I have a '96 Civic, which has been a great car until now.

Winter came, and one of my antifreeze lines got a hole in it. I had to wait overnight for a new hose, so i taped it up, filled it up and drove it home. The engine said it was running hot but I'm told that could just be from the lack of pressure. I fixed the hose, rinsed off the engine, and when i tried to start the car it had some problems but started. The engine was knocking a little and the heater didn't work. I was told to let it run a bit to build up antifreeze pressure and dry out the engine. The heater started working but the knocking continued and it was a little hard to start. I drove the car a short way to a mechanic but they said it'd be a few weeks before they could look at it. It was parked on a hill and didn't want to start after that so we loaded it on a trailer and took it to a nearby relitives and did some tests on it.

It buzzes when I stick the key in and turn it (but not starting) so I guess that means the fuel pump is working. The spark plugs are sparking (one looked a little bad) and there seems to be compression (we didn't have a tool to check how much), we checked the distributor for water, and noticed the oil was a low but adding a quart showed on the dipstick (so it couldn't have been bone dry, right?). The first time I ever let a pro change it and i kinda wonder if they didn't put enough (any?) in?! The car seems to turn over but nothings coming out of the exhaust.

Anyway, after all that we're clueless and this seems to be a bad time of the year to find a mechanic. Any ideas?

 

Is there a Check Engine Light (CEL)? When you turn the key, does the CEL come on for a few seconds and then turn off? (That verifies that the light at least works.)

If you lost coolant and got air into the system, you'll need to bleed the system to get all the air out of it. When there is air in the system, the engine will sometimes sound very strange. If you drove it that way for too long, there might be engine damage. It is also possible that you burned up your thermostat. Any time you've had a heat issue/coolant issue, it's a good idea to replace the thermostat and thermostat gasket anyways. (It's easy to do.)

Do you have a copy of the service manual? If not, go here: http://hondatech.info/downloads/Auto/Manuals/Civic/ and download the one for your Civic. There is a section that will tell you how to swap thermostats and bleed the coolant system, and it's not difficult at all.

 

It does have one, it's been on for awhile (I had Autzone plug it in, said it was probably Oxygen Sensor going bad) and It was blinking when I drove it the last time. I'm pretty sure it comes on and goes off when you turn the key.

I don't know if it means anything, but it was loud and shaking kinda hard too.

 

I'm not sure what it means when the light blinks as you drive. Probably not good...


That sounds like what happened when my sister's car had no coolant in it.

 

You created an electrical problem when you washed the engine. Disconnect and dry the distributor connector. A blinking CEL indicates misfire severe enough to damage the catalytic converter. Don't drive the car like this - a new cat is very expensive. Replace the spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor. Pull the CEL codes from the ECU using the jumper wire method (see CEL link in my signature). Post the codes to get feedback.

 

When the heater doesn't work that's usually because there's not enough coolant. You may not have completely refilled it after fixing the leak and incurred further damage.

Continuing to drive with an overheated engine is almost always going to put you in the market for a new engine. There's no such thing as "building pressure". Whenever the gauge is over the normal halfway point, you are risking severe damage by not pulling over and turning it off. Keep going only if your life depends on it.