cordell97

I took my 1999 Honda Accord LX VTEC engine to a certified Honda tech, who was referred to me, he opened his own shop, Issue: I found milky fluid in my radiator reservoir. He diagnosed the issue as a blown head gasket. I paid him $1157. Two months later I noticed the same milky liquid filled to the top in the radiator reservoir. I noticed when I checked the oil it was below the bottom indicator on the stick. So I towed the car back to the repair shop for fear of a blown hose that happened last time. The Tech/owner tells me its not a blown head gasket, he couldn't get all of the oily mixture out of the system from the original blown gasket. He flushed it out and drove it with no issues. Will test again today. I have not picked it up yet. Sounds fishy.

MAD_MIKE

What work was actually done?
What does the compression or leakdown test show?

jollyhonda

How many miles have you driven the car? It can be nearly impossible to flush all of the oily residue from the cooling system. I have a diesel pickup for a work rig...was getting soot in the overflow from a blown head gasket. By the time it was done we put a complete reman long block in the truck. No problems with the new motor, but there is still a little sooty residue in the tank...
If you blew the head gasket by overheating the car you could have possibly done damage to the oil control rings, which can cause the car to burn more oil than it used to. Hopefully it comes back with a clean bill of health, and if not hopefully the shop will stand behind anything they are liable for.

eksine

could be a cracked block leaking coolant . for that much money you coulda just bought a rebuilt engine from ebay. actually now you do need a new engine, or car

cordell97

MM thanks for taking the time to reply. I have a hard time reading the handwriting on the bill from the tech/owner. Something head? Replaced the head gasket, in take gasket, cam seal, thermostate & gasket, distro-ring, water intake seal, water pipe seal, vc gasket, intake rubber hose, air filter. He told me the compression or leak down test showed nothing wrong with the car. oil mixture reminance from the last issue, could not get it all out. I did notice before I towed the vehicle back to the repair shop I noticed oil droplets all around the outside of the upper hose leading to the radiator. I told him I was concerned of the hose bursting in the near future because of the oil weakening the rubber hose. He said not to be concerned that it will be good for a period of time, but could not be straight with me on how long he believed that period would be.

cordell97

Thank you Jolly Honda for your reply, the car has 164,000 miles on it. I drove it for 2,000 miles since I had received it as "repaired" from the shop before I notice this recent issue. The engine light came on soon after the repair and I took it back to the tech/owner who said I believe it was a vtec regulator issue? I noticed back when the head gasket blown the engine light came on then, but the temperature gage never showed the engine overheating. The gage remained in the middle between cold and hot.

jollyhonda

So it used 1 quart or so of oil in 2000 miles? You might keep a close eye on the oil level for awhile and keep track of how much oil is being consumed. As a result of the head gasket issue you may see some increased oil consumption. Hopefully things work out for you!