Hey guys, here I am again. Finally popped the shield off the manifold today and lo and behold, cracked exhaust. Can't post pic right now (camera dead) but it's right in the center between the 2 & 4 outlets. Got overheating issues still too (all coolant dumps into the reservoir after driving 20+ miles and won't go back into the rad).

BEFORE I MAKE A SPENDY REPAIR--could these be related???? HELP!!!

 

Cracked manifolds are super common. Every EK manifold will crack over time. But this is unrelated to your cooling problem.

 

Damn. Guess I get to take a day off in the next two weeks and see if I can actually do the head gasket. In my mind I know I have the expertise, but the little guy who lives in the back of my mind (who bears a striking resemblance to my husband walking out into the garage every 30 minutes saying "don't you have that fixed yet?") says I will have WAY too many problems attempting the repair. I know that most of the time is taken up by taking the thing apart and making sure everything goes back the same way--thing that scares me is I have limited amount of patience when I'm doing a repair (want it done NOW dammit) and I'm afraid I will miss something vital. Anyone out there have a fail-safe method of completing a large part-intensive repair, such as head gasket replacement? I have both the Chiltons and Honda Civic Repair manuals (the one that is over 3 inches thick, most of which is wiring diagrams from what I have read) but hearing from someone REAL who has actually done this would help me even more. Also need to know what tools I need (I don't have a torque wrench for example). Crap.

 

my girlfriends car had a cracked manifold for like 6 months and it was fine. I finally replaced it, and it made no noticeable difference. I wouldnt worry about it till you can really afford it.