I have a 2000 Honda Civic EX and I'm loosing coolant, but I can't find the leak anywhere. Sometimes (90% of the time) when I try to start the car it won't start. If I keep holding the key turned, it will sputter; which sounds like it's only rotating once, or only one cylinder is combusting? If I press the gas and let go of the key, it will progressively spin faster and faster until it eventually is self-sustaining (I can let the gas pedal go) and it will smooth out (I usually press the gas a little until it smooths out). After this process, there is a strong gas smell coming from the exhaust, and it looks kind of damp, like there was unspent fuel.

I don't know if this could be related to the coolant missing?

When the car is on, it's perfect. The engine is quiet, and it runs fine without any hitches or noises. I have 156k miles on the engine and this all started when I replaced my radiator fluid.

The only things I should note is that sometimes it idles low, like 500 RPM but will go back to 750~ sometimes. My transmission seems to have difficulty switching gears (sometimes), it stays in first too long (when it's cool outside and I just turned the car on). It (sometimes) will skip 2nd and go into 3rd (kind of jerkily), 3rd to 4th is perfect though. This doesn't happen all the time, just randomly.. sometimes it's absolutely perfect. Could this be a viscosity issue in the transmission fluid? I can see the transmission fluid if I use a flashlight, it's pinkish but it doesn't seem to show up on my dipstick (do I have to have the car running?).


I don't know if I should just sell the car as a "project" or shell, or something? If I were to get a new engine (used) and transmission would would that cost?

Should I get the head gasket fixed, then get the transmission fixed? I really don't want to dump $1,500-2,000 into a car that won't last me, but that's why I'm here.


Should I try some gasket sealant and Lucas transmission hardshift/slip fix?

I'm open to anything and am greatly appreciative to any and all help, so thank you in advanced.

 

Any smoke coming out of the exhaust when you try to start it up? Any coolant in the oil? No coolant leaks? Check around the bottom of the timing cover because this is where it would leak out if the water pump is leaking.

With the engine cold take the radiator cap off and start the car. Give it some time to warm up, if you start seeing bubbles in the radiator then you probably have a bad head gasket.

It could have a small head gasket leak and that would cause a hard start. If there's any coolant in the combustion chamber the fuel will have trouble igniting. Once that cylinder starts to fire it burns off the coolant and runs fine.

The automatic transmission fluid should be checked with the engine warm but off. Do it quickly because the fluid will start to drop as it drains into the torque converter. If it's not showing up on the stick then add fluid until its between the hash marks, this would cause the transmission to shift poorly.

 

Thank you for the quick reply and no, no smoke out of the exhaust, no leaks, and I don't see any coolant in the oil (pulled the dipstick) and I pulled the radiator cap and at the very far end of the radiator cap the oil was a lighter color. I put my finger around everything else and it's a darkish and fine, it's not creamy or anything. I looked into the engine and it's not thick/creamy/sludgey. When I wipe the dipstick on my finger the oil isn't sticky at all. I've been through almost 1 and a half gallons of radiator fluid, wouldn't the oil be really bad if it was leaking into it?

I also started the car cold with the radiator cap off and there are no bubbles at all.

The car overheated at idle, but that's because the radiator fluid was low (it cooled off as I started moving--at about 40~mph).

If my transmission fluid is low, would it be bad if I added a bit of Lucas transmission fix to it to top it off?

 

is your coolant bubbling/boiling out of the overflow bottle ???

 

sounds to me like you may have several issues going on. here is my project thread i just replaced my head gasket https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...s-95-eg-90691/

you can tell from looking at the valve cover i had water in the oil. and also when i drove the car and got it to normal temp and turn the car off then after few mins if i tried to start the car again it wouldnt turn over cause water would leak into the cyl and lock the engine and i would have to keep trying to crank it til it would start.

if you can crank the car cold and take cap off and rev it a little and it doesnt blow the coolant out then you dont have a blown head gasket. and also the d16y8 has a good metal head gasket and it isnt really common to blow it. as you can see from my thread i installed a d16y8 head gasket onto my d15b7.
to me it sounds like you have a leak somewhere and will just have to locate it.
also sounds like you have a leaking injector which would explain the hard to start and the gas smell.
and for the trans you check the fluid level when the car is at normal temp and the car is running. i would HIGHLY suggest not using any trans Quick fix. as it will cause more problems. just do a fluid change. the auto trans in the civic isnt the best trans.

for the coolant loss/ over heating make sure you electric fan works and also change the thermostat.

another thing you can do that i suggest is a compression test. its simple and you can do it yourself.

 

The car was sitting for nearly 12 hours or so and I went out to start it (I just topped it off with more coolant last night) and it started first crank. I took the radiator cap off and observed it, there isn't any bubbling. At first there was, but they seemed more like "burps" because I didn't run the car after putting the coolant in (like air pockets). If I rev the engine the level rises and then goes down, is that what you are talking about, or is that just the water pump spinning faster? If I rev it quickly (hard, to like 3,000 rpm) it will rise fast.

This morning I looked under the car, and it looked like there was a little coolant under near where the transmission is. I don't know if that was from last night, I kind of spilled it when I was putting it in, but I'm not sure.

I took a video, I will upload it and post it in a second

EDIT: Video is uploading, and when I say "burps" it's like the coolant level rises and it stays at a certain level and then kind of "burps" and falls down an inch or two, like it pushed out an air pocket or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX45P...el_video_title

 

It's hard to tell until you get all the air pockets out. Make sure the car is level or facing uphill so the radiator is the highest part. Set the heater control to full hot. Run the engine with the cap off and keep adding coolant as necessary to keep it full. When it starts to overflow, put the cap on and let it warm up fully, then stop and let it cool down. The radiator should be completely full when you check again with it cold.

Another test you can do is leave the radiator cap on and check for pressure buildup by squeezing the top radiator hose. It should stay soft while the engine is cold. If you feel pressure in the hose immediately when revving the engine, that is gas from head gasket leakage.

 

I've tried the "pinch" test and it doesn't get hard, it stays about the same. Even after driving it 10 miles, I've pinched it and it's slightly harder but I would assume that's because it's thoroughly heated and expanded.

 

i can tell you when i rev'd my engine some with the cap off it blew all the coolant out like old faithful.

i think your head gasket is fine, i believe you just have a leak somewhere.

 

Video is up, if you haven't seen it already. I rev it a little a few times but I didn't red-line rev or anything, that was more like 2000-2500 rpm ish