Shanebrumfield

97 civic basic model got it it was overheating and shooting coolant out from somewhere replaced thermostat and ran fine didn't over heat or leak doesn't smoke no water on the dipstick drove fro thirty minutes then let car run started to overheat then thermostat opened and cooled off like normal let it run and didn't overheat again then tonight it started doing the same thing and the heat quit working when it worked before any ideas and another thing the hoses going to the heater core are not getting hot

Shanebrumfield

Bump

Shanebrumfield

97 civic basic model got it it overheated and shot coolant out from somewhere changed thermostat thought it was sticking closed and it ran fine didn't over heat no water on dipstickk the heater worked and drove it for thirty minutes twice and stopped and let it run heat went up a little but thermostat opened and it went down the next day didn't over heat at all and it was mid 7os all day then that night started to over heat again and shooting coolant out from i believe the over flow but it's not really wet around it there's more water under the distributor then anywhere it doesn't smoke no water in oil but rad cap had a little sludge on it and the heater quit working any ideas tips thanks

ezone

Meh...Head gasket.


Did it blow out the heater hose under the distributor?

Shanebrumfield

Yeah

ezone

Fix hose, refill and burp the air, then do the usual checks for blown head gasket (first post in this thread: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/36-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/340759-overheating-mysterious-coolant-loss-common-causes-reference.html) or drive around and see if it still pukes out of the reservoir while driving

Wankenstein

In addition to Ezone's advice and link above another cheap test is: Block Test.
Free rental tool from Autozone or O'Reilly's + $10 for bottle of test fluid (enough for several test).
It's not as difinitive as a leak-down test but, if the test fluid turns from blue to green or yellow, then it's time to prepare for a head gasket replacement.



Below is another method I've never tried before. That Youtube poster has a lot great Honda and other repair videos:


Also, do a wet and dry cylinder compression test because you want to confirm compression before removing the cylinder head (if there is a head gasket leak). If, you confirm a head gasket breach then try not to drive the car much and if you do you may want to keep the heat on max temp to prevent overheating.