fdjizm

so im at the assumption my head gasket is leaking.blown.. small amounts of white smoke real small, still green stuff on #4 spark plug, still losing coolant every week, no external leaks.. but now i did a compression test and all my cylinders are at 180psi +/- 3-4 psi!!! if my head gasket is blown wouldnt my compression be low on one of the cylinders....wtf? once again car is running fine.

history: overheated one time and radiator blew (thermostat stuck) replaced radiator and thermostat.. was fine after that till i noticed i was low on coolant maybe every 2 weeks.. and small smoke out of exhaust..

need advice what could this be?

fdjizm

come on guys, am i in the wrong forum or what?

struppi

I was overheating with good compression in all my cyclinders. I didn't have fluid in my oil, bubbles in my radiator or green on my plug, so I discounted the head gasket. I replaced the thermostat and still had the problem. Everything I checked seemed okay. I finally just replaced the head gasket and everything was fine after that.

fdjizm

so i can still have a bad head gasket with compression ok on all cylinders, hopefully this means my head or block isnt cracked and not to much damage?

btw: the overheating was caused by coolant loss, filled up and hasnt overheated since...

Perfectionist

Compression test is done, obviously, while the cylinders aren't loaded with an explosive fuel charge. Also, if a little coolant was sucked in during the intake stroke, it wouldn't affect the compression results. Under operating conditions, it's possible combustion gasses get blown past the head gasket and coolant then gets sucked back in during the intake stroke. These pressures are much greater than what is generated during a compression test. I vote for a leaking head gasket.

fdjizm

sounds better than a cracked head or block.. this would this rule out major issues stated above... say yes...

BLUIZE256

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fdjizm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so i can still have a bad head gasket with compression ok on all cylinders, hopefully this means my head or block isnt cracked and not to much damage?

btw: the overheating was caused by coolant loss, filled up and hasnt overheated since...</TD></TR></TABLE>


yeah, it could still be the head gasket. .


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fdjizm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds better than a cracked head or block.. this would this rule out major issues stated above... say yes... </TD></TR></TABLE>

well i'm not there to look and see exactly what is goin on, but i wouldnt make any further assumptions until you test a new head gasket.. so until then i personally wouldnt rule anything else out. cuz you never know. .
get what i'm sayin?

fdjizm

i could deal with the blown headgasket, i just really am scared of it being a cracked block or head.. but i think those 2 are alot worse than whats going on..

WVHondaHatch

It can be one of two things. One, the rings are bout gone and that is where your white smoke is coming from. (I know this from experience, bought a 92 cx with d15 and it smoked like a banshee. Turned out that the rings were fried.) And two, the green **** on you plug more than likely indicates that you have a bad head gasket. The smoke is a good indication too. As for the block cracking, I sent mine away to NAPA to get checked, and the guy there told that they don't crack, they just explode. But I'm not sure if I believe that, so get it checked to be safe.

BLUIZE256

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WVHondaHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I sent mine away to NAPA to get checked, and the guy there told that they don't crack, they just explode. But I'm not sure if I believe that, so get it checked to be safe.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that napa guy was an idiot and that's prolly why he is working at napa in the first place haha, they dont just explode.. they do just crack sometimes, this known from experience (this is also the reason i decided to do my motor swap that i'm currently in the middle of)

fdjizm

wouldnt compression show the status of the rings.. 180psi across the board sounds about right if not a lil better for an internally stock d16y8

ke98248

iTrader: (1)

builze is correct. they do and will crack.

EFbomb

your intake manifold and throttle body have coolant running thru those.

I'd replace the TB gasket first ( easiest ) Then the intake mani gasket after that( kind of a pain ) and if that doesnt fix it, then it would have to be a headgasket.

just my 2 cents

-JSpecEk*9-

ok to start off drive your car and warm it up. then park it while running the motor and look to see if there is any coolant leaking from anywhere. look around very good at all the hoses. also check the hose thats at the back of the block maybe the hose is lose and you dont see it. if where thing is good then i guess change the head gasket.

quackattack

I had the same problem, it ended up being the head gasket and my head got a lil warped. My advice get it checked asap before you do any more damage.

fdjizm

how do you "check" for the bad headgasket if the compression test is good, i mean once i get the head pulled off BAM $500 right there.. so how do i check for sure if its the head gasket..

mikeycivic

just because your compression is good doesnt mean your head gasket is too

LowSlow93Sol

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mikeycivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just because your compression is good doesnt mean your head gasket is too</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1

How does your oil look? (and by look I mean have your replaced it since this started)

Also if it were leaking from anthing other than the head gasket I would think that all of the plugs would show signs rather than just the #4 cyl.

mike1114

iTrader: (1)

fdjizm....U seem to not want to believe what everyone is telling you.

Just because a compression test comes out good does not mean your rings are still good. The rings/ringlands can crack but the close tolerances of everthing holds everything together still. I've seen good compression tests, then we pull the pistons out and ringlands or pieces of ring just fell off.

Do a leakdown test, not just a compression test and this will tell you what cylinder more specifically your having a problem with.

Most likely you need to replace headgasket. If you don't fix soon, it will become a warped head too, if not already.

jz98ctr

if your car overheated at one time enough to blow the radiator...then you might've very well warped the head...which would be why you're leaking coolant only after warming up again. the head gasket could no longer be sealing in one or more spots causing some coolant to get into the cylindersafter the engine's warmed up due to heat expansion.

fdjizm

its not that i dont believe anything its that i want to try to verify the problem my self, because if someone pulls the head off and nothing is wrong in that area i can never get that $500 of my money back.. i cant just throw away 500 bucks on IF u know.. so im trying to zone in on it more closely i will get the head pulled but i need more info.. thats all.. more info would help me in the event a mechanic trys to tell me something i know not to be true and charge me that extra money

vi3tromanc3r

i had this problem, my radiater somehow leaked wen i got home, so i replaced it with a new one. drove it and i noticed the fluid kept dissappearing. i checked the hoses for leaks but nothing, so i read on HT to let air come out of the radiator and i did and it was fine. been driving it for 3 month and its fine.

fdjizm

yea i did that too as i was low on coolant, but about every 2 weeks, i lose some coolant, i can tell because when i open the cap it sounds like a pepsi bottle.. then i put about 10 or less ounces of coolant back in the radiator to top it off... i do find after i top the coolant off, that the collant reserve tank is filled up alot after driving the car, air forcing it in the reserve tank, dont know

Integacivic

Pull your head off yourself its not that hard, just put it all in order when you take your head off. Also get a hanse manual it will help you. Im not a big buff on working on cars, and I replaced my head gasket myself screw paying 500. PLUS you will learn about your vehicle!!! Its a good experience.

fdjizm

is an intake manifold gasket possibly bad.. thats where the thermostat is and thats where coolant goes into the engine.. right there on cylinder #4...which is the cylinder that has the frosty spark plug..