Travisf1590

I put a new used motor in my car since the girl blew the other one up had 117,000 on it I've put about 3000 on it so far and it's ran great the past week or so I've been having problems I'm not sure if I have air in the system or a bigger problem like a head gasket the car never over heats but will get hot like 3/4 of the way up the gauge and I've had to add water a few times so far the overflow bottle is full and I've noticed that it doesn't suck or push water back in and after I fill up the radiator I'll notice gargling sounds when I shut it off should I do a pressure test on the coolant system to role out leaks or assume the worse and it be a head gasket

NDNV

Good summary on the common head gasket issues here: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html

Travisf1590

The problem I have with that is I have none of the symptoms besides loss of coolant and the overflow not working correctly, it never over heats just get hot I can run down the highway at 60 and get off then it will get hot while I idle but I can drive around all day in town and sit in traffic for 10 mins and never have a problem I'm going to pressure test it and go from there I suppose

ezone

Probably needs a head gasket.
So many do, even though most owners can't believe it because it passes all the checks most people can think of.

In what way did the previous engine fail?
If it overheated, did it burn the neck of the radiator out so the cap can't seal and pull fluid from the reservoir?

Travisf1590

I'm sure she had over heated it more then once considering how the cams looked when I pulled the valve cover but the timing belt broke well stripped and she didn't wanna put money into it anymore I mean I don't mind changing a head gasket just want to be sure before I tear into it how would I check to see if the neck is burnt

ezone

Thoroughly read the thread link supplied in post #2.


If the last engine died because the timing belt stripped, the radiator is probably ok.


Remove radiator cap, observe the two rubber gaskets on the cap:


Google pics, yours will be slightly different but fundamentally the same

Any visible obvious damage to the rubber gaskets? Deformed, squishy, anything?
Broken completely?


Whooo that's a big pic.


Now look in the radiator neck at the two corresponding areas where those two gaskets have to seal (top and lower 'sealing seat' in pic below). Are those areas nice and smooth, or have they been burned out and rough from steam erosion?

Wankenstein

Do a block test on it. Cheap and easy. Rent (free) block tester at O'Reilly's or Autozone and purchase $10 block tester fluid. If you replace the cap buy OEM only.. Stant and other aftermarkets don't fit as well.

Wouldn't hurt to pull the spark plugs for inspection... may see wet or dried coolant on them. While the plugs are out may as well do a dry and wet compression test. Many times with Honda engines the only noticeable sign of head gasket breach is coolant loss in radiator and coolant gain in expansion tank.

Travisf1590

Alright so today the 26 miles drive to work ran great to stayed low pulled off the highway went the 600 feet to my work by the time I got to work it was hot not overheated shut it off got out and finally saw leaking coolant now to find where it's leaking from thromostate housing is wet so I'm thinking either the house or the housing

Alright so updated pressure checked it today held 15psi cold and 15 psi hot so I'm not sure where it leaking however when I pulled the cap today a seal was stuck in the top of the radiator so I'm going to try to change the cap and go from there the girl that had it before me said it did the same thing to her so I doubt it a head gasket

Travisf1590

So with the rad cap off at idle the coolant will move up and down a little if you give it some gas it sucks it down when I left off it comes back up but I'm getting bubbles not alot but some I still can figure out why it only gets hot if I run the highway then get off I can start it up and let it run all day and night without any problems

ezone

That's normal because the water pump is speeding up and slowing down whenever you rev the engine.

Did you ???


A variety of factors contribute to what you described, and each is a variable.

The overheating happens AFTER the cooling system has lost a significant amount of liquid from the radiator, and the head gasket leakage pushes liquid out of the radiator into the reservoir, and it may overflow the reservoir after a while....barfing coolant all over the battery, fans, and/or transmission area, depending on where the vent hole in the lid is aimed.

IF it's a head gasket blown and the breach (leakage) is still very small, it may not leak much at slow engine speeds with light loads (low combustion pressures).

Combustion pressure is much higher at high loads, and high RPM just makes it leak faster.
(Obviously, low pressure = less leakage, and higher pressure = more leakage.)

A small breach can take a long long time before it leaks enough to displace enough liquid from the radiator to cause problems with running hot.
An engine with a very small breach might be able to travel several hundred miles on the highway before sufficient liquid has been displaced out of the radiator to cause other noticeable problems.

Depending on the weather, it can overheat with less than a quart of liquid missing from the radiator.....OTOH in the winter it may be able to lose a lot more than a quart, yet you'd probably only notice the heater blows cold long before the engine runs hot.