Old goat

Guys I have a 98 civic dx that keeps losing coolant, I have to add fluid every couple of days. I have replaced the cap and overflow rubber tubes. I cannot find any visible signs of leaking. The car does not seem to pull any antifreeze back in from the overflow tank also. Could this be a blown head gasket? I checked the oil and it looks clean. Also the car is getting a misfire in bank 1 on my code reader, not sure if this is related to the coolant loss.
When you let the car sit for awhile and go to start it up it runs rough but clears up after a minute or so, but when I first take off it falls on its face and I have to feather the throttle to get it to run, but it will eventually run ok. Any ideas on what I am dealing with here?

Ruben19

any white smoke coming from the exhaust?

Old goat

no sir

Linked

you may have to performa uv dye test to check of any external leaks

or leave the car running on a clean floor for a while and check the floor for any leaks

Old goat

thanks I will try that

JasonYo

Maybe your water pump is leaking, but only when you are driving. Thats what happend to me. Take a look under the car where the water pump is for some coolant, or if its just wet there.

Jimster480

Does there appear to be any coolant under the hood anywhere? Because one of your hoses could be leaking just a little bit, this happened to me once before, where it would only leak while I was driving.

honda_luvr_2000

Well, based on your description, there is a very good possibility that your head gasket is leaking. Sounds most likely leaking into cylinder one since you have a misfire cod eon that cylinder. The fact that you couldn't find any leaks and are loosing coolant fast enough to add coolant every couple days pushes toward an internal coolant leak. Since you don't think it's getting into the oil then it's probably the seal between cylinder & water jacket that's leaking. Also the statement of a rough start after sitting for a while after a drive indicates that coolant is leaking into the cylinder/s.
Here's a very easy check for that:
Top off the coolant. Warm the car up until the cooling fans come on. Let it run for 15 minutes after the fans have come on once (as long as it isn't going to overheat). Shut the car off. Pull all your spark plugs out. Let the car sit over night. The next day check in the cylinders for coolant (use a flexible LED pen light if you have one, AutoZone/Advanced Auto should have them). I would believe you will find some in cylinder 1. Also you could stick your nose real close to ("in") the spark plug holes and smell for coolant in each cylinder. Also, when you're looking into the cylinders, take notice of the color and condition of each piston. If one/more is light brown/tan compared to others that means it's getting washed by coolant & steam cleaned (not good for the cylinder walls).
Let us know what you find.

hondamark35

i would pressure test the coolant system. the results will be more definitive than searching for visual leaks outside or inside the engine. you'll also get an idea for the size of the leak. i think harbour freight carries a decent test kit.