly my insurance company paid more for my car than I did. I was so happy to get it back. Around the end of January I noticed the coolant level dropping slightly. I checked it on a regular basis and noticed by mid February that when I went to fill it there was oil residue visible on the overflow bottle interior. The adds became more frequent and I saw puddles. I put it on Jack stands and crawled under to try to locate the source of the leak. That was when I saw that the core support was pushed back about 1 inch. When my better half revved it up, I saw a gusher by the bottom corner that the deer twisted back in November. With the oil in the coolant but not coolant in the crankcase or transmission pan I needed to find out if I had to replace the head gasket. A local shop ran a hydrocarbon test on the coolant and said none were present. They theorized that there could be a micro crack in the block or the head but with 182,000 miles it might be best to keep an eye on it and let it roll. Maybe change it occasionally if the oil condition worsened. I put a new radiator, thermostat, hoses and fresh coolant in. It still blows out of the new weakest point (overflow tank as it was engineered to) and gauge climbs up and usually fluctuates between normal and nearly pegged on high. Should I just change the head gasket and look for cracks???
 


Top