gone2life

Hey Guys,

I have a 1998 Honda Civic DX, and I have a mystery to solve (Disclaimer: I have essentially zero knowledge of/experience with cars).

So about a month ago, I took my car in to be looked at because the check engine light was on. They said there was a hole in the radiator, and that I needed to replace my radiator. They told me that they could do so, or that I could buy the part and do it myself. I chose to buy the part and (attempt to) do it myself, in order to save money. What actually happened was I bought the part and had to call a mobile mechanic to replace the radiator for me because me and my roommate did not have the necessary tools to remove the old radiator.

The mobile mechanic came and replaced the radiator and added coolant. He also pointed out that the temperature gauge on my dashboard was broken and that I shouldn't drive my car for more than a few miles if I could help it before he fixed that problem. Because I was in a rush, I didn't press him more, but while I agreed that the temperature gauge seemed like an obvious thing that needed to be fixed, the thing that made this seem like a non-urgent problem to me was that this gauge, as far as I could remember, had been broken ever since I purchased the car from my friend almost 3 years ago (I did mention I'm an idiot when it comes to cars, right?).

At any rate, I meant for him to come fix it in the next few days, but I got lazy, etc, and I didn't get around to it before I had to make a trip up to Sacramento (a 1.5 hour drive from where I am). When I exited the freeway, I noticed that my engine was smoking. I pulled over and called my mobile mechanic to ask what I should do. He of course reminded me that he told me not to drive the vehicle before he took a look at it, and he told me to let the engine rest for a while and then pour water in the radiator fluid container (or whatever that is called). After letting it rest for almost 3 hours, I came back and added the water. My car started up, and it was smoking less (smoke seemed to only come out when I put on the brakes). I started to drive home and was only about 5 miles out when I noticed that when I pressed on the gas pedal, my car wouldn't really go faster, and if it did, it was delayed and would only speed up a little bit. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later, my speed started decreasing, and I pulled over to the side of the road, my engine dead. I was towed the rest of the way.

I managed to have someone from a Midas nearby come to my street and listen to me try to start the car a few days ago (he didn't take a look at the engine because I couldn't afford to have it towed into his shop), and he said that it sounded like the timing belt is off and that's why it won't start. I called the mobile mechanic today and he said that the original hole in the radiator came from the temperature gauge being broken and that he needed to look a the engine to see what is going on.

My question to you is, of course this sounds like a temperature gauge issue, but how could I not have trouble with this for the 3 years since I purchased the vehicle, only to have it flare up after the mechanic replaced my radiator? I want to trust my mechanic and have whatever this is dealt with, but why would this problem happen for the first time after he took a look at it? Any general feedback, ideas, suggestions are much appreciated. Keep in mind that I am an idiot. Also, no one has actually seen the engine since it broke down, I want to wait to call my mobile mechanic until I feel I can trust him.

ameer_vtec99

sounds like head gasket !
what was the color of the smoke?
do one thing try to open the engine valve cover cap and look at it does it looks like milky ?

gone2life

Wow thanks for the response, ameer_vtec99, because when I opened the engine valve cover cap, I saw that there is no oil in there! I thought I changed the oil recently, but obviously this must not have been the case.

Do you (amber_vtec99, and others as well -- I am seeking out multiple opinions) think that my engine is shot? Any general recommendations? And what is a rough idea for how much it would cost to replace the engine?

Oh, and ameer_vtec99, the smoke was black as far as I could tell.

gone2life

Update to my car situation: there indeed was no oil in the engine, but I did have my oil changed recently, so the oil must be leaking or something. The mobile mechanic is going to look at it tomorrow, and I'll update you guys after

strategy400

Yes.