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My car is a 96 accord LX 2.2 with 145k miles. A month ago I noticed the car started to idle rough. When I checked the coolant it was a bit low so I filled it up. The coolant was not extremely low, but I decided to do the cooling system bleeding procedure just to rule air in the cooling system out. The problem was still there. I rented a cooling system pressure test kit and I pressurized the system. I noticed a bulging top radiator hose so I replaced that and tested it again. The cooling system held pressure over a 5 minute period only dropping 1 PSI. I noticed the bottom rad hose was also damp around the connections but I did not get a chance to change that one. After the pressure testing, the car was very hard to start and took about 5 tries to get it going. After that I assumed I had a leak in the head gasket but I wanted to make sure. I rented a block test kit from AutoZone and bought some of their test liquid. I did the block test and over a 4 minute period of testing from stone cold the liquid became VERY faint blue, but not green or yellow like the instructions said tit would for a blown head gasket. I am leaning toward the idea that I do have a blown gasket but I don’t want to replace it if I don’t need to. I have no other signs of a blown head gasket. No coffee color in the oil or on the oil cap, no wetness on the spark plugs, coolant is not oily of milky. I do have some condensation type smoke/vapor coming out of the tailpipe when for the first 5 minutes of cold starting. The car runs very well except for the idling problem and the car does not overheat. Also the coolant does drop slightly every few days, but I am not sure if the lower rad hose or other cooling hoses are the cause. Is there anything else I could do to verify if this is the problem or does the evidence I have gathered so far give a clear picture of the problem? Thanks.
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Money is tight right now but on the other hand I don’t want to redo the head gasket during winter. I am considering whether to buy new head bolts or use the old ones. #EricTheCarGuy do you recommend buying new head bolts (around $100) or will the old bolts work fine? Thanks!
There’s no need for new head bolts as they are not torque to yield bolts. Since finances are an issue, you might look for a Beck Arnley head gasket kit. Those are very complete and more affordable than OE. I don’t recommend Ebay parts, I’m not saying they’re all bad, but it’s a crap shoot.
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to ask a question related to this project. I ended up leaving the car alone last year and just refilling coolant when needed (about every 2 weeks). I drove it like this for the last year. 1 Month ago I got another car and so I decided to take off the head gasket from this car off to see what it looked like. The head and block actually look better than I thought they would. I do not see much pitting at all. Now that I have the thing apart I cleaned up the mating surfaces with a rag and some mineral spirits but they don’t look even close to “mirror finish” like Eric posted previously. What should I do to clean up these mating surfaces? I have looked around the internet at responses and it seems everyone has a different opinion for an aluminum block. Some people say use scotch brite pads, other people say just mineral spirits, other people say copper brush. I just want to make sure I can get it as clean as it needs to be without messing up the mating surface. Would pictures be helpful?
It may not be cleaning that’s your primary concern. It may be warpage. If you can get your hands on a straight edge to see if the block and head are true, that might be the way to go right now. That said, I’ve cured warped parts like this just by replacing the gasket and setting everything to the proper torque.
As for cleaning to the proper finish, if there isn’t any gasket material on the head or block, I would leave it alone. The less you mess with it the better. A machine shop is your best option for getting the proper surface. The have the correct tools and experience to do the job.
Lastly, make sure it’s a combustion leak you’re dealing with here. By the sound of it you’re tracking down a coolant loss. Coolant will get low over time normally. The water evaporates out and causes the level to fall. Also, there are plenty of places coolant can leak and not be noticed. The small hoses at the throttle body, or the hoses under the intake come to mind. Not to even mention air in the system which is the #1 cause of issues like this. Especially after major work like that. I’ve seen it many, many times.
If you’re looking for a leak, start with testing and observations, not assumptions. They bite you every time. More info on solving these issues here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
As always, please keep us updated on your progress.
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to do an update in case it helped anyone in the future. I went ahead and replaced the head gasket. Again I had no car experience, but I used information on this forum and the process went very smooth. I also took advantage of the timing belt replacement vmanual to perform that service as well. The video was extremely detailed and even allowed a complete novice like me to feel comfortable doing this procedure.
The reason I decided to replace the head gasket was because I was losing about an overflow container worth of coolant every week. I checked all suggested sources for coolant leaks and I could never find one. I also never saw any coolant on the ground, and the car would not overheat. Once I finished my head gasket replacement I filled up the coolant and I noticed coolant pouring onto the floor. I took a look and it ended up being the o ring and gasket behind the thermostat housing. This was one area where I did not check because I thought since I had the hose on tight I was good to go. The prior owner must have had a similar problem, but they decided to fix it with blue goop instead of the proper gasket and o ring. Once I got those two seals set in place, the car stopped leaking coolant. Now I am wondering if I ever had a problem with my head gasket. When I took off the head gasket, it didn’t look blown. The next couple weeks will tell if I am having any type of continued coolant loss.
I just wanted to give people dealing with a coolant loss issue another place to check for leaks because on my car it did not appear to be leaking from those seals before I took the head off, but now looking back I am almost sure that is where I was losing coolant. I was lucky because I have multiple vehicles but if someone is in a hurry to get this problem fixed I think this would be another good place to look for coolant loss problems.
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