LemonCivic02

Got this car in August 17 with 52k miles at the auction, replaced the tranny n all to pass inspection. Sept a coil pack, Oct a coil pack, come early Jan same symptoms was misfiring n all so I just replaced last 2 thinking alrite I'm done with it. This time it didn't fix the problem tho, after me n my buddy messing around wit it a few days I took it to a shop to get diagnosed. They said headgasket, car has only59k miles on it at this point, guy said something bout these 1.7 engines!!! The car never overheated but they said it was the start of it n coolant was leaking down n getting plugs wet therefore the misfiring. So I bought the whole Head gasket set which included pretty much everything n took head to get machined n all. My buddy just got everything back together n there is 2 problems now, first is a easy fix. Fans aren't kicking on so thinking a thermostat, the other is that there is coolant in the oil. This is after the 2nd oil change, coolant system was pressurized cold n held 15 psi. Engine compression test held on all 4 cylinders between 175-180. Now I'm like did they diagnose it wrong from the get go n is there some underlying problem. Only thing I saw was look at intake manifold gasket but that was replaced along with the 4 gaskets for the injectors. Has anybody come across this, really need some help. My mechanic buddy is outta ideas at this point n I just want this car done, over 6k into this car now n I bought it for only 2k wit 52k miles. I thought Honda's last forever...

ezone

59k on a car that old is very unusual, especially if it went to auction. I'd suspect the car has a zillion miles and the gauges failed and got replaced with a low mileage unit or a new unit that showed zero miles when it was replaced. The condition of the rest of the car should tell the tale if you read it

Coils are extremely rare to fail IMO.

Head gasket though... LOL
Factory head gasket is best IMO. Felpro has been reported here as failing very prematurely.

What did you see that made you believe coolant mixed with oil?

Why don't the fans run? How bad did it overheat when you discovered the fans don't run? (an overheat can ruin all that expensive head gasket work, all it takes is one bad overheat no matter how fresh that gasket job was)



Nothing lasts forever.

A simple head gasket replacement, even in a dealership shop might have only cost 1500 or so, including a timing belt (just guessing here).
How TF did you get to blow $6000? The wrong person working on a car can cause more damage than the car is worth, in an amazingly short time.

Slumpertcivic

You said it’s holding pressure, well how much coolant is disappearing?

LemonCivic02

Yea it's unusual but figured somebody older owned the car going just to the store or whatever n the auction guaranteed mileage was accurate.
coolant is still in oil n this is after 2nd oil change, since head gasket was replaced it hasn't moved yet so I'm not worried bout any damage. It was in my buddy's garage as he messing with it n noticed fans didn't come on between 195-205° like spose too so we think thermostat is that cause, this all went down like 3am last nite. Thermostat is getting replaced tonite. N 2k for car, 700 auction fee, 750 for tranny, 350 tires, 200 new coil packs, 1100 for bunch of stuff like struts, control arm bushings, headlights, hub n bearing, wipers, etc plus the head gasket stuff. Don't wanna cut losses now if a easy fix. I believe my buddy has done everything correctly tho just 6k went very fast. This car was spose to be a beater for work.

LemonCivic02

Yes it's holding pressure, I'm not sure. Kind of hard to tell without draining all coolant n measuring it u know.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Did you try jumping the fans to make sure they work? If anything could be causing the fans to not kick on, it'd be the fan switch, not thermostat. If you have A/C (I forgot if the 7thgen LX has A/C or not), a quick test would be to turn on your A/C and see if the fans are running. If not, connect 12VDC to the fans directly to see if they turn on. Troubleshoot from there.

How much coolant is in the oil? Does it look like a milkshake? Was any coolant in the oil system cleaned out during the head gasket change, because it could very well be residual from the previous alleged head gasket leak.

Like ezone said, nothing lasts forever, but if you properly maintain a Honda, they do last quite a while. I beat the crap out of my 2002 (modded, drove hard, but repaired and maintained myself) and it lasted me 15 years/205k miles.

If the $6k includes the cost of the car, as well, I can see it. Tranny job, let's say $2k. Head gasket job, for a shop to do, $1500 (DIY job is like $600), coil packs at $50 a pop. $2k car, $2k tranny, $1.5k head gasket, $100 for coil packs, $5600ish total.

LemonCivic02

The lower hose was cold after warming up that's y we going to do that first for the 10 bucks like it's not circulating. We changed the oil initially then let run for 20 minutes, did not drive it anywhere then changed again for the 2nd time n still lil coolant was in it. No not milky like a strawberry milkshake like I've seen before. N while waiting on head at machine shop the car sat jacked up to get all old oil out so believe it to be new.

ezone

The shape of the oil pan prevents complete draining. There's always leftovers you can't get out of the bottom of the pan.
Steel pan is worse about this than aluminum pan, but both will retain liquid.
The cylinder head retains liquid too.

Oil floats on top of water, so any coolant that spilled into the crankcase during the work is just going to sit on the bottom of the pan unless it is run hard enough to circulate and mix with the engine oil.

Drive it some miles, then change it. Repeat.



Problem with the thinking here: Due to the location of the fan switch, the temperature of the liquid as it EXITS the radiator (bottom hose) has to be that hot before the fans will run.

If there's any breeze blowing through the radiator while you're waiting, that can delay the fans for a damn long time.

If your buddy is just watching a scanner to see the temp, that's not what controls the radiator fans.
Did it boil over? Does coolant circulate through the radiator?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

You can always test the thermostat before replacing it. Take it out and toss it in a pot of boiling water to see if it opens. I know it's only $10, but it's $10 saved if it's operating normally.

If you want to get real technical with it, put it in the pot before heating the water and check the water temp with a thermometer when it fully opens (should be something like 180F).

LemonCivic02

So even with the car jacked up for a few days u think that it could just be residual that was just sitting in there n couldn't get it all out? I will try driving it around after we get coolant to circulate.

LemonCivic02

Yea I think he's going to do the boil test he said, I just said replace it cuz figure y not since it's out. Be 1 less thing to screw me over down the road!!!

ezone

Yes, that's why after I do a head gasket job for a customer I usually write out an oil change reminder sticker for 50 or 100 miles and put it on the windshield.
Even though I take all the precautions I can during the head gasket job and change oil and filter after it's back together and been run through a warmup or two, I still want to make sure anything residual has a chance to be mixed in and then removed with another oil change after the customer drives it a few days.

$10 stat?
You've apparently never been screwed over by parts that were too cheap LOL

Slumpertcivic

LemonCivic02

Yea the stat is from salvos or advance auto