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2001 honda civic lx 1.7L

coolant level goes down to about two inches from the top of filler neck every morning i check. reservoir coolant doesn't get sucked back into the system. cleaned reservoir and there's no blockage found. pressure tested the cooling system at 17 psig for at least 5 minutes---pressure held steady and no coolant leaking/dripping on the floor (placed cardboard under the engine). replaced radiator cap. engine not overheating. noticed minor misfire (little shaking on steering wheel) when stopped at intersections. what other troubleshooting areas do i have to address? thanks.

 
Rep Power: 312

Check for exhaust fumes in the coolant system. You more than likely have a head gasket failure Did your car have any trouble starting after you did pressure check?

 
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no exhaust fumes. no problem starting at all, not even rough starting. there's a couple of things i'd like to try: (1) run it with radiator cap off and with a funnel half full of coolant sitting tightly in the radiator filler neck and observe for bubbles (2) pressure test and remove the spark plugs then crank to see if theres coolant expelled (3) maybe i can add a compression test.
i know this is a lot of work but it just irks me to think that it's a head gasket problem (which, i'm afraid seems to be going that direction). thanks for the quick reply tbohar.

 
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update:
1. no coolant expelled from cylinders
2. compression test within specs
3. coolant not bubbling during warmup until the fan came on.
4. PROBLEM STILL EXISTS: coolant level goes below the filler neck when engine is cold.
5. I'M OUT OF IDEAS.

 
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I have the exact same problem with my 04 Si. Everyone is saying head gasket, but zero symptoms. Runs smooth. If my heater didn't start blowing cooler air at a stop light, I would have never checked the rad level. where is this **** going?? 110km on my car. Too new for a head gaskey problem AND I thought these engines were bullet proof. That's why I finally bought a Honda.

 
Rep Power: 233

This symptom points to a bad headgasket. If it's consuming coolant with no leaks then it's a bad headgasket.

Did you actually check for exhaust in the coolant or just look for bubbles? Is the oil milky?

 
Rep Power: 312

My car ran smooth and had no milky residue. Your coolant is NOT supposed to be in the filler neck, the actual min/max lines are well below it. Everything you say points to a failed head gasket. When I pulled my head gasket (again, no residue, no smoke, NO SYMPTOMS except the coolant level fluctiation). It was very obviously in the early stages of failure, you could actually see it on the gasket itself. The ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to check for a HG failure is to check for exhaust gases in the coolant system, which most good mechanics can do. A compression test is NOT a good indicator of head gasket failure.

 
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So, there is a tool to test levels of pollutants in the coolant? Also, what determines if the gasket failure results in exhaust gases in the coolant, or coolant in the oil? Sounds to me like these would indicate the direction of failure, which the gasket leak is causing. In other words, do you have coolant to oil under high RPM load and exhaust to coolant under milder loads? It's confusing.

 
Rep Power: 312

It's kind of odd how it happens. But yes, there is a tool to check for exhaust gases in the coolant. There is a way the head gasket leaks it actually pushes exhaust gases into the coolant system, so what happens is the coolant flows into the overflow reservoir because it gets displaced by gases and eventually gets pushed out of the overflow while driving. When this is happening the driver often doesnt realise they are losing coolant because when they are parked there is no leak, but its coming out of the overflow during normal driving. Hope that explains it a little bit. This also explains why there is no milky residue on the spark plugs or anywhere else to be seen in the oil (Or white exhaust for that matter). It's equally as dangerous as a regular head gasket failure though.

 
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It does help to know that this reverse type of leakage occurs. I just never knew it could happen that way. I've experienced the more common failure, where coolant exhaust is billowing out the tail pipe like a steam ship. I guess this means that some of those products you can pour in the coolant won't seal that type of leak at all..not even temporarily..because the liquid will never runs towards the combustion chamber to seal an out going leak. This is an incoming leak. As the Colonal use to say on Hogan's Heroes.."Very interesting".

 
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One last thing. You're in Canada, so am I. Don't know if this is a North American forum or Canadian, but where did you take your car to get inspected and fixed? Are you in Toronto by any chance. I'm guessing that once the test confirms a HG failure, I'll need to find a good repair shop..one which has the experience to check the blck and head for trueness. No point in putting a new gasket on 2 planes which aren't perfectly flat. One or the other side may need milling.

 
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your best bet is replacing the head gasket. Order a head gasket from honda if you have a stock motor / block and if you are running hard or plan to, invest in some arp head studs while you're at it and replace the cranck seal.
If you choose to go with a cosmetic gasket on a stock motor you're running a risk of lifting the head.

But you're symptoms of vanishing coolant is a greater indicator of a bad head gaskets. Replacing mines was the last resort. I would have periodic temp spikes when stationary. Low coolant level in radiator but resavor would be fine or blows over when the excess boils over but would not suck back in when needed. I changed fluids, installed slim fans, bridged the connectors, changed thermostat, checked for air bubbles and still had the prob until i changed my head gasket. So just take the advice and change it.

 
Rep Power: 312

I never actually got the head gasket checked to be honest with you. I had a rather rough experience with the Honda dealership where they told me it WASNT the head gasket but rather the thermostat so I changed that first and the problem reoccured. I called back and said it's still pushing coolant out of the overflow and they said it was something internal. That's when I pulled the head and knew right away it was the gasket. I haven't had a problem since and I've put 20k kilometers on the car. I'm from the Niagara Falls area. Find a good mechanical shop in the area to check the head for trueness once youve removed it. You can spend 500 dollars changing everything around it and then end up just replacing the gasket, it's up to you.

I changed the gasket myself so the shop was my driveway I guess. It took me a solid 3 days to do, but I can do it now comfortably in 1 day... you kinda learn a few tricks along the way

 
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I pretty much did the same as you. I did all the minor stuff myself to eliminate all other possible causes to conclude it was the head gasket. The only thing I involve the dealership in is ordering the right parts for me, reflashing my ecu and when I had warranty, fixing broken stuff.

But i ordered the head gasket and had one of my shops do it for me. You learn a few stuff doing things yourself but it takes time which i don't have.

 
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Ok guys. Thanks for all the updates. Honda has already told me that they don't think it's the gasket. Same crap as with you. Thermostat and maybe a leak elsewhere is their "professional" opinion. When I asked them if they would refund me all my parts and labour if they were wrong, they just looked at each other, while thinking of a response. 'Nuf said..I could see it in their dumbfounded eyes.

 
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Hi,One easy thing to check is the o2 sensor if coolant is getting to it.It will show up as white ash on the sensor?????????

 
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Lol, of course you would stump them on a question like that. But I'm sure if the problem persist I'm sure they'll have to rein-burst you after you bring the law into it.

But all in all, it's up to you what you do with your car. If you do all that and the problem is solved, congrats. If not, you live and you learn.

The only symptoms i have was overflow from resavor and low levels in radiator. But plz to update

 
Rep Power: 312

Yea let us know. Again, get a shop to check for exhaust in your coolant system. It is the best way to check for HG failure. Here is a good video of how it's done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7KVQq9vKA

 
Rep Power: 0

I Also have the same problem, Car overheated Changed thermostat, took it for a long drive, stayed nice and cool till I got back to town, Came into some road construction and noticed the car started getting hot. Turned the heater on and cooled right down. I also felt cool air for just a moment then it got warm again. Car also had a small amount of water spitting out of the tail pipe.

2001 Civic Have no Idea if it is the head gasket or not. Car has 120,000 miles.

 
Rep Power: 185

Sounds like the beginning stages of head gasket failure. Have a shop or yourself pump 170 psi(recommended by ezone) in to the spark plug tubes and see if there are bubbles coming from the radiator. If there are any bubbles, it's an HG unfortunately.

I didn't even bother having anybody look at mine. Coolant spewed out of the reserve/overflow tank. I knew right then it was an HG. The head valves were rusted at cylinder #3 because of coolant leaking between the water jacket and the cylinder.

There's about a zillion posts on head gasket failures/symptoms for this car.