DasShuk

Hi all. First post here. I have an immaculately maintained ‘03 Civic EX that’s showing early signs of a blown head gasket. It’s my wife’s car. She started it yesterday and immediately shut it off and told me it’s idling rough. I started the car and the rough idle went away about 15 seconds later. When I talked to my mechanic, he told me the possible bad news. I pulled the plugs and low and behold, there was moisture in the number 3 cylinder. The other cylinders looked good. To make my already long story short, a few shops in town have told me the engine is toast, and a few said they’d repair it. There’s no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil that I can find and I’m guessing my wife’s attention to detail prevented a more catastrophic failure.

I am curious about the long term viability of the repair if any of you have done it. I haven’t pulled the head yet to check for warpage, but the car has never been overheated and we are the original owners, or at least the gauge never indicated we overheated.

NDNV

Do a cylinder leak down test to confirm a breached head gasket.

I have an 03 as well and repaired the HG 4 years ago and don't regret the decision. I am still happy with how it turned out. Dealer did it and the timing belt service plus valve adjustment at the same time.

Don't know your intentions for long term for this car but if the HG is repaired (head machined if necessary) properly, you should get lots more service out of it.

P.S. Once the HG is repaired, you will notice a substantial difference in heat from the HVAC - nice and hot.

DasShuk

Thanks so much for the reply. I think we are going to get rid of the car. We're exploring options for that. Leak down test confirmed breach of the HG on the #3 cylinder. It's really a shame because the car is absolutely beautiful and we maintained it so well. It's truly an emotional day at our place today, but the show must go on.

NDNV

Aw crap. You got 16 years out of it, which is not too shabby.