Just did a block leak test, yellow is NOT my favorite color in the first place but now I hate it. All four cylinders leaking. Husband will want to sell the car (being honest about it of course!) but I don't want my baby to go. I am a moderately intelligent person who has worked on her own cars for years, is this something I can do without completely f*ing up my car? I don't want to take it to a shop for fear that they will "find" all sorts of other things to fix just because I'm a girl. I have the BIG Honda Civic service/repair manual (borrowed from a friend), looked at the description of the job and it scares the crap out of me.

Another thing---what if it's just a tiny leak? Has anyone tried any of the stuff they sell claiming to "seal" leaking head gaskets? Bar's, there are other ones out there. I realize it would just be a stopgap measure at best until we have the money to repair it correctly.

ANY HELP OR OPINIONS WELCOME!!! SOON!!!!

 

So I just had a mechanic look at it, he says it is NOT the head gasket. The block leak test was apparently false. Apparently, the coolant is not going back into the radiator because the reservoir won't hold pressure. "I" didn't buy it, Mr Seatazzz did, and I can't be sure it's the right reservoir for my car. Cut some hose to make a bushing, waiting for cooldown to see if it worked. If it didn't, I'm going to epoxy that frigging valve to the cap of the reservoir until I can buy a new one. Took it on a loooooong test drive and temp gauge didn't move a micrometer. Ran great too. Will update later.

 

[edit] Just kidding.

 

Just kidding what???

 

I responded to your first post about stuff to do with the head and replacing gasket. Then you posted that it wasn't the gasket. So...

just kidding!

 

I see, said the blind man as he walked over the cliff...still waiting for it to cool down to see if the level in the reservoir drops. Mechanic said level in reservoir when I filled it may have been too high also...this is my first cooling system job ever (I'm more of a brakes-electrical-stereo installation gal) so I am flying by the seat of my (grease stained) pants. Husband is not a gearhead and doesn't understand why we don't just sell the thing and go into hock for another car. I say, IT'S FIXABLE DAMMIT LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

 

Are you sure your coolant system is pressurized? I know my 1990 is not.
If its NOT pressurized, check the line from the radiator to the overflow. If that line has a leak, it will allow fluid to go to the overflow, but not return to the radiator.

 

A little more history....when I replaced the radiator decided to replace the reservoir as well, as the original had a lot of gunk sticking to the inside. Was the original Honda reservoir, looks like. Sent Mr Seatazz off to get one. The cap on the original did NOT have a loose valve, it was sealed to the cap. New one didn't come with hoses or anything. Valve on top was LOOSE--even with hose attached was allowing air to escape through the top. Mechanic said that was wrong---it was allowing coolant in, but since the valve on top was loose there wasn't any way for the pressure to build enough to force the coolant back into the radiator. What do you think?

 

And the line DID have a pinhole leak, sealed it with vacuum hose tape (black stretchy sticky kind). I don't hear any air escaping through it and no visual leaks---before I applied the tape the coolant would slowly drip out when engine was at operating temp. I STILL think I need a new (HONDA!!) reservoir.

 

Did you replace the radiator cap? My eg had a simalar problem and I found that the gasket on the cap had a small tear in it. Problem solved.