245000kms on car, HELP? I have Honda Civic 1997 Model which i got in feb , i already spent $560 to fix it. But now i was experiencing car goes missing while running ( feels its turning off due to low fuel) , So i took it to Canadian Tier and they said their is a possible leak of Antifreeze in the engine and due to that Spark plugs are going white and a mark on roater as well.They said its very expensive to fix it , and even suggested to replace the engine , i am so confused , i want this car to give me service for at least a year or two.
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Honda Civic 1997 ((Anti freez leak in Engine runs to plugs and makes them white,
- Thread starter obaid
- Start date
I certainly hope that you have used NOTHING but genuine HONDA COOLANT in this car. Using the "green" stuff may have eaten holes into your cylinder head. It is an aluminum alloy that is vulnerable to the chemicals found in many coolants. THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL COOLANT!! I have seen many Honda cylinder heads that look like Swiss cheese due to improper coolant usage. You MIGHT get lucky IF you find someone who is willing to re-torque your cylinder head, according to the sequence and procedure listed in Haynes manuals. This MIGHT straighten out the warped head and re-seal the gaskets. You can do this yourself with a little bit of determination. If you try this and it DOESN'T work, then you will have to remove the head, have it cleaned and lightly resurfaced, unless it is severely warped. In this case, it will have to be heated in an oven and restored to it's original shape. Obviously, you will need a head gasket set (kit). Use ONLY genuine Honda cylinder head kit and ONLY genuine Honda coolant. Use the internet to price these things out. You may as well replace the timing belt and water pump at this time. After all this work, the engine should last another 150,000 miles. Good luck!!
lowtek_dh_77
New member
Its a blow en head gasket. The head will need to be inspected by a machine shop. (make sure its not cracked. If it is cracked that's what caused you head gasket ot blow. Now your talking about over 1000 to fix it.) It could also be a cracked block.
redhzkingswood
New member
Leaking head gasket. Takes about a day to fix, the main cost will be labour unless you can do it yourself.
Before you give up and junk the vehicle, mainly because a 97 Honda is not worth the money to have someone replace the engine, there are simple tests that can pin point problems.
A shop can use an analizer, with a scope and gas tester, and perform a cylinder kill test. This will provide information on each cylinder, how they are firing, the firing time, the amount of unburnt fuel(and other gases) exiting the tail pipe before and during the test, and a relative compression test. This will pin point which cyclinder is missing, how it is firing(or not), and if the problem is possibly tune- up related or in the head or cylinders. Also;
1)- wet and dry compression test. This is a simple test to determine the compression in the cylinder, or lack of, and can be compared with the others. A wet test helps determone of a leak is a ring by-pass problem or valve seal, a blown cylinder head gasket, or bad valves.
3)- Radiator pressure test. This is usually performed with the plugs out and either a good ear or a tester. If the system can not hold pressure there is a leak. If there is a small leak outside the engine it can usually be found. A good ear or tester can tell which cylinder the leak is in if there is one.
NOW: before you go off the deep there is more. A white spark plug does not mean there is an antifreeze leak. A mark on the rotor(roater) has nothing to do with the antifreeze. A miss and a wet plug, along with an antifreeze smell(very strong and easy to detect)), would be indicative of an antifreeze leak. In fact a plug burning with a white color is a good thing. What would they want, black, green or orange? A search on the internet can get you pictures.
I am not saying you do not have a head gasket leak. You did not mention the vehicle losing coolant, or running hot. These are signs of "a leak" to be determined and one or more of the above test to verify.
It sounds to me like your engine doctor is a quack.
Do you have reason to believe the original shop ripped you off? Maybe you need to consult with them and see if a new part went bad, a part was not replaced properly, or another problem occured, such as a major vacuum leak.
Explain that for $560.00(you did not explain what they did) you feel they should look at it. If they are into customer satisfaction at all, or a reputable name, they will be happy to check it out.
Use the sob story of being broke---needing a vehicle-- and having spent a lot of money to still have a problem.
It would be interesting to know when the "miss" occured? Shortly after the repairs, a long time, and how many miles?
You really do not need to spend money on a probability. I feel you(and others on here) will agree.
"I think it could be", or "it might be", or "it is possible", are all words meaning one of two things.
1)- You need more testing to determine EXACTLY what the problem is or,
2)- You have just had an idiot look at your vehicle and stay away from there and warn others.
This blows my mind. "You have a miss, "might" have an antifreeze leak in the engine, so you need a new engine". Wow!!
Do you lose coolant? Does it run hot?
If you did possibly(one of those key words)have a small antifreeze leak(inside the engine), with the evidence being a loss of coolant and thus running hot, in such an older car that is not classic matierial, or a family heirloom, I would simply buy a can of engine stop leak and follow the instructions to the letter.
I would stick with the fact that you saw a quack(nursery rhyme) and get a better opionion.
If I know all this as an "ex" technician that has been driving a truck 15 years surely someone where you live is smarter than me. By the way, I was REALLY really good at what I did.
A shop can use an analizer, with a scope and gas tester, and perform a cylinder kill test. This will provide information on each cylinder, how they are firing, the firing time, the amount of unburnt fuel(and other gases) exiting the tail pipe before and during the test, and a relative compression test. This will pin point which cyclinder is missing, how it is firing(or not), and if the problem is possibly tune- up related or in the head or cylinders. Also;
1)- wet and dry compression test. This is a simple test to determine the compression in the cylinder, or lack of, and can be compared with the others. A wet test helps determone of a leak is a ring by-pass problem or valve seal, a blown cylinder head gasket, or bad valves.
3)- Radiator pressure test. This is usually performed with the plugs out and either a good ear or a tester. If the system can not hold pressure there is a leak. If there is a small leak outside the engine it can usually be found. A good ear or tester can tell which cylinder the leak is in if there is one.
NOW: before you go off the deep there is more. A white spark plug does not mean there is an antifreeze leak. A mark on the rotor(roater) has nothing to do with the antifreeze. A miss and a wet plug, along with an antifreeze smell(very strong and easy to detect)), would be indicative of an antifreeze leak. In fact a plug burning with a white color is a good thing. What would they want, black, green or orange? A search on the internet can get you pictures.
I am not saying you do not have a head gasket leak. You did not mention the vehicle losing coolant, or running hot. These are signs of "a leak" to be determined and one or more of the above test to verify.
It sounds to me like your engine doctor is a quack.
Do you have reason to believe the original shop ripped you off? Maybe you need to consult with them and see if a new part went bad, a part was not replaced properly, or another problem occured, such as a major vacuum leak.
Explain that for $560.00(you did not explain what they did) you feel they should look at it. If they are into customer satisfaction at all, or a reputable name, they will be happy to check it out.
Use the sob story of being broke---needing a vehicle-- and having spent a lot of money to still have a problem.
It would be interesting to know when the "miss" occured? Shortly after the repairs, a long time, and how many miles?
You really do not need to spend money on a probability. I feel you(and others on here) will agree.
"I think it could be", or "it might be", or "it is possible", are all words meaning one of two things.
1)- You need more testing to determine EXACTLY what the problem is or,
2)- You have just had an idiot look at your vehicle and stay away from there and warn others.
This blows my mind. "You have a miss, "might" have an antifreeze leak in the engine, so you need a new engine". Wow!!
Do you lose coolant? Does it run hot?
If you did possibly(one of those key words)have a small antifreeze leak(inside the engine), with the evidence being a loss of coolant and thus running hot, in such an older car that is not classic matierial, or a family heirloom, I would simply buy a can of engine stop leak and follow the instructions to the letter.
I would stick with the fact that you saw a quack(nursery rhyme) and get a better opionion.
If I know all this as an "ex" technician that has been driving a truck 15 years surely someone where you live is smarter than me. By the way, I was REALLY really good at what I did.
U
Ursuula
Guest
Has it been overheating? If you check the oil does the oil look like chocolate milk? From what you say, it sounds like the head gasket is going out. Depending on the shop they probably could charge up to 1,000$ to fix it.