Hey, I just bought a 95 civic and it has constant overheating problems. I first replaced the radiator and thermostat, but that didnt help. I then noticed some oil in the coolant reservoir and I read online that that means its probably the head gasket so a took the head off a few days ago but the head gasket still seems to be in good condition so i'm not sure where to go from here.

I have a new head gasket but i don't I don't really think it needs a new one. I am going to get the head resurfaced too but i am not sure if that will solve the problem. There is also a lot of oil in the water jacket which i think just dripped in there when i took the head off.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

get the head checked out for cracks. it could be extremely warped or have a crack in it. i don't think there should be more then a few drops of oil in the water jacket. when the engine is off it should all be sitting down in the pan. is your oil in the pan milky brown at all?

another thing if you didn't drain the coolant from the block before you pulled the head you now need to drain all the oil and coolant and clean it out as best you can. leftover water in the oil will destroy your engine very quickly and oil in the coolant isn't a good idea either.

also you really can't go by looks with a headgasket. just change it. you should change the timing belt as well since you have to take it off for the head. you shouldn't really use a old timing belt. water pump would be a good idea while its all apart as well. definitely get the head checked out though. according to the haynes manual you are also supposed to have the top the the block machined flat too but im not sure if its necessary. maybe there is a way you can just check yourself.

 

Thanks for the reply, I will get the head checked for cracks. I drained and pulled the radiator before i took the head off but i didnt drain the coolant from the engine so I will need to do that. How do u drain the coolant from the engine? I will check the oil in the pan tomorrow to see if it is milky but i'm pretty sure it isn't which gives me hope the head isn't cracked. The timing belt was also changed like 20,000 miles ago so do you think i should still replace it?

Thanks again for the reply, all of this really helps

 

Head gaskets are not reuseable. Any time the head has been taken off it needs to be put back on with a new gasket. It is very important to clean all traces of the old gasket off of the head and the block.

There's a drain plug on the front of the engine block near cylinder 4. Don't bother replacing the timing belt until you're sure the engine is good.

 

well unless the head is cracked im sure the block is going to be fine and t belts aren't recommended to be reinstalled either. no sense doing the headgasket and putting the car back together without doing it. If the headgasket fixes it he will want a good Tbelt and if it doesn't fix it then it wasn't an internal issue with the engine and you wouldn't want to rip it back apart again for Tbelt. Get a Haynes manual and follow their recommendations as to getting the block machined flat or getting the head machined. im pretty sure that aluminum head will need to be done or it could be warped and your brand new gasket is going to leak as bad as the old one.