Rep Power: 0

My car is a canadian 1.7L Acura EL.
Its like a civic SI, but 4doors and loaded with leather and everything.

100% stock engine.

Anyways, what happened was i had a leak from my rad hose and before i got to fixing it, i overheated a few times (4 times). Only one time did my guage get to the "red zone". Other 3 it was up at about 3/4 of the guage.

My first attempt at fixing it i changed the thermostas as the hose with the leak looked like it was fine. That didnt solve my problem.

Second attempt was putting a product called "bars leak" or "stop leak" into my rad. (reccomended to me by a friend.) this was also a FAIL.

Third attempt was changing all my hoses and getting better clamps. The leak stopped.

My new problem is that my there is too much pressure now, and my coolant is coming out of my overflow (leaking from the top around the cap) and also out of my rad cap.

I took my car to the shop, and the shop told me its one of 3 things. head gasket, warped head or cracked head. reason being = overheating.

I talked to a fair amount of people and they all told me the same thing, of one of those things had happened, there would be water in my oil. there is not. i changed my oil 300kms ago and it still looks brand new, not milky or anything. I dont know if the shop is trying to scam me out of the $3000 they quoted me to fix it or what, but i would like a second oppinion from someone who knows more then i do.

My engine still runs like normal, very quiet and same amount of power and everything, only overheats when i leak out enough coolant to not cool the engine.

My thinking is that the "stop leak" clogged something and that my head gasket is fine.


anyone have any helpfull input?

or know any good garages in the surrey/vancouver area that i can take it to?


Thanks.

-Jamie.

 
Rep Power: 0

no one has ANY feedback?

i dont want to pay the 3grand and get scammed out of my money. >.<

 
Rep Power: 812

3 grand? head gasket change shouldnt cost more than 500. and maybe another 100 to have the head examined for warpage when its off. now its possible that when your car overheated, the head warped and blew the gasket. so you will have to get the head milled down to a flat edge when the gasket is changed. but if there is no problem with the car like rough cold starts, burning coolant, milky oil, or white smoke, its prolly not the gasket. more than likely the additive messed up your radiator or cooling passages, would could also be very costly to try and figure out. first try a full cooling system pressure FLUSH, to see if you can blow out any chunks. you may end up having to replace the radiator.

 
Rep Power: 0

new radiator!!!

 
Rep Power: 0

K, so im thinking my best bet is to go to my friend who works at Mr. Lube and get my rad flushed out as best as possible and take it from there?

 
Rep Power: 812

yeah try the cheaper fix first. those additive crap never work, all it does it make things worse. they might be able to do a pressure check on the cooling system and that might tell you if its clogged.

 
Rep Power: 0

got it flushed, didnt work, what is my next step? fml

 
Rep Power: 812

well its gonna be a guessing game since theres so much that can cause overheating. you can replace the radiator but that might not work either. it may be a clog in the heater core, a fan not working or a sensor (coolant ECT or fan switch), stuck thermostat, could be a water pump not turning properly and circulating coolant, blown headgasket, etc.