Rep Power: 0

Hi! I have a 98 Civic DX (automatic) & I've been experiencing a lot of problems lately with it overheating. About a year ago, I had to get a patch job done on one of the hoses (if I remember correctly) because my car kept overheating. The temperature gauge was all the way up & whenever I'd stop at traffic lights or put my car in park, smoke would come out from underneath the hood. And then recently, the same thing started happening again, in addition to excessive smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe as well. So I assumed it was the same issue as the last time & that maybe, since I got the patch job done at a hole-in-the-wall shop last year, the mechanics didn't do it thoroughly enough or that maybe I've just been putting too much stress on my car with all the driving I do. Then my boyfriend noticed that there was a hole in the side of the head gasket cap & smoke was coming out of it. So he told me I should probably just replace the entire radiator. So we bought a used radiator for $40 from a salvage yard & my boyfriend replaced the old radiator. Upon doing this, he discovered a leak. But then he repaired it with some sealant. But my car still isn't functioning properly. Now, instead of smoke coming out of the entire car from underneath the hood, it's only coming out of the coolant reservoir & the coolant/water is boiling. It also looks dirty or contaminated with perhaps another fluid from the car. Also, the car is still overheating, but it almost seems worse than before. And the engine also seems to be sputtering & bucking quite a bit. The temperature gauge still appears to be rising, but not as much as it was before my boyfriend replaced the radiator. But today, I tried driving my car over to Autozone to get a free diagnosis & my car broke down/stalled out. So I had to have it towed back to my house. It turns out that it will still start, but I obviously don't want to risk driving it again & possibly causing unfixable damage to the engine. My boyfriend said there are no leaks or holes in any of the hoses & that everything appears to be secured tightly. Does anybody have any idea what could be wrong with my car? I would appreciate any helpful advice since I really can't afford to get my car looked at by a mechanic & I don't want to risk attempting to drive it to Autozone again. Thanks in advance!

 
Rep Power: 235

Classic symptoms of a bad headgasket.

 
Rep Power: 285

+1 it sounds like the head gasket needs to be replaced and the head is warped, possibly even the block. I'm sorry, but if we're right this will be a very expensive repair if your boyfriend isn't able to do the labour for you, even then, it won't be cheap.