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So i have multiple problems going on with my 1995 Civic EX. Im hoping someone here can help with at least a few of them. Im scared I need to replace the head gasket. Number one being CEL being on since I bought the car. I beleive the codes are 1 and 43. The car ran fine for the most part when i got it other than the random "bucking" in 1st gear. I didnt do anything to fix it, it just went away. Second being the car gets way too hot and antifreeze appears to dissapear. Doesn't appear to be a leak in the system as far as i can tell. Also the aux fan in front of the radiator doesnt turn on. Jumping the sensor for it turns it on, but replacing it does not.

 
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Upon checking my CEL after posting the last post, my CEL is now throwing the 6 and 43 codes. The 6 code did not show up until after changing my raditor fan switch.

 
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if you are losing coolant and its not leaking anywhere, its prolly a bad headgasket.

 
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So would a bad head gasket cause cel code 43? And what about 6?

 
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im not sure what those codes mean, but a leaky headgasket can cause misfire codes and also oxygen sensor problems.

 
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Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. And 43 is fuel delivery problems.

 
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fuel delivery is prolly a separate issue, either bad fuel pump (low fuel pressure) or clogged injectors or fuel lines.

 
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Yeah I wasnt for sure if a head gasket would give the fuel delivery problems or not. I replaced the fuel filter hoping that would resolve that cel code but it did not. From what I've been reading injectors are my next best bet.

 
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So I think im going to try to tackle replacing my head gasket myself. Every place I have read so far recomends replacing the head bolts when you replace the gasket. I cant seem to find where to get those bolts. Where do you get them? Maybe they arent called head bolts or something. And what would be the best manual to get for the head gasket replacement?

 
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dealership can order the bolts ($10 each for 10 bolts). best manual, get the official honda one. prolly all over ebay

 
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So a haynes or chilton manual? I dont see any kind of "honda" manual. And I know im annoying but I have another question. Lately after putting a bottle of "injector cleaner" in my tank my car has been running better, but I get around 15 MPG. Im thinking my vtec is kicking in waaay too early. Somewhere around 3k. Is there anyway to get it back to normal and my normal 30ish MPG?

 
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i think if you just keep fixing the problems and give the car a tuneup it will go back to normal. and yeah honda makes its own manual that is several times thicker than haynes. check ebay usually you can find one there.

 
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First off, don't bother with a Haynes or Chilton Manual. I used to hate Chiltons because of how vague they were because they try to cover so many different models and years in each manual. Haynes just got bought out by Chiltons, and after purchasing a Haynes for my 90 Civic, I've discovered that Haynes is way too vague as well. Helm Inc sells the actual Honda service manual for Honda's, and for about twice the price of a Chiltons you get 100 times more accurate model specific info. I will never go back to Haynes after seeing a factory manual.
As far as parts go, I just had to do a Head Gasket and broken exhaust Valve on my D16 and Napa beat everyone for price on every item. Especially the head bolt set that they sold me for about $35 for all 10 bolts. WAY cheaper than any place else at almost $8 per bolt.
Good luck with your fix.

 
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So I have an update on my problem if anyone really cares. I got my head gasket replaced. It ran fine for a couple days, but now the oil light is on 95% of the time im driving even though I have more than enough oil. It also runs kinda odd. It doesn't knock, but its a weird sound when you rev up the engine.

 
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sounds like an oil delivery problem then, like the oil pump. and the engine might be ruined already.

 
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Oh no dont scare me like that. What do you mean by ruined?

 
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well im just guessing, but you could have spun a bearing or something, or oil starvation to the engine parts if not enough oil is being pumped up.

 
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Cool. So im pretty sure you were right. It appears that I spun a head bearing and I now have a "new" head and the car is running. It ran fine for a few days, but while on the interstate on my way home from work I reallized that my car was a little loud and the rpm's were a little high for 70 MPH in 5th. When I get back into town I realize that my car is all hopped up and sounds very riceish. It seems as if vtec is stuck on. What else could it be or how could I turn vtec back to normal? I already searched but didnt find anything so I figured that I should just bring my own thread back to life.

 
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is there any engine light on? you could try taking off the vtec solenoid and cleaning it out and the filter screen if its clogged. then oil it up and put back together.

 
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Hmmm. Well its still throwing 43. But its also been throwing that for a while with the car running good or bad. I was actually going to try that tommorow when im at home because that seems to be the first thing to check when theres a problem with vtec. But would a clogged filter cause it to stay on? Ive only seen problems where it doesnt kick in and thats whats causing it. Im also not very smart when it comes to cars if you havent noticed, so is it fairly simple to take it off and open? Or will I need to pick up a haynes manual?

 
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its just a few bolts holding it to the head.

 
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Good sounds easy. But you dont have to take it apart or anything? And oil it? Like with motor oil? Im sorry for asking so many questions but im a noob and I want to make sure I do it right and have enough info to do it the first time.

 
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when you take the main piece out, the filter screen will also fall out in the middle. you can remove the top of the solenoid too if you want. just clean it all up with a cotton cloth, if there is alot of dirt you will need to use carb cleaner but be sure you pour motor oil all over it once the carb cleaner dries. otherwise you might have problems if its not lubed.

 
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Great. One more question on this particular question. Promise. You say "all over". Maybe im reading too much into it, but inside and out of the whole solenoid or all over the filter?

 
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So before pulling off my solenoid I checked me CEL just to make sure its not throwing one. Low and behold its throwing 22. The light doest come on but when I unplug the green plug going to my solenoid (?) the light comes on immediately. And when I took off the solenoid I didnt see any kind of a screen. Idk where its supposed to be.

 
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any pics? it should have a screen as part of the gasket. you may just need a new solenoid, maybe the old one is stuck open. but try and clean up the old one first cause they are over $200 for a new piece. #10 is the whole thing, and #13 is the screen filter gasket. take off the top cap too and clean there, make sure the button is pressing and popping back up easily. you may also need a new oil pressure sensor (#16), maybe yours went bad

 
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So I did find how to get it off. The reason that I posted that was that I pulled off only the top part of it thinking it was the whole thing. So after cleaning it nothing has changed. So is that button your talking about the cylindrical thing with a hole through it? Because it didnt seem stuck at all. It moved with little force. So other than that its most likely the oil pressure sensor? Which is the green plug by the looks of the diagram?

 
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the top round thing is the solenoid with the push button. if it moves and comes back out when you press, its prolly okay. oil pressure sensor is on the side and could cause issues with vtec if it doesnt work properly.

 
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So that switch didnt help. But on another note that I should of mentioned earlier, I can smell gas outside of my car now when its running. It was like that when it started happening but I figured it was because its running so fast all the time. And I noticed when replacing the oil pressure switch that the plug that goes on the switch looks burnt like there was a short of some sort.

 
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Yaay so I got another plug and that didnt help at all. Any other ideas of what could be causing this?