Row1

hi - i will try to kee pthis story short.
let's set the scene: a 1996 honda civic EX coupe with abt 160K.

do you think that having the spark plug wires in the wrong firing order could lead to blown head gasket?

this is my stepdaughter's car. she let some high school friend, her friend's boyfriend, work on it, although this is one of those murky stories where i never actually get a straight answer. i know that this young man has told me he has rebuilt an engine, and otherwise has done a lot of wrenching.

so, recently, this car overheated. coolant overheated and steamed out of reservoir, but i refilled and the car is still running.

i look under the hood to start figuring out what is wrong.

i notice that the spark plug wires are not run smoothly, evenly, like I ALWAYS have run them since I FIRST changed a set in the 1980s.

So, I look at the chilton's to make sure, and sure enough - they are in the wrong firing order.

i fix this. the car runs a bit smoother.

could this have contributed to, or caused, a blown head gasket?

the car is not leaking coolant (none on the ground), but the coolant is disappearing - my guess is thru head gasket.

opinions, please. -Row1

davefromPA

have you noticed any white smoke coming out of the exhaust? has the coolant system been bled properly since the overheating? what state are you located in?

TravisCadello

No, it shouldn't have nothing to do with that. you probably over headed the engine cuz no water and blew it or cracked the head. wrong firing order will cause the vehicle to barely drive but nothing else.

Row1

i have not noticed white smoke. but i have not been looking. my mechanic said the smell indicated coolant going through engine / getting combusted.

Row1

actually it drove ok. hard to tell when cars get older.
cars will actually run ok if one cyl not firing.

i have been in a 4 cylinder with one non-functioning cylinder - we made it from austin to dallas ok.

Former User

Your theory is possible but difficult to prove.

The white smoke from the exhaust is worrisome, though I recommend that you first rule out other causes for overheating. For example replace the thermostat and radiator cap, bleed the cooling system, and make sure the radiator fan runs properly. If these don't help, consider doing compression and leak down tests on the cylinders.