PhunekyPhish

The saga of readying my car for the drive from FL to MA continues...

2000 Honda Civic dx, 163,000 mi.
Had the valve cover gasket replaced last week because I noticed seeping oil from the bolts and then on further inspection at the dealer saw a little seeping from the front. Took care of for what I thought was timely and reasonable priced considering I had it done at the dealer - I know I could have done it myself for much cheaper, but probably wouldn't have the peace of mind when I am on the freeway with it. Anyways...

Today I still noticed a smell after I got to work. On getting home I kept the engine running and did some inspecting under the hood. All looked pretty good for the first 30-45 seconds of looking and smelling then I saw a couple wafts of white smoke coming from up under the exhaust manifold. Ugh.

I'm thinking it might be a bad head gasket. My temps are fine, even after a 1 hour back and forth to the airport (2 hour total time). I also haven't noticed any white smoke from the tailpipe and I had an oil and coolant change a few weeks ago and there was no mention of anything looking suspicious. However, back in November I took a 4 hour road trip and after being off the freeway for ~ 10 minutes the temp gauge did rise (slightly) but then I got back on the freeway and the temp went back to normal and stayed normal til I got to my destination. Coming back after that trip, another 4 hours, the temp gauge rose again slightly but never went more than 3/4 up (half way between half and 3/4 I think). That was back in Nov and since then I had my timing belt tuned up because when I got a new timing belt the non-dealer did a bad job and I was detonating (yeah detonating during that 4 hour trip ). So I was thinking the slight overheating may have been due to the detonation. But, now with the white smoke I am afraid it might be the head gasket.

What do you guys think of the white smoke? I'm arranging my schedule to drop it off at the dealer in the next couple days to get it looked at. I got a quote for the replacement of the head gasket and it would be 745 with parts and labor. Estimated a 5 hour repair if that's what they end up diagnosing.

Thanks for any input. And, yes I am a car novice. The nice thing about the old Honda is that at least I am learning more and more about cars as it shows its age. I hope to start doing maintenance and minor repairs eventually, but at the moment I'm not there yet (life situations).

TomCat39

Unfortunately there isn't anything to be said for you.

You may be learning but since you don't have the tools or the confidence to do a handful of tests, you are at the mercy of your mechanic.

No one can diagnose a head gasket issue just based off of what you wrote.

The answers are going to be to do some tests, compression tests, block tests and maybe even a leak down test. Then there would be a desire to know if water is mixing in the oil or oil in the water of the coolant.

After all of these things have been answered and you aren't billowing steam from your tail pipe, you may be given an answer that more fits your situation.

Based off of what you wrote, I tend to think you have oil dripping on your exhaust manifold or catalytic converter but even that is another shot in the dark.

Until you can get some basic tools and some basic confidence to do things like pull spark plugs and do proper compression tests, the help here will be very limited.

Not trying to be cruel, just being straight with you on what you are asking the members here to do. It's not really fair on them.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

I would tell you to perform some tests (compression/leakdown) to rule some things out but your lack of tools and ability to want to get your hands dirty precludes this.

PhunekyPhish

TomCat, thanks for the honesty, I understand.

Shot - I was thinking I'd probably have more issues with a blown head gasket as well. The car seems to be driving fine - getting great gas mileage and I haven't perceived any loss in power. Only issues being back in Nov the overheating episodes and now the smell/smoke. Would a leaking exhaust manifold or intake manifold ever cause smoke? There is a slight rattle when I first begin to accelerate the car which sounds like a loose heat shield.

Appreciate the response. Dropping it off Thursday AM, will let you know what turns up.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

And there you have it.

ej8stance

not meaning to thread jack but.. im having the same problems. im getting codes p0301 , p0302 , p0304 & p1300.. my oil has gotten milky since it overheated when i first seen noticed it running bad.. it would idle down to 200 and 100 rpms.. then shut off. could this be timing? would it be cheaper to buy a new head off ebay instead of taking it to a machine shop? thanks and sorry again bout the post!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Oil doesn't get milky from bad timing.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

1.) You're too paranoid about taking a trip. A 4hr drive is not a road trip. It's a long drive. Who are you, Lewis and Clarke? Just go. I realize FL to MA is a full blown road trip. But if your car runs well...in all likelyhood...it'll be just fine.

2.) From what you said, your head gasket is probably fine too. Whomever did the valve cover job probably dribbled oil or coolant (topping off) onto your engine. Or the valve cover is still leaking oil.