Thank you in advance for the help this forum has been to me and my 95 Civic EX (137,000 miles).

Here is the situation that occurred today. My wife was exiting thehighway and noticed the car was overheating. The indicator was on H(ot) and the engine begin to sputter, as ifthe fuel injection system wasn't working correctly.She stopped the car and called me.

When I arrived, there was no coolant in the system, butI know it was full just a few weeksback.We have not noticed any leak and all hoses look fine. I filled it with water (just to get it home). Itnever reached the(H)ot, but it was definately running hotbecause pressure/ steam was spraying out of the plastic coolant resevoir lid when I pulled in the drive way. The engine was also idling very rough, did not want to accelerate, andwanted to die when trying to idle.

A few weeks back, the car did over heat and I traced it back to afaulty thermostat. I changed it,as well as the ECT switch and flushed / filled the coolant. The fan motorappears fine (turns on when hot) and the water pump "seems fine".

Any ideas as to why the over heating and the engine sputtering together? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket. I'll bet you're getting coolant leaking into the cylinders, explaining why the engine is sputtering. You could fill your radiator again with coolant, run the engine,and see if it's coming out of the muffler as liquid/steam.

 

If it is a blown head gasket, and caught rather quickly, does engine damage usually occur?

Also, if it is a blown head gasket, would I be able to see the coolant / water when I drain the engine oil?

 

If the engine overheats too much, you could warp the head. Then your engine is toast. Less severe is damage to the pistons and valves. Or there could be no damage at all. At the very least, you have to take the head off to replace the gasket so inspect everything before reassembling -- easier said than done.

The gasket seals the cylinders to maximize compression AND keeps coolant and motor oil out. Depending on where the gasket is leaking, it is possible to find coolant in the engine oil.

 

I assume you not referring to the single circular gasket just under the valve cover, but a much more involved gasket around cylinder head?

For an averagedo-it-yourselfer mechanic, even with my Haynes manual, it seems like a pretty hefty job to replace the gasket. Is this something you would recommend a shop replace? Or is this something that your average guy would attempt on his own?

(P.S. You are a wealth of information)

 

IF you don't know where the head gasket is I wouldn't try it. It involves resetting the timing also. One thing you could do is to go autozone or something fo the sort and buy a compression tester and test all your cylinders for compression this will help the diagnosis a lot.

 

I'm a DIY and just changed my timing belt, but I wouldn't change a head gasket, at least not under these circumstances. You need someone experienced to know what to look for once the head is removed.

I blew a head gasket 3 years ago and my head was warped just enough (but undetectable to the mechanic)to cause problems after everything was reassembled. I had to replace the motor. It's a MAJOR job. That's, of course, assuming it's the head gasket.

 

Headgasket isnt too bad. Just make sure you have plenty of time to do it, and make sure you get the parts first, as honda sometimes sucks when it comes to stocking parts.

 

It's hard to tell if just the gasket will fix it or if the engine is cracked or warped and needs to be replaced. The only real way is to pull the head off, look for anything obvious, and finding none, replace the gasket and see what happens. It's kind of an expensive gamble paying someone to do it when you could've saved that money toward replacing the whole engine or buying another car.

Don't keep driving when the gauge goes at all above where it normally runs. It doesn't necessarily have to go all the way to "H" to have engine damage.

 

Thanks all! I have decided to take it to my trusted mecahnic for trouble shooting and repair. When it is completed, I will post what was done, the time charged and the final bill. After educating myself these last 24 hours as to the possibilities, I am quite confident the problem is the head gasket and that it not something I have the expertise (or time) to perform.

I just hope there has not been any significant engine damage.