Sailorman3

My 2005 civic has just started to put a little steam out from under the hood. On the highway the temp is normal but when I slow down the gauge starts to rise. I can smell antifreeze when I stop the car, The steam is coming from the back of the engine. Also when driving at times I have no heat and then I have heat again. The oil has no antifreeze in it nor does the exhaust. Could it just be a heater hose or does it sound like a head gasket?

ezone

FIRST quit driving it and running it--- before you really kill the engine (if that hasn't already happened from loss of antifreeze and overheating)

Then locate the source of the antifreeze leak and fix it

Then see if it will live or need a head gasket job or whatever

Sailorman3

OK for starters I'm not a complete moron. I'm not driving the car in this condition. This happened to me on the way home last night. First symptoms were on the way home. I drove the car about 7 km like it and the temp gauge never went past half gauge. The only real question that I have is if the head gasket is gone without any other symptoms will it leak steam out from the back of the engine.

ezone

The head would have to warp a whole lot to let liquid escape from between head and block. I have only see something that dramatic when someone kept running the overheated engine until it quit....
So I doubt it's that.

Water pump, small coolant hoses, heater hoses, and if you are in the rust belt or far north I hear the big steel water pipe across the back of the block can rust through.

Sailorman3

And bingo on the water pipe. That is what the problem is. I replaced one on a Mazda that I had years ago but it was on the front. It was a whole lot easier than this one is going to be.

ezone

IF it has blown the head gasket from overheating, that pipe would be a whole lot easier to replace after the cylinder head is off the engine and intake manifold is out of the way.

However, if the cooling system can't hold liquid you may be hard pressed to prove the gasket has been breached using my methods...and unless it's really bad you'll never see the stuff (symptoms) most people look for.
(depends on how quick coolant pipe is leaking and how bad the head gasket is leaking)

Sailorman3

It is in the pipe for sure. I can see where antifreeze is dripping out from it. I might have to call it on this one. I'm not really interested in replacing the head gasket just to get at that pipe and it doesn't look like it can be replaced without removing the intake manifold and head. I think I'll start to look for a new car. Thanks for the help.

ezone

It can be done without pulling the head too.

Sailorman3

Well finally got the connector pipe finished. It was by far one of the hardest jobs that I have done yet especially without removing the head. I did find another problem. Two broken sway bar links. I can't believe they were both broken and I had no issues with steering. Just finished those and I'm good for another hundred thousand km. My gold is 400,000 km. 100,000 to go.

ezone

Maybe you could post a play-by-play of how you replaced that pipe, so someone searching for answers in the future could be helped?

PMI

I can. The previous owner of my car must have been driving that way for months if not years, and I am just getting around to those.