Blown Head Gasket

Yeah I nearly fell over. Its also one of those deals where I could buy the head gsket for 200 or the head kit for 275 and get all the seals, they have down to a system don't they. I will pick up a compreshion tester today and check before I get into her to deep. Can I leave the exhaust and intake gaskets, or do they need to be replaced too?

You should be able to keep the manifold gaskets.

Let me know about the compression.

Just got done checking the compreshion of the cylinders. The numbers were good. With the engine cold, cyl # 1 182, cyl#2 190, cyl#3 190, cyl#4 195. Warm, cyl#1 182, cyl#2 190, cyl#3 190, cyl#4 195. On the first stroke of compreshion each cylinder basically climbed to 120 or slightly higher. Then went up roughly 30 lbs each stroke in succession. By the 5 stroke out of 7, they had reached their maximum number. I am quite confident that the head gasket is good, but what are your thoughts? One thing that I did realize tonight was that alot more smoke came out of the tail pipe when the throttle opened, making me think that maybe it is a bad seal in the intake manifold as the vacume of the gases going in would pull more anti-freeze into the cylinder.

I have a 1991 Honda Civic the milage is 150,000.
Recently I brought my car in to a shop to get a FULL DIAGNOSTIC of what was wrong with my car. It was reacting sluggishly and didn't seem to drive as fast as it potentially should. I asked them to tell me EVERYTHING that was wrong with it, and then I would decide wwith them what I could afford to get fixed by what was top priority. They replaced my radiator, a hose, and tuned it up.
Two weeks later the car sputtered while starting and overheated five minutes later. We looked at the water reservoir and it was bone dry so we replaced the water and it was fine. The next day the same thing happened with the sputtering (this time we had to try 3 times before it started) so we brought it back to that shop. They informed us that there was a blown head gasket that was blown not after they worked on it, but before.
My question is how is it possible that a good mechanic could check the radiator, do a full diagnostic of the car, and miss a blown head gasket?! Is it possible or did they mess up?

Very possible to miss that. First, they don't know what has happened to the vehicle while you are driving it. Second, they have to look at what is physically available to be seen that is wrong. I doubt they did a leak down test. They probably noticed that the radiator was bad and replaced it hoping that it would solve any problems without knowing that the damage had already been done. They probably should have given you a heads up on possible problems you might experience if damage had already been done. These small engines demand that the oil is full and that the cooling system is in tip top shape. A crack in the radiator impacts the cooling capability of the car and aluminum heads don't handle excessive heat very well. They tend to warp or crack. That causes the head gasket to fail.

Have the head checked and consider putting a new timing belt and water pump in while it is apart.

I agree. With that type of compression, the headgasket sounds good.

Well my update at this point is............I took the intake manifold off the other day to see if it was sucking antifreeze through the cooling port. When I put the new gasket back on, I bought some high temp gasket sealer, to put around the port and the #4 cylinder intake port. I let it cure for 24 hours then tightened the intake bolts in sequence. There was no change in the emissions. At this point with good compreshion and good intake I can't think of where to go next. We are thinking its a possibilty that it could be left over coolent in the exhaust system from when I inititally blew the head gasket cause it was flooded with coolent. I filled up the collent levels in accordence with the manual last night and marked on the resevior the level of the coolent. We let it run for half and hour and the coolent level never changed. I haven't drained the oil out of it, but I had put brand new stuff in before I first started it and when I looked at it last night it was crystal clear. I have ran the engine a total of 1 hour on that oil, so part of me wants to think that if I was burning anti freeze, the oil would surely be slightly cloudy by now? Would this issue of excessive emissions come down to a timing issue. I was thinking of this last night cause I can tell you at ideal this engine runs excellent and smooth. The only time you get any kind of hesitation is when push the throttle open fast, then you get a deiseling sound. but then runs quickly up to high RPM. I am thinking of renting a timing light and setting it properly. I am pretty much running out of ideas and getting low on $. I am thinking if the smoke dosen't clear up I will have to take it into my local Honda dealer for there opinion.

The sound you hear when you quickly open the throttle makes be feel the timing is too far advanced. Check that. Also, I do have a concern about the smoke resulting from the exhaust being filled with coolant. Can you take it out for a ride? Is the smoke still white?

I took it for a good 7 km run this morning. Runs just fine, no hesitation or burps runs smooth and ideal and great when you come to a stop. After the first time that I took it for a drive I noticed that the smoke was pretty much gone, then slowly it started to come back as it sat in the garage idealing. I then checked the coolent reseviour and it needed to be topped up. I let it sit for a bit again and took it for the same 7 km run as before. When I got back from that run its was hardly smoking at all and the reseviour was exactly were it was before, if not added to by the engine. At that I let it ideal for approx 5 minutes and the smoke was there but a signifigantly smaller amount then before it was road tested. The smoke is still pure white and disipates very quickly. The oil that I can get off the dipstick is still a clean golden color and there is no emissions coming from the dipstick port, when the stick is out, at operating tempurature. I am reserved to running it for a few more short drives and closely monitor the coolent level in the reseviour.

That is a good idea. Something tells me it is going to clean itself out. My guess is you have coolant in the converter and muffler that is slowly burning out.

Let me know if things work out.

I bought a used car w/3month warranty. It has been back to service 4 times for overheating. the last time broke down going out of town and I was told, by the car dealership they told me to take it to, it was a blown head gasket. Manufacturer had it three weeks, warranty now expired and they said nothing is wrong. I just picked it up friday and haven't driven it. My question is could they put something in to seal it and how long would that last. How can I tell if the head gasket is blown?

If you block and pressure test it-

Engine Performance problem
1995 Honda Civic Automatic 225000 miles

I think that I've blown a head gasket in the engine of my '95 Honda civic. the engine ran hot on day and I was told that my radiator had a leak, so i got it replaced. But i think i damaged my engine while driving to the shop because the engine started to shake when I stopped at red lights. The next day my car stopped and smoke was coming out of the engine. Was told that i blew a head. How much does it normally cost to get it repaired?

I have a 1996 Honda Civic with 160 k miles. It overheated one night when i blew a heater hose. It is now hard to start and I have antifreeze in the oil. Do I have a blown head gasket?

Yes that has what has happened

Engine problem
2003 Honda Civic 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 51,000 miles
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My question is simply this : How could the MOST reliable car in the market ( accoring to consumer reports at least ) have a blown head gasket at 50,000 miles ?

I experienced the temp guage going up , took it to the Honda dealer who determined that there were 2 issues : 1. Faulty thermostat and 2. a possible blown head gasket since the HCC was still registering higher than normal .

Is this a common problems with the Honds cars ... should I consider a Toyota in the future instead ?

Thanks

what probably happened was, because of the constant high heat, you either warped the head or damaged the gasket.

Hello,

when I parked the car today, after driving for about 20 minutes at mostly low speeds, I have noticed hissing noise under the hood. When opened it, coolant water was all over the right (passenger) side of the front engine and radiator. When checked the reservoir for excess water, it was almost full. Radiator was dry (I didn't see the water) and on top of the inside membranes I had a piece of some black soft-rubbery remains (looked like a part of a gasket). So I filled up the radiator with coolant and started the engine for water to settle down a little. Re-filled it and closed it.

The gauge never indicated overheating prior to this or afterwards.

A while later, after driving a distance of about 15 miles, I checked the water. It was a little lower than when I refilled it, but nothing serious indicating a leek or house damage...

But this time, when starting the engine while the plug on radiator was off, it spilled the coolant all over. When closed, it spills coolant via the reservoir's cover or through the house connecting the radiator to reservoir.

To me it looks like a blown head gasket. But I'm not an expert.

After all this, I had a problem to start the car. It finally started after like five tries.

The fan runs fine.

Please help me to find the reason. Should I let a friend who doesn't have a shop to fix this? Many thanks for your help. Anyway, I want to sell this car - is the repair worth it? :(

sorry to say it is a head gasket more than likely. the reason it was hard to star is because water is getting to your piston and making it hard for yoour spark plug to fire. repair cost ranges from 550 to 700 dollars. it is a real pain. mine 95 civic 1.6 is torn apapt right now for the same reason and it never ran hot.it is good idea to replace the timing belt, water pump, and have the head pressure tested to make sure its not cracked while the car is apart if your mechanic says this is not a good idea take it somewhere else . let me know if i can help. if your are not a very experienced mechanic i would atempt this job myself take it to someone whom works on hondas alot

Engine problem
1995 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive 80.000 miles
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how to fix a blown head gasket

you have to remove all the electrical and mechanical parts till you have a good view of the head and are able to pull it out of the engine compartment, then just remove the old one and put the new one on and bolt it down, its a long job.

I have a 96 Civic EX, 124k mi. Last week driving from Boston to NY and back I notices the temp gauge get up to red line. Brought it in to a local garage and they saw oil in the coolant reservoir, diagnosis head gasket leak. They wanted $500 to repair. A slightly less shady garage quoted $909, as did the dealer, so I took it to the dealer. They call this morning saying that the reservoir was melted, indiating etremely high temps, which may have caused cracks in the engine, too. If this is the case the repairs would add up to $2500, if no cracks $1000. Does all this sound reasonable? Problem is, they won't know if there are cracks until taking apart the engine, which will cost $500 (included in the total repair costs given). Should I take the car somewhere else and just swallow the $100 that Honda took for their initial diagnosis?
Thanks for the advice

Well, I would be concerned about repairing the engine if there is a deeper problem in the block. However, there really isn't much of a way to find out if the problem exists without pulling the head off. There could even be the possibility that the head is warped bad enough that it can not be planed. So, I would entertain a couple of ideas that would range from a rebuild, purchasing a new or used engine, all the way to getting a different car completely.

Engine Mechanical problem
1992 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual

Hey, I got a 92 civic and i was out one night and ofcourse my headgasket blows, but i was 1 hour away from home and i did not have any money for tow truck or anything. Desperate times makes us do Desperate risks, so it took me about 3 mins to get it started and i'm driving down the highway about 50-55 on a 65, (good thing this was at 2-3:00am when this happened)
i figured since it was winter time the cold air might help cool down the engine, which it did, but not good enough. I finally made it home and my radiator and it's resivor was boiling spark plugs connected to the plugs was melted to them, the timing pulley/belt cover was also half way melted to it aswell. next morning i go look and disassemble some parts and the radiator was fill with this black oily muck, also the resivor was fill. i check the dip stick and surprisingly the oil was still the same color when i added it. I took the header cap off, everything looked good. other then those things, i was able to turn it on, i was shocked what a trooper this car is. but shut it off took some parts off but havent done much to it since. I want to make sure if theres any internal Symptoms i may not know about, so my question is, other than the hoses,radiator,gasket,etc. what els you think it could be wrong? because people say don't drive with blown gasket but i had no choice, so 1 hour drive is long, and i know i have done internal damage, just wondering what internal damage when i dont got any coolant mixed in the oil. Im just in a super buget and i know im a self fixer unless its major requiring block and header replacement or refernishing them. i have high hopes for this motor.

Thank you.

thats quite the predicament. first thing you must do is get a cylinder cmopression test, wet and dry on all the cylinders along with a leakdown test. that way we can find out what damage is possible with the vehicle

Engine Mechanical problem 1979 Honda Civic 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic My engine was rebuilt less than a year ago, within that time, a head gasket blew, my mechanic says it could have been from a leak in the radiator that caused it. It got fixed, and ever since it has not had the power it used to, it hickups every now and again sometimes causing it to die. It has always hesitated when getting up to a higher speed, the hesitation usually happened right around 25-30 mph. Now, it does the same hesitation at three different time during the speed up. It never used to hesitate going up hills, now it does. It is acting like it has bad gas in it. What do you guys think?

Hi there,

Since you mentioned lack of power and also tendency to stall, I believe it should be the carburettor accelerating pump.

Check the ignition timing to ascertain lack of power is not due to rertarded timing.

If the distributor vacumn and/or centrifugal mechanism is stuck, you also lack power.

Engine Mechanical problem
1996 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual

Well first off i have a 96 coupe powered by a b18c. all round teins 4wheel discs with willwoods, car works fine for the most part but i have a problem with the engine that seems to b baffling my friends and i have little mechanical knowledge.
here goes, im used to an idle between 1000 - 1500 rpm or around 8000 rpm with a/c on. now i find that i idle at 7000 rpm with a hard start (unusual). personally it sounds like the car is misfiring, and it sounds like a damned lawnmower =\
i have to give it gas to start which is unusual aswell and recently i changed my plugs and saw oil on one dont think that thats a good sign.i overheated once but dont know if thats related, dont think my headgaskets blown as my radiator dosent bubble or spit back water and im not gettin an engine check light so i cant diagnose myself...plz help =/
if u can it would b much appreciated..

Hi transplant-civic,

Cold start rpm should be between 1500 to 2000 depending on engine and ambient temperature.
After warming uo, it should be about 700 rpm.

If during cold start rpm drops drastically and engine seems like misfiring, it could be due to valve clearqances too tightly adjusted. Readjustment should solve the problem.

It could also be due to failing head gasket, there are minimal leaks resulting in compression leakages when cold. Are you losing coolant fromthe radiator and the reserve tank is always higher than what you put in? If yes, the head gasket and cylinder block surface have faults.

If the idling speed is too low after warming up, you need to clean the throttle body an IAC (Intake Air Control) valve. Misfiring could be due to spark plugs or wires that are bad.

Our son's car overheated. Turns out it's a head gasket. 1989 Honda Civic under 100,000 miles, standard transmission. Distributor cap damaged from heat. Spark plugs are blueish. One cylindar is 150#, the other 3 are 50#. 4 questions-
1.) Is it worth repairing;
2.) How much is a reasonalbe price to repair if just the head gasket is blown?
3.) If the head is warped or cracked?
4.) If the motor is cracked?

thanks...

It sounds as though you had a compression test. It was not good and though I might suggest a leakdown test, I don't know that I would spend all that much more on the vehicle. Those 3 weak cylinders are going to continue to drop. The car will run very poorly and the expense of the work will not pay off. However, as I think about this some more, let me say that the compression test on a vehicle with a bad head gasket is really not that accurate. I would venture that the head gasket is sooo bad that compression is tough to read.

Even if the head needs to be planed, it should not run over an extra $100 and should be less than that. Now, the labor is the problem. $600 is about what I might expect for the whole process, plus the distributor if it needs to be replaced.

Here is my last comment, I don't know where you live and I don't know the age of the son. This car got hot and I mean real hot. I would abandon repairing the car, mark it down to experience and get a different vehicle. I wouldn't stop there but I would note that driving this vehicle to the point that it was showed very poor judgement or lack of knowledge. Anytime that temp gauge elevates from the normal position that it is used to being, I would be looking for the problem. It will be there and then you can prevent this type of major loss.

Engine Mechanical problem
1999 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 175000 miles

my honda ek has got about 175k miles on it, and it has a blown head gasket. how much would it be to fix it, including labor and tax.

Note:Part and labor varies within location.

Engine Mechanical problem
1993 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 160000 miles
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My machanic thinks my car has a blown head gasket or warped head.Which I dont believe because my car runs and drives good . It does not smoke,overheat or loose coolant and the oil is clean. After the car warms up at idle the check engine light comes on and rpms drop down below 500 but car does not die also the light comes on if you rev over 4000 rpms when driving. Most of the time it does not start on first try.

Hi jdbcarguy,

The CEL is showing, what is the error code?

The head gasket is blown or it has bad head or possibly cracked block because it is now leaking coolant that is mixed with oil and white smoke from the exhaust but it does not over heat.
The machanic is not sure which it is.

Have it block and pressure tested-do the block first to pinpoint a combustion leaking into the cooling system or a gas analyzer to sniff for hydrocarbons at the radiator fill neck.

Pressure test: do not do a pressure test if there's leakage at the headgasket this might cause coolant into the cylinders and lock it up or bend a connecting rod if cranked thereafter. The headgasket should be repaired before doing the pressure test.

1996 Honda Civic
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I have a 96 honda civic ex, I thought I had a blown head gasket cause I am loosing coolant and it is in the oil. The guy I bought the car from told me he changed the head gasket. I took the head off and the gasket was in good condition. Why would I still be loosing coolant and the oil is cream with coolant in it? I dont kno if he had the head re surfaced. Would that cause coolant to go in the oil? Also I dont have any white smoke comming out of the exhaust or the car running rough. Thank you.

Hi there,

A leaking head gasket may not always be that visible, but with what you have water in the coolant i would be checking for a cracked head.

mark (mhpautos)