head gasket blown? oh youde kno... i had a 93 dx with some internal problems(mabey some can answer me why, were my rings bad?) and i blew the head gasket 3 TIMES in less then a year and a half!!! and i very rarely drove it hard. but syptoms? like simons said... chocolate milk looking oil... you can also check it by unscrewing the oil cap. also, lots of white smoke, the car might hesitate while accelerating from a stop, followed by ALOT of white smoke. and really low idles, feels like its gonna die out on you. but if you had those syptoms, ide stop driving it so you dont warp you head.

 

but yeah the exhaust manifold is cast iron so it WILL ping as its cooling down. hell my stainless stell one does a tiny bit ping when its colling down after being really hot.. some collant probably just got onto the manifold or exhaust system or block and is being burnt off. keep checking the radiator fluid and make sure it doesnt start to go low..

 

a big thanks man, i appreciate all of you who have offered assistance . thats what i like about this site already. i went out and washed the inside engine compartment at the car wash today and waxed this black beauty. which by the way was one of the big turn on's about this tiny hatch. i got back home and don't know if it was coincidence or not but didn't smell anti-freeze. SHOOOH ! i did check the oil as suggested and only found it to be the same as in the wifes 04 lx. well , maybe i can relax and turn this over to the mod experts. cant wait to discuss. i put some 17 oz granturissmo and some 205/40/17 bridgestone g0009 and i must say personally i think they look sweet. thats about it for now. but would like to talk catback exhaust and maybe k+n air with any one who is willing . latr blitz

 

I just did a Magnaflow catback and K&N CAI on my 04DX. Nice low mellow exhaust tone and as far as power improvement... it feels like it pulls more strongly thru the gears. I know for sure that on my favorite freeway entrance getting up to speed happens more quickly. Both exh. and CAI installed easily and it was less than $600 total. Maybe if a guy shopped around more than I did, it might be cheaper. I'm in the process of checking the mpg now, it might improve a bit if I keep my foot out of the pedal.

 

i know i say this all the time, and alot ofpeople dont agree with me, but i would not go cai on a daily driver.. i have seen the cars getting new power plants from sucking up water in the rain.. but here where i live, cars can disapear in the puddles.
and again, this is only my personal opinion, for me the 1-2 horsepower difference is not worth it, i guess that makes me a sr fan..

 

thats a good point and i will definitely take that into concideration. as this is definitely going to be a car that is used as a daily driver. not so much myself but, my son will use it to commute to college in the fall. i am looking into exhaust that will increase performance not so much for noise as for power and efficiency if you know what i mean. after listening to some and reading alot from others i seem to be leaning toward keeping it stock. i am curious i have heard adding headers will actually improve mpg's. is this true all the time ? also do you have to change exhaust when adding a header ?