Rep Power: 0

Hi, I have this old 2004 Honda Civic LX with 340k miles on it and now it's overheating. The car was well maintained by a family of mechanics and is only now being a problem. At first the car temperature gauge only moved to 3/4 or close to overheating, but never completely there. It seemed to overheat only after using the car for a period of time previously, and then stopping in traffic or moving slowly. If i drive down a highway it will be fine for the trip until i reach a stop somewhere. i had this problem before, and it got worse and worse, the car would overheat faster and faster it seemed. After this i changed the thermostat, and the problem still persisted. At one point i drove it 4 hours to Massachusetts, and then the car overheated every 5 minutes of driving and i had to stop every 1/4 mile to prevent it from overheating too long. At this point i took the car in to a garage to get checked because i was away from my tools, and they installed a new radiator cap, and flushed the radiator. after they did this, the car ran perfect for about a week, now the temperature gauge is starting to move up about 1/8th when i stop and idle in traffic after a long trip. The fans are working, the thermostat is new, the sensors are working, and the only thing i can think is that maybe i need a new radiator or its the head gasket. Im not so sure its the head gasket because the car still runs like its new besides the heating issue, no white smoke, rough idle , etc. is it possible that the radiator was clogged and is now re clogging, or is it definitely the head gasket? the car cools off after moving again, and at the moment it takes longer to heat up than it used to before i had it repaired. I'm sorry if I'm posting this somewhere it shouldn't be I'm kind of in a rush and don't have much access to a computer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 
Rep Power: 186

It definitely sounds like a head gasket, but would have to be tested. Has your white overflow/reserve tank ever blown coolant or water out? If so, then it's definitely the head gasket.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've smelled coolant from the engine bay, but i believe that's just dried coolant from the time i spilled some filling it up. I don't believe it has overflowed, but I'm not completely sure as the cap from the reservoir has been missing, maybe it blew off from the overflow/ pressure, but i believe it's been missing before it's had a problem.

 
Rep Power: 186

Well, if the cap is gone and blew from the pressure and is missing that is definitely a bad thing. It really sounds like the head gasket at this point. You should make sure the radiator and the reserve/tank are at the correct levels and make sure all the air is out of the system e.g. the system has been properly bled of air. If the reserve/overflow tank fills up and blows coolant out, then it's definitely your head gasket.

 
Rep Power: 0

But is it possible for the car to not be worse and worse, i thought if it was the head gasket that it would only become worse and worse, and fixing the radiator wouldn't help too much. Also it does level off sometimes when im idling as of now, after a few minutes or so it will drop back down for a little, but will climb back eventually.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've been having overheating issues with my 2004 Honda Civic EX. It has 161K miles on it...we've replaced HG, water pump, thermostat, and radiator.

When it overheats, the radiator ruptures.

Can you give me any ideas on what to do next? Thanks for any help you can give me.