sorry to hear this, mine blew earlier this year and took my radiator with it 8/ be careful with your mechanic, replacing the head gasket is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. Cracks and warping are common with hondas and aluminum blocks. if you have access to an engine hoist find a cheap running stock engine and just drop it in your car. good luck

 

Yea, it really is the only thing left that could be producing the problem (according to them). They are Honda/Acura specialists, so I gotta trust them. I got their name off this site.

 

hopefully this will help.

i have the same problem but it occurred after i replaced the timing belt and water pump.

everything was fine before this. now, i'm adding to the radiator every couple of days to bring the levels up. otherwise, all the coolant will boil out.

when i was changing the water pump, i had a major concern. how to add coolant behind the thermostat. because coolant drained out when the water pump was removed, it would only be able to be filled when the thermostat opens (when the engine coolant is hot) which could be too late. an air pocketon warm-up could allow the head to get too hot before the thermostat opens.

when i replace the head gasket, i'm going to try vacuum filling the system to prevent this from happening.

good luck act

 

Any updates? If they have the ability to check the water pump while they have the engine apart, it might be worth inspecting it. Aftermarket/non-OEM water pumps have a somewhat high failure rate.

 

You should turn the heater lever to full heat and drain the coolant from the radiator prior to removal of the water pump.

After installation of the water pump (and timing belt) is completed, there is a proper procedure for bleeding the cooling system of air. This procedure differs among Civic generations.

Are you sure your head gasket is bad? Is it possible instead that your water pump is leaking?

 

bro u would have been done with all this along time ago..all you gotta do is take it to the honda service center. it takes maybe a couple of hours or up to one day for them to check whats wrong with your car. and it only costs 100 bucks. that way u know exactly whats wrong with your car. and stop wasting money on other ****..

 

I finally heard back from my mechanic...head gasket at the 3rd cylinder failed. They sent the head to be milled and put it all back together. I should have her back by monday for a cool $700...plus the $7,465 I paid in diagnostics

 

That's comforting news. I wonder why previous compression and leak down tests did not detect this problem?

I hope this is not a real cost! Just curious, what was the approximate cost for diagnostics work that preceded the current job?

 

Thats a problem that I had. I knew my headgasket was leaking and finally it was overheating everyday because the coolant was getting replaced with exhaust gases. Since I had 300,000 miles on it, I had the engine rebuilt for $1200 instead just doing the head job. Of course I had to pay 300 buck more to r/r the motor. I would have done it myself, but my driveway is on a slant plus I would had to get an engine hoist.

 

Good question Ron. I would say the costs leading up to this was:

New Radiator/Cap ($250)
2 New Thermostats ($30)
New Coolant Temp Sensor ($ I forget)
Coolant ($15)
Honda Diagnostic ($110)
Lake Town Motors Diagnostic/Remove thermostat ($75)

Thankfully, the first two independent shops didn't kill me for diagnosis since they couldn't find out what the problem was. Also thankfully, the car didn't need a new cylinder head. $tealership FTLL.

I can't wait to get the car back, commuting in the S2000 gets old fast. Plus, I hate racking up miles on her. Plus, Sirius is in the civic.