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I haven't had a chance to do any of the 'checks' suggested in a couple other posts, but figured I'd fish for input from the experts. 1998 Civic DX.

About 3 months ago, had no heat blowing. I flushed the cooling system and filled. Seemed to have fixed the problem.

A few days ago, on a 3.5 mile drive, the car began to over heat. Got it home (another 3.5 miles), let it cool, and checked the coolant. It was down about 2 liters. Filled it back up, and seems to be running cool now.

I haven't noticed any leaks or puddles of coolant anywhere (garage stored). Where did that 2 liters of coolant go? Am I looking at a head gasket more than likely? Will a compression test on the cylinders confirm this? Would driving 3.5 miles while hot (slight steam when opening the hood) be enough to warp the head, or too hard to tell?

Thank you in advance!

 
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Click on the link in my signature and read. It's all spelled out there for you.

 
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Thanks Blue. I did see your thread via a search before posting. Thermostat is on order and on the way, which is my first point of business. Checked the hoses last night, top hose was hot, bottom one totally cold. Is that suggesting a thermostat problem, or is that just the starting point?

I know you guys get bombarded with the same questions over and over again, and I apologize, and thank you, in advance!

 
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Np! if all that doesn't work for you post here again and we can look into other options

 
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So I replaced the thermostat yesterday. Filled the radiator, warmed it up, kept dumping fluid in until full. Fan is cycling on and off, temperature is maintained less than halfway. Now I think I'm seeing the source of the problem...I'm leaking coolant. Looks like it's coming from the crimped seal at the top of the radiator, and it's only leaking when warm. It must be a very slow leak, because I've yet to see anything on the ground (before yesterday). Maybe the radiator was just not full when I was adding fluid cold. Is this a common problem? How difficult is it to replace the radiator? It looks easy enough, but any gottcha's I should know about? Anything else the experts recommend I look for before I order a radiator?

Thanks in advance!!