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If you have ever thought about using some sort of stop leak in the cooling system please don't, especially if your issue have been narrowed down to a bad headgasket. The common headgasket issue on 7th gens is caused by exhaust gases leaking into the water jacket. Coolant is not leaking out so there is no way the stop leak can do anything. I recently pulled an engine from a junkyard and found the previous owner had tried using some sort of stop leak in an attempt to fix an overheating issue, presumably a bad headgasket. Here are some pictures.
Water pump has gunk built up on the impellers. Here is where the water pump mounts. Lots of buildup. This is the block drain plug hole. Looked like there was a good half inch of buildup on the bottom of the water jacket. Buildup on the sides of the water jacket as well.
"Marge, anyone could miss Canada! All tucked away down there."
Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Barrie, ON Canada
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Re: Using Stop Leak for headgasket problems
Thank you for posting these pictures, people need to realize that stop leak is not a solution and causes more problems than it "fixes"
Next time I'm on a computer +1 rep for you and this is getting stickied
I have a habit of opening the forum when I first wake up. Saw your thread title. Saw your user name. Woke right the hell up and said, "Oh.. oh no.. You're better than this.." then I opened the thread. Damn near gave me a heart attack.
Next time I'm on a computer +1 rep for you and this is getting stickied
Originally Posted by xRiCeBoYx
Rep + stickied for you, good sir.
Thanks fellas. I'm glad I was able to find one like this and get pictures from it, hopefully it will save someone. Feel free to modify the title however you see fit if necessary.
Did the car you pulled the engine out of have substantial crash damage?
If the junkyard car “looks okay” I always assume bad engine or transmission.
I do the same thing, but none of the Civics in the yard had significant damage. I could tell the engine had overheated, the plastic cover under the camshaft pulley was a little melted. What I was worried about was a rod knock though, I didn't see any metal in what oil was left in the pan and turning the engine over by hand felt okay. I didn't notice the stop leak until I had the head off, by then I was too far in to start on another Civic. I'm planning on cleaning the block and using it still.
