93 del sol si2

I have an old 93 del sol with HIGH KM (475,000). Broke as can be, cannot afford a new car. (with that out of the way)..............

I don't think I have a head gasket issue. No rad fluid or milkly substance on oil cap, car runs OK still. I need to change my PCV valve badly (might be original one). Picking it up from my Honda dealership next week (with new hose too).

I heard that a very dirty PCV valve can cause a lot of oil to go into the rad overflow?

I also burn a lot of oil. I can see it leaking all on the valve cover... getting new valve cover gasket set too.

Its a manual tranny. Any ideas? thanks, Kevin in Ontario,Canada.

93 del sol si2

oh another issue I have been having for months. Very hard to get into 1st gear and reverse, sometimes second. Had brand new clutch put in a year ago..... cold weather? maybe, but even last fall my car was doing it. I know all the tricks to get in into gear but it is a real pain in the butt. What could be causing this?

Texas4door

Who the heck told you that? o.O
If the PCV is bad, you can get oil in your AIR intake system, but I pretty sure the PCV wouldn't have anything to do with the radiator at all.

You COULD be leaking exhaust gasses into the cooling jacket (happened to my civic a while back when it overheated and weakened the head gasket, causing that gnarly build up in the reservoir, but no milky oil or coolant).

93 del sol si2

well, i heard the pcv can cause the car to run rich and cause combustion issues, thus leading oil to go into the rad overflow or rad?

Texas4door

Yep, it can cause runability issues, but the only way for oil to get into the coolant is via a headgasket leak (or a MAJOR issue somewhere in the head/block). You can also get an oily residue in the coolant if the transmission intercooler integrated into the bottom of the radiator springs a leak, but since yours is a manual trans, it won't have the integrated intercooler like an auto will, so that rules that out.
As for the trans having issues getting into gear...I'm better at diagnosing auto trans issues than manuals (weird, right?) ^^;;

93 del sol si2

so Texas, the only way I can get oil into the overflow is a head gasket? My car is running ok... weird. Been driving it like this for months.... THANK YOU.

oh- I heard if you had a head gasket issue you would know by very bad running performance and obviously think exhaust smoke. there are no bubbles in my rad when cap is off,etc...

93 del sol si2

my mechanic said if i had a cracked head, my car would be undrivable. same with a bad head gasket...

btw, they did just change my rad, it had a leak. this is the second new rad in last 3 months.. maybe its my rad? no leaks onto the ground though...

93 del sol si2

i dont have much loss of coolant in the rad and none in the overflow, no overheating issues either. the exhaust is burning oil, not coolant.

JJT211

Does your cooling system seem to have abnormally high pressure? When I cracked a head gasket the first sign was the coolant pressure pushing coolant out the reservoir causing my coolant to go low eventually and caause overheating.

belairbrian

The only way oil and water are mixing are through a bad head gasket or a crack inside the block. head gasket is way more likely.

As to the shifting, I'd start simple and re-bleed the master-slave cylinder system. Are you loosing any fluid there?

Oil burning could be valve seals or worn rings. if you have to remove the head to do the gasket, do the valve seals at the same time.

If you're mechanically inclined and have the proper tools, none of these are hard repairs. If you will be paying a shop, you need to do some thinking about whether to spend money on this car or sell it and put the proceeds and repair money towards a different car.

94EG8

There's just no truth to that. None. I have personally seen a head cracked in 5 places run fine with stop leak plugging up.

Often with a Honda there will be no symptoms of a bad headgasket other than the cooling system is under extreme pressure and will push coolant out past the reservoir.

A blown headgasket as stated above will usually create extreme pressure in the cooling system, it will blow out whatever's weakest first. It's quite common to have rad and heater hoses develop leaks, or even blow right off where they're clamped. Sometimes an old plastic rad tank will explode.

You have a blown headgasket. Since you've got oil in the coolant you will need a new waterpump and thermostat as well. If you've got 475,000kms on it I'd recommend you just replace the engine.

93 del sol si2

i just had the head gasket replaced 2 years ago though... been driving the car like this for months......... wouldnt the car overheat? im not losing rad fluid or overheating....

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

No. I know that from personal experience. You can have a blown headgasket and not have any of the typical signs.

lostforawhile

some Hondas have an oil cooler built in under the filter, I cant remember which ones, this is a possibility but you would need to see if your car has one

lostforawhile

if you have a factory oil cooler, you will see it under the filter, and it will have two coolant hoses running to it, this is the inside of one, you can see if it failed how cooant and oil could mix

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

I don't recall any D-series with these. But then again, my wife's hatch had a blown HG and never overheated or anything. Just oil in the reservoir. Did that for about a year I would estimate before we had to swap out the engine.

94EG8

The VX (D15Z1) had an oil cooler. That's the only one though.

93 del sol si2

ughh... im broke and need my car for work, i drive it for work.. if i keep an eye on both oil and coolant level, think i'd be ok for a while? car runs fine.

94EG8

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Someday it's just going to leave you somewhere, but no one can say when.

93 del sol si2

thanks guys. going to go out and buy a h.g. leak tester just in case.. spend 30 bucks before taking the engine apart down the road. if my mechanic put in a NEW HG 2 years ago, i shouldn't have to replace it already.

94EG8

You're lucky to get that out of a D-series headgasket. More commonly I see 6 months to a year. Once they blow once they tend to keep blowing.

lostforawhile

if it was done right I dont see why, the head should have been checked for warpage, as well as the deck, if everything was done to spec, there should be no reason for it to continue to fail, they usually fail when short cuts are taken

93 del sol si2

Anyone have a quick point by point head gasket checklist (PROPER WAY), so i can just print it out and give it to my mechanic.. hes cool- im sure he will use it. ill be there watching as well... My car is a 93 del sol manual si., 1.6 l. not sure the series engine though?

The weird thing is I always thought it was an S, 1.5L, because i thought it was just the base car. i bought it in 2000 when it had 175,000 KM on it. my old mechanic replaced the valve cover and it had 1.6l, written on it- this was years ago.

I thought if it was an SI, it says SI on the back of the car (little Del Sol SI decal?)- my car only has HONDA decal on the left side. how can i know for sure the series engine and s or SI? the serial # on the car?

THANKS guys, don't know much about cars.

jbpnoman

If your mechanic needs a check list, you need a new mechanic. That's basic **** for someone who works in a shop.

As for your motor identification, look on the front side of the motor, near where the transmission bell housing bolts to the block. There should be a small (roughly 3"x3") flat part. It is probably completely caked in black **** - get some steel wool and dish soap and clean it off to reveal your engine stamp.

D15B7 = 93-95 Del Sol S
D16Y7 = 96-97 Del Sol S
D16Z6 = 93-95 Del Sol Si
D16Y8 = 96-97 Del Sol Si
B16A3 = 94-95 Del Sol VTEC
B16A2 = 96-97 Del Sol VTEC

Alternatively, look at the VIN, specifically the 4th, 5th, and 6th positions.

EG1 = D15B7
EG2 = B16A2/B16A3 (year dependent)
EH6 = D16Y7, D16Y8, D16Z6 (year dependent)

93 del sol si2

i have a second rad? to the right of the rad? or is that an oil cooler? or ac unit? like i said, i know nothing about cars