Rep Power: 0

Hi first of all this site has been really helpful so far and wanted to thank all the people here for there good advice. I got a 98 Civic DX from my friend last week for real cheap and it's got 270k on it but that's mainly highway miles and the tranny was rebuilt two years ago so I figured it was a good deal. So there is one problem he has had with the car for the last year and it's still not solved. After driving for awhile on the highway mainly the overflow tanks will get really full and even spill over sometimes but when the car cools the radiator will not pull the coolant back in leaving the rad low by about 1 to 2 cups. The car does not seem to overheat though and I've been looking at the temp gauge close since i got it and also it runs very good and seems to have decent power. So I took it to the garage last week and they replaced the rad cap and did a pressure test and coolant flush and said it's fine. Well it seemed fine for a few days till I went for a long drive on the highway yesterday and when I got home I noticed the overflow tanks was full and had spewed some coolant too. My big fear is that it's a head gasket but the mechanic insists it's not because the plugs and oil look good, no white steam in the exhaust, it runs good when cold and also they don't notice bubbling in the radiator when they look in. So I'm getting worried because I always assume the worst and am praying it's not the head gasket, but what else could it be? Oh I just found out from my friend that he noticed after extended highway driving the temp gauge would go up to about 2/3's the way after he would come to a stop.

 
Rep Power: 313

You have a very small hole in your head gasket that will slowly get bigger until you have bigger issues.

 
Rep Power: 0

so is it better to just swap in a used engine than pay to get the headgasket replaced do you think?

 
Rep Power: 235

270K is a lot of miles. If you plan on having it for a while I would look for a low mile salvage engine WITH WARRANTY. Look here: http://www.car-part.com/ You can get one with less than 100K for about $1000, usually they can ship for $100-150. Labor is usually about $1000. Patience is the key. Meanwhile, baby it as much as you can.

Edit: It's usually about $500 for a headgasket.

 
Rep Power: 0

It sucks since I just got this car and bought it to save money on gas, I drove a 78 Malibu before. So what engines would be a direct swap with no hassle? I know allot of people put vtec engines in but I find this engine has enough power for me and I want the best gas mileage I can get.

 
Rep Power: 235

D16Y7. It's in every 1996-2000 CX, DX, and LX.

 
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Well good news I guess, I took my car back to the garage and had them do a very therough inspection. It's a garage I've gone to for years and trust and they figured that since it was not allot of water that was overflowing it was either a air pocket or a worn water pump causing cavitation, since they looked at it though the problem seems to be gone so good news there. Thanks for the advice though

 
Rep Power: 0

Oh one other thing I wanted to ask, I have some light detonation when I go up a hill or accelerate fast in certain gears. With my old 78 Malibu I had the same problem until I retarded the timing and adjusted the vacuum advance, would the same apply to my car? Also since it's got so many miles and the guy just drove it around town the last year should I try seafoam to remove the carbon deposits hopefully solving the pinging?

 
Rep Power: 313

Don't play with the timing and your cooling probably will probably come back

 
Rep Power: 0

don't I need to retard the timing a bit to fix the detonation though? I don't wanna have it do damage to my engine