Rep Power: 0

So I got a 98 civic ex 1.6 for cheap guy said light comes on sometimes. drove for a a day or two sure enough light came on. codes 170,171,505 ..So I found a vaccum line and a plug near fuel rail that was un hooked. Re hooked em and cleared codes. no more light since. however it has a stutter or miss backfire at times and low power on pull outs then its like a power band kicks in and it goes.. I changed the coolant as it was nasty maybe oil in it.. not sure it was dark . I don't know where to start now. has 121,000 on it and is really nice shape I just don't want to waste money guessing on things. thanks for your help.

 
Rep Power: 174

If there was oil in the coolant, that means the head gasket is busted...

 
Rep Power: 0

Its pushing coolant into the over flow and if I leave the cap off it bubbles out . Are they hard to change.

 
Rep Power: 174

They're a pain in the ***, and one of the biggest sources of headaches with Civics. You will want to look up a DIY (many people here have done it) or take her to a shop.

 
Rep Power: 0

I had it to a shop and they did a test on it and said they don't think the head gasket is bad . The timing was out a bit they adjusted it a the distributer . But when I start it with the cap off it shot coolant out all over. It doesn't over heat make good heat. I did notice it may leak or push out near the thermostat area. It cuts out when the temp gets up to normal and if you let off gas and get back on it runs again. not sure what is going on now since there is no codes.