Ironliftr3

The eternal question..when do you stop spending money on car repairs?

As per my previous post -

98 Honda Civic DX with 175,000 miles (original owner)

Symptom – coolant ‘disappears’ over time. Down about 1-2 liters in 500 miles. Temperature ‘creeps up’ when hot and idling. Temperature returns to normal when driving. No sign of leak. Slight sweet smell when hot. Haven’t noticed any performance issues. Oil looks normal, not creamy.

I’ve replaced the radiator and fan (it was cracked), hoses too and from radiator, thermostat. I'm pretty sure I'm looking at a head gasket.

I can do basic mechanic work, but I’ve never undertaken any repair like this. The shop I’ve gone to in the past gave me a ‘ballpark’ quote of $1500, including the timing belt and water pump, and machining the head.

Now my question...is it worth putting $1500 into this car? Over the past six months I've put in the radiator, alternator, and shocks. All that I did myself. I haven't really needed anything other than basic maintenance otherwise. But I fear that I'm getting into the 'bottomless money pit' zone.

Anyone else with similar milage who can tell me what I can expect in the top of the second decade of this car's life?

ezone

You currently have a "known quantity". You know what's wrong, what it will take to fix it, you have some idea of how good the car is, you (should) know what it is worth.

Any other used car will be an "unknown quantity". You have NO CLUE what it needs or what will break next.
HINT: Used cars are always sold for a reason. Look at yours.



Can you afford a new car? Can you afford payments for said new car?

Ironliftr3

Thanks for the reply. I agree completely.

And honestly, I've had such luck with this car, I'd probably buy another new Civic. It just doesn't pay to buy a slightly used Civic, they don't seem to depreciate much over the first couple years.

And as far as the payment, 'can afford' and 'want to make' are two vastly different questions!

I just don't want to throw $ after $ into a money pit, and don't know what to expect after the Civic's 15 years of life

danwat12345

bleed coolant system or whatever to eliminate air bubbles if you have any.
Check for bubbles with the radiator cap off while engine is running. Check the spark plugs to see if any are wet. But I guess if the engine sounds normal, normal power, then it wouldn't be that bad.

Try "Steel Seal" to stop the head gasket from leaking and follow these tips.
[autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1337& transactionid=1352363782-1847647120&posted_by=_www.civicforums.com&youtube_ video_id=YL9QjN7AcW8[/autostream]

But that stuff is about $100 so maybe use a $15 competitor's sealer fluid on Amazon!

Or, just keep on adding coolant when it gets low and hope for the best. Might last for years like that. It's fine besides that? As long as it doesn't get too hot at idle and I wonder why that's happening, sounds like a flow problem, like water pump propeller is worn down or something.

ezone

PLEASE do NOT use products like this if you EVER plan on trying to fix it the right way in the future.

Ironliftr3

No, I read enough about the 'gasket sealer' to know not to touch the stuff. Decided to spend the money and get the head gasket replaced. As it turns out, my belts and water pump are in good condition and don't need replacement yet. Cost should be around $800 which is a no brainer on whats been a great car. Thanks!

danwat12345

Does it permanently gunk up the system or something? I wouldn't be surprised.

ezone

Short answer is he!! yes.
Long answer is much longer than that.




Sodium Silicate, or Liquid Glass.

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate




Automotive repair

Sodium silicate can be used to fill gaps within the head gasket. Commonly used on aluminum alloy cylinder head, which are sensitive to thermally induced surface deflection, and can be caused by many things including head-bolt stretching, deficient coolant delivery, high cylinder head pressure, over-heating, vapor-lock, etc.
"Liquid glass" (sodium silicate) is added to the system through the radiator, and allowed to circulate. Sodium silicate is suspended in the coolant until it reaches the cylinder head. At 100–105 °C sodium silicate loses water molecules to form a glass seal with a re-melt temperature above 810 °C.
A sodium silicate repair will last two years, sometimes longer. The repair occurs rapidly, and symptoms disappear instantly. This repair only works when the sodium silicate reaches its "conversion" temperature at 100–105 °C. Contamination of engine oil is a serious possibility in situations in which a coolant-to-oil leak is present. Sodium silicate (glass particulate) contamination of lubricants is detrimental to their function.

danwat12345

OMG Sodium Silicate! Cash for clunkers! Don't put it in the oil for sure! ( ) Well I won't ever recommend that again, thanks for the info! I just wonder if all sealants use SS.

ezone

Oh it has its place and does one hell of a job (Last chance, not worth any money, one tire in the junkyard), and it can "work miracles on the cheap"... (Honest Freds' Shady Used Cars?).....but don't think it will ever have a chance of being fixed properly ever again (JMHO).

It leaves a sort of brittle epoxy type of coating wherever sufficient heat has "converted" it inside the engine. ("Convert", for lack of a better term.)

If/when it screws up the next time, it will need an engine (or maybe more of the product?).

You read about this:
with a re-melt temperature above 810 °C.
That's 1490 degrees Fahrenheit.
That crap isn't EVER coming out after it "converts". You could probably melt the aluminum head away leaving a "glass" casting of the water passages that were inside the head.

(It really only can fix certain types of problems anyway. Read and follow instructions to the letter.)


My ex-bro-in-law uses it on a lot of his $100 type cars, and has for years. Latest was a high mile Northstar engine with blown head gaskets. Worked good, drove it for a few months, sold it to some poor sucker. Next stop, junkyard.

I feel sorry for any mechanic that has to attempt to fix one without knowing that stuff is in there. Even worse would be a mech that has never seen the stuff before and has no idea what he just found.


Just the ones that work like this. Read the label.

Ironliftr3

Just another reason why I cringe at the thought of buying a used car!