2000 Civic LX - Possible Blown Head Gasket
02-14-2014
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2000 Civic LX - Possible Blown Head Gasket
2000 Civic LX (stock)
D16Y7 Engine, 4 Speed Automatic
P0117 CEL
My friend's car started losing coolant a few months ago, no white smoke, no oil in the coolant or vice versa. All the hoses were good, no notice of coolant loss watching the hoses and radiator with the car idling, bled the system multiple times. While bleeding the air from the system I've always raised the front of the car and turned the heater on max heat/air to help facilitate the process. Last week it started losing coolant so quickly that it needed to be replaced every day. Then yesterday they said the car kept getting so hot that they had to pull over multiple times to put more coolant in, at some point it got hot enough to set the code P0117. When I checked the car the radiator had a 3 inch long crack behind the filler neck, and a small hole on the front of the neck, and it had sprayed some type of light brown fluid from the radiator onto the surrounding hoses and coolant overflow tank, which after drying turned into a light brown powder. Still no oil in the coolant or vice versa, and the transmission fluid looks normal. I replaced the radiator and hooked everything back up and put some Prestone radiator flush/cleaner with plain distilled water, and shortly after starting the car it starts to slowly leak white foam out of the radiator filler neck, similar to the foam on top of soda when you pour it into a glass. After draining and refilling the radiator four times with only distilled water, it still does this. Along with the foaming, the car stays around 2k RPM for about a minute, and then develops a surging idle that ranges from 1200 RPM to 2100 RPM. I've only run the car for 3 minutes at a time, then letting it cool down for 20 minutes. In that time though the radiator gets hot to the touch, which I was under the impression shouldn't happen with a closed thermostat, and even with a stuck open thermostat the coolant should take a long time to warm up. Since it's possible for exhaust gases to enter the coolant, would that lead to the heat from the gases being transferred to the coolant, and thus to the radiator? Any help would be appreciated.
D16Y7 Engine, 4 Speed Automatic
P0117 CEL
My friend's car started losing coolant a few months ago, no white smoke, no oil in the coolant or vice versa. All the hoses were good, no notice of coolant loss watching the hoses and radiator with the car idling, bled the system multiple times. While bleeding the air from the system I've always raised the front of the car and turned the heater on max heat/air to help facilitate the process. Last week it started losing coolant so quickly that it needed to be replaced every day. Then yesterday they said the car kept getting so hot that they had to pull over multiple times to put more coolant in, at some point it got hot enough to set the code P0117. When I checked the car the radiator had a 3 inch long crack behind the filler neck, and a small hole on the front of the neck, and it had sprayed some type of light brown fluid from the radiator onto the surrounding hoses and coolant overflow tank, which after drying turned into a light brown powder. Still no oil in the coolant or vice versa, and the transmission fluid looks normal. I replaced the radiator and hooked everything back up and put some Prestone radiator flush/cleaner with plain distilled water, and shortly after starting the car it starts to slowly leak white foam out of the radiator filler neck, similar to the foam on top of soda when you pour it into a glass. After draining and refilling the radiator four times with only distilled water, it still does this. Along with the foaming, the car stays around 2k RPM for about a minute, and then develops a surging idle that ranges from 1200 RPM to 2100 RPM. I've only run the car for 3 minutes at a time, then letting it cool down for 20 minutes. In that time though the radiator gets hot to the touch, which I was under the impression shouldn't happen with a closed thermostat, and even with a stuck open thermostat the coolant should take a long time to warm up. Since it's possible for exhaust gases to enter the coolant, would that lead to the heat from the gases being transferred to the coolant, and thus to the radiator? Any help would be appreciated.
02-14-2014
#2
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: 2000 Civic LX - Possible Blown Head Gasket
If it has been seriously overheated, the head gasket is the first thing to let go. Shortly after that, the head warps.
I have seen these happen without setting the P0117 code. That code tells me yours musta been freekin HOT.
If it continues to overheat beyond this amount of damage, rings might collapse and aluminum may start to melt.
Give this a read, check out the methods used to determine if the head gasket is the culprit. https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html
Sounds like you probably have a big job ahead of you...?
I have seen these happen without setting the P0117 code. That code tells me yours musta been freekin HOT.
If it continues to overheat beyond this amount of damage, rings might collapse and aluminum may start to melt.
Give this a read, check out the methods used to determine if the head gasket is the culprit. https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html
Sounds like you probably have a big job ahead of you...?
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