Rep Power: 0

ive recently bought my first vehicle and it is a 2005 honda civic ex coupe. I love it. It has such a smooth drive and looks amazing both inside and out. Has original rims and spoiler. It was working well until recently, it started overheating and leaking fresh coolant on the drivers side. I took it to Firestone but they wanted $2.5k for the job and I thought that was way too much considering the parts came to a total of $350 at Autozone.
I believe that the main issue is with the thermostat and the radiator. Im thinking that fixing those two things could help fix the issue. If they don't, then I am thinking of changing the water pump and timing belt.
However, I would like some reassurance on what to do given my situation. So if you guys can help me out with that thanks. I live in the Lakewood, CO area and am a college student. So if you any of you guys know a cheap, local, and trustworthy mechanic near here who can help me, that would be great as well. I could fix it myself but I have never worked on cars before, only construction. It will all be new to me but with the right advice on what to do, I am not afraid to fix it myself. Anyways, thanks. God Bless.

 
Rep Power: 125

What parts did they quote?

Without being able to properly gauge where it’s leaking from, my guess is probably a split hose if it’s that spontaneous, but I can’t really tell.

Either way, depending on what service records you have, I’d probably do a timing belt and water pump anyway.

 
Rep Power: 223

Overheating that much may have warped the head, now causing a head gasket failure (assuming your whole issue wasn't the head gasket to start with).

 
Rep Power: 0

thermostat, coolant fluid tech, timing belts, radiator replacement, steering and suspension, sway bar link kits, and the rod ends. they recommended more but it doesn't deal w the overheating issue, I'm mainly focused on the first 4 mentioned.

 
Rep Power: 223

Should really find that leak before spending any money.

 
Rep Power: 125

The only component that really comes to mind that's capable of leaking that much is the water pump. Most of the hoses if I recall correctly are routed on the passenger side.

I could be wrong but the first thing I'd do is remove the timing cover, top it off with coolant, then watch.

 
Rep Power: 0

update:
alr so ive done some more research, and Saturday I changed the thermostat. I knew this wasn't going to fix my main issue but wanted to try. Then the car started leaking when I revved it and this time more than ever. So I started looking where the leakage was coming from. Suspected it was the water pump and called over my friend who is a mechanic in his spare time. He looked under the car and once we lifted it up for him he said my problem is a screw on the water pump is leaking. So that same day I went to AutoZone and bought a water pump kit and hopefully this Thursday I will work on it. I'll keep you guys updated.

 
Rep Power: 223

You realize the water pump is driven off the timing belt? I'd guess a water pump replacement is like a 4-5 hour job for a skilled DIYer.

 
Rep Power: 0

hey so i worked on my car last thu, and yeah it was a 5 hour job haha.
so I replaced the water pump, timing belt, and tensioner. it was pretty stressful but got it done and the car has no issues now as I drove it to church and that's a 40 min drive into the mountains. No overheating and no more coolant leak. thank God and thanks to you guys for being helpful. (I also changed the headlights that day bc why not, needed some new shiny ones)

 
Rep Power: 366

so, be aware that these engines are famous for blowing headgaskets at around 100k miles.
Dead giveaway is the overflow reservoir full of coolant and spilling it.
Just be prepared
mine started at 96k miles.

 
Rep Power: 223

Glad you got it fixed. As mentioned, keep a close eye on coolant levels for a while.