nicarusthegreat

hey everyone this is my first time here, my buddy just told me about this site.

anyways heres my problems.

my car burns coolant like crazy and my exhaust smells like coolant and im not leaking it so i was wondering what the possibilities could be for that.

also my car has an idle problem and i dont think turning up the idle will do it because sometimes it idles at 1k-1.2k RPM and sometimes it will idle so low that it
will just die and i have to start it up again.

and finally, i bottomed out over a speed bump and the next day my exhaust got 100 times more raspy and loud so im thinking i just cracked my exhaust or the flange that connects the header to the exhaust got jacked up.

any input on these would be greatly appreciated
thanks,
nic

crazyguy

your car burns coolant and exhaust smells like coolant. that means u need a new head gasket. for the idel issue. try to clean up iacv and check all the hoses for the vacume leak and find out where the exhaust leaks and bring it to the muffler shop and have them welded.

B18C5-EH2

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nicarusthegreat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey everyone this is my first time here, my buddy just told me about this site.

anyways heres my problems.

my car burns coolant like crazy and my exhaust smells like coolant and im not leaking it so i was wondering what the possibilities could be for that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like a blown head gasket, or possibly cracked cylinder sleeves/water jackets, or possibly cracked cylinder head. Most likely you've got a badly leaking head gasket.

Honestly you can dick around with trying to redo the head gasket, but in the end you'll probably do it and still have the issue as it's hard to get a good seal unless you have the cylinder head and cylinder block deck surfaces machined flat at a machine shop, as well as having them pressure test the head and block.

By the time you do the job RIGHT you might as well have just replaced the engine itself.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also my car has an idle problem and i dont think turning up the idle will do it because sometimes it idles at 1k-1.2k RPM and sometimes it will idle so low that it
will just die and i have to start it up again. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Refer to "blown head gasket" theory.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and finally, i bottomed out over a speed bump and the next day my exhaust got 100 times more raspy and loud so im thinking i just cracked my exhaust or the flange that connects the header to the exhaust got jacked up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cat convertor, resonator, muffler, or exhaust piping - any of these could have gotten damaged/bent/torn in the event of bottoming out.

In light of the potential destroyed engine aspect the exhaust raspiness is the least of your worries.

nicarusthegreat

thanks for responding so quickly.
so what do you think is the cheapest way of going about fixing this stuff? should i just have a shop do a full diagnosis on it and get rammed by the prices or maybe buy a gasket and try to do it myself. how would you guys go about fixing it, besides dropping a new engine in?

im probably just going to forget about the exhaust thing for now...

crazyguy

oem honda gasket costs around $70 and get a repair manual and right set of tools, with a lot of time to spare and a lot of patient. that how everyone learns about diy car repair

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nicarusthegreat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so what do you think is the cheapest way of going about fixing this stuff?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cheap doesn't usually equal the correct solution and can end up being expensive down the road.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C5-EH2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">By the time you do the job RIGHT you might as well have just replaced the engine itself.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Listen to him ^^^ he knows what he's talking about.

nicarusthegreat

yeah i would love to do it myself because i have a lot to learn but i really have like NO time to myself to do it because i work everyday and when i get home its already dark so i have no daylight to work on it. think its possibile for a noob to get it done over a weekend? how much do you think a shop would (or should) charge me if i provide the part?

B18C5-EH2

I run an Acura/Honda only repair shop and if you brought that car to me I would NOT under any circumstance replace the head gasket. There's literally no way to warranty the work, and if you don't have the cylinder head deck resurfaced at a machine shop to insure flatness you are literally wasting your time and money.

If you must try the head gasket route then the only way to go is do it yourself, because you'll pay out the *** for any reputable shop to do it (if they'll even bother).

Most shops charge at LEAST $60.00 per hour oif labor - mine charges $75.00. Dealers charge upwards of $95-$115.00 per hour of labor.

The book time or billed time for a head gasket on a b series engine would range between 5-8hours depensing on if you do a timing belt, waterpump, cank seal, cam seals, etc. while you have the head off.

So think about $60-$80.00 multiplied by the labor time, plus parts, and honestly machine shop fees for testing and milling the head.

I mean what do I know? I've only seen it a million times, been working with these cars since 1995, and half the time I've tried to "help" someone out by just doing a gasket it usually backfires and ends up being a nightmare for me.

My policy on head gaskets changed to "engine swap" a few years ago when I got tired of people agreeing to "no warranty at all" and then complaining when the engine smoked, etc.