blown head gasket or not?
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blown head gasket or not?
Hi all,
I’ve read through several blown head gasket threads because I wondered myself if i had one. During a roadtrip the car overheated several times so as soon as we reached are destination I’ve brought it to a mechanic since I’m not capable of doing repairs myself.
He diagnosed my 2003 EX with a blown head gasket because after filling the coolant and driving it for 30 minutes the coolant has spilled out of the radiatorcap. He then performed a test where some bubbles showed.
The mechanic said he wouldn’t recommend driving it further then 20 miles. I decided to try and reach home (360 miles away) and made it there without any problems of overheating or spilling of coolant.
Judging by this story I wondered if my head gasket is blown or not?
I’ve read through several blown head gasket threads because I wondered myself if i had one. During a roadtrip the car overheated several times so as soon as we reached are destination I’ve brought it to a mechanic since I’m not capable of doing repairs myself.
He diagnosed my 2003 EX with a blown head gasket because after filling the coolant and driving it for 30 minutes the coolant has spilled out of the radiatorcap. He then performed a test where some bubbles showed.
The mechanic said he wouldn’t recommend driving it further then 20 miles. I decided to try and reach home (360 miles away) and made it there without any problems of overheating or spilling of coolant.
Judging by this story I wondered if my head gasket is blown or not?
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Re: blown head gasket or not?
The answer is almost always "yes". Even when the answer doesn't seem like it would be "yes", the answer is still "yes".
Sorry, i'm struggling to accept that mine is gone too after thinking I fixed an issue 40 times.
Sorry, i'm struggling to accept that mine is gone too after thinking I fixed an issue 40 times.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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Re: blown head gasket or not?
If you have to ask........
Find the sticky thread on overheating common causes and read up on how to PROVE the issue.
Find the sticky thread on overheating common causes and read up on how to PROVE the issue.
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Yes. It's a blown head gasket. Pretty easy to change. Shouldn't cost too much to have it done either. I bought an evergreen kit off Amazon with head bolt s. Bout $80.
Last edited by CRXTILLIDIE; Sep 20, 2016 at 05:21 PM. Reason: typo
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In case anybody was wondering, I found the OEM honda kit (MLS) for 125 shipped. Seems to be the best price around and factory head bolts can be reused. I'm contemplating buying a used head and having it machined/resealed first then trying to knock the job out in a day. idk if it'll be a headache or not with the cam alignment or anything though. It'd be nice if my head wasn't warped and I didn't have to buy/machine another but I'll never know until after the fact.
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No.1. Don't be a fool and reuse your head bolts. They are torque to yield.meaning they stretch when torqued down.
No.2. The ever green kit has already lasted well over a year.
No.3. This forum is full of people that adhear to the idea that Honda Motor Corp. can do no wrong, and aftermarket must be junk. I love Honda but I'm not disillusioning myself.
Honda's (OEM) gen seven head gaskets are a well known problem, so why would you preach about putting the same old CR*P back in. Especially when head gasket technology has improved since the gen seven was manufactured.
Here's a tip for all the readers of this forum. Don't get caught up in the hype. Honda makes mistakes, but they will not let that get in the way of profits.
Example: I don't use Honda ATF. 99% of Honda owners think you should. But why? Honda'sdidn't work well enough to stop thousands of gen seven auto transaxles from getting fried. But Honda swears by it because it's the only way that they can continue to make money off of cars they sold 15 years ago.
No.2. The ever green kit has already lasted well over a year.
No.3. This forum is full of people that adhear to the idea that Honda Motor Corp. can do no wrong, and aftermarket must be junk. I love Honda but I'm not disillusioning myself.
Honda's (OEM) gen seven head gaskets are a well known problem, so why would you preach about putting the same old CR*P back in. Especially when head gasket technology has improved since the gen seven was manufactured.
Here's a tip for all the readers of this forum. Don't get caught up in the hype. Honda makes mistakes, but they will not let that get in the way of profits.
Example: I don't use Honda ATF. 99% of Honda owners think you should. But why? Honda'sdidn't work well enough to stop thousands of gen seven auto transaxles from getting fried. But Honda swears by it because it's the only way that they can continue to make money off of cars they sold 15 years ago.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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The head bolts are not TTY in the 1.7 engine.
If someone, anyone, could actually locate and use TTY bolts in this particular engine application it might become a much more robust package.
There are some posts written in this forum where people tell of very premature failures with well known and trusted aftermarket brand (Fel-pro).
Hondas part number indicates there have been several revisions since the original replacement head gasket was listed in the parts catalog. In all the time I've been doing these using head gaskets from Honda, I have not had a single repeat head gasket failure (caused by the gasket itself) roll back into this shop.
The ATF itself wasn't ever the root cause of Hondas transmission issues, IMO, and that includes far more than Civics and far more than model years 01-05.
JMHO. YMMV.
If someone, anyone, could actually locate and use TTY bolts in this particular engine application it might become a much more robust package.
There are some posts written in this forum where people tell of very premature failures with well known and trusted aftermarket brand (Fel-pro).
Hondas part number indicates there have been several revisions since the original replacement head gasket was listed in the parts catalog. In all the time I've been doing these using head gaskets from Honda, I have not had a single repeat head gasket failure (caused by the gasket itself) roll back into this shop.
The ATF itself wasn't ever the root cause of Hondas transmission issues, IMO, and that includes far more than Civics and far more than model years 01-05.
JMHO. YMMV.
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No.1. Don't be a fool and reuse your head bolts. They are torque to yield.meaning they stretch when torqued down.
No.2. The ever green kit has already lasted well over a year.
No.3. This forum is full of people that adhear to the idea that Honda Motor Corp. can do no wrong, and aftermarket must be junk. I love Honda but I'm not disillusioning myself.
Honda's (OEM) gen seven head gaskets are a well known problem, so why would you preach about putting the same old CR*P back in. Especially when head gasket technology has improved since the gen seven was manufactured.
Here's a tip for all the readers of this forum. Don't get caught up in the hype. Honda makes mistakes, but they will not let that get in the way of profits.
Example: I don't use Honda ATF. 99% of Honda owners think you should. But why? Honda'sdidn't work well enough to stop thousands of gen seven auto transaxles from getting fried. But Honda swears by it because it's the only way that they can continue to make money off of cars they sold 15 years ago.
No.2. The ever green kit has already lasted well over a year.
No.3. This forum is full of people that adhear to the idea that Honda Motor Corp. can do no wrong, and aftermarket must be junk. I love Honda but I'm not disillusioning myself.
Honda's (OEM) gen seven head gaskets are a well known problem, so why would you preach about putting the same old CR*P back in. Especially when head gasket technology has improved since the gen seven was manufactured.
Here's a tip for all the readers of this forum. Don't get caught up in the hype. Honda makes mistakes, but they will not let that get in the way of profits.
Example: I don't use Honda ATF. 99% of Honda owners think you should. But why? Honda'sdidn't work well enough to stop thousands of gen seven auto transaxles from getting fried. But Honda swears by it because it's the only way that they can continue to make money off of cars they sold 15 years ago.
Would you say the OE or OEM headgasket that sells for $33 on HondaPartsNow is worth the extra price (up to $10) than the one in the Amazon Evergreen kit you installed?
Honda most likely never made their ATF, coolant, oil..just purchased it from another manufacturer that made it to their specifications and slapped a Honda label on it.
For some repairs I can't always afford to use Honda OE/OEM parts. However, on some repairs I can't afford not to use Honda OE/OEM parts.
Last edited by Wankenstein; Sep 21, 2016 at 09:48 PM.
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