well, i've tried to diagnose my problem, but the more i try, the more i become confused...

gen. info about my car:
'99 b18c1 in a '93 cx hatch, running chipped p28 ecu
skunk2 im, i/h/e

so here's the issues. i start my car...and:
1) immediately, my exhaust smells like coolant/white smoke comes out
2) after warming up, my fan never kicks on
3) my radiator starts smoking like mad
4) my reservoir becomes empty
5) the constant fluttering idle between 1500-2500rpm with IACV code 14

confusions:
1) no coolant in oil, no oil in coolant
2) fan works, i hooked it striaght to battery
3) iacv known to work
4) the temperature gauge never goes about the quarter mark

now i've done a compression test, and its around 210 all the way across. i have read that my head gasket could still be blown with good compression test results. is there any other simple and fast way to tell if i have a blown hg? but if i have a blown hg, i should have coolant/oil mixture somewhere, right?

this has been baffling me for more than a month...and i really need to get the car running before the snow falls...

any input/help will be welcome...thanks!

 

anyone?

 

the white smoke out the exhaust and coolant out the exhaust sounds like a HG problem to me

 

have to agree, if its not in the oil it is being burned hence white smoke. you can get a liquid to test if you have any fumes going through the water system. dont know what it is cauled though.

 

take off your oil filler cap and see if it has some creamy looking **** on it, or pull your valve cover and see if it is milky at all. if so, it is your HG.

 

i took the valve cover off on friday, and there is no trace of any coolant anywhere.....so baffling...

could i have a more serious problem on my block?

 

Head gasket and bad thermostat possibly frozen or seized water pump...

 

i just don't want to remove the head unless it's a guarantee it's my hg. hmm, i i guess i could go to autozone to get a new thermostat to replace it.

how would my water pump seize up? i know it's belt driven and all, i guess conceptually i can't imagine a belt-driven centrifugal pump going bad...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93CivicSI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Head gasket and bad thermostat possibly frozen or seized water pump...

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Hello-the car wouldn't run if the water pump seized,lol.The timing belt runs along it.
(Honda does have problems with there old water pumps though).If the car is blowing white(coolant)smoke,deff the head gasket-it doesn't always blow in a spot where it can mix with the oil or vs virsa.If you(achanjr)decide to do the head gasket-make sure you send the head to a machine shop to get get checked.Its worth the money,so you don't do the job for nothing because of a bad head.

 

since it is a 99 motor i am going to go out on a limb and say that your water pump is probably fine. you ever look into testing your radiator cap if your cap is not working properly your coolant system is not going to work properly. this is something many people overlook. since the car is not overheating and there isnt any trace of coolant in the oil i would say the cap is a good place to start. if your thermostat was stuck your car would probably get overly hot. the only thing that puzzles me is your exhaust. is this a normal occurance or just that one time???? does it puff white smoke while driving???? also most people dont know how to test their cap. you dont do it by taking it off and pushing the spring a little and saying "looks good to me". there is a tool to test it. you put the cap on an adapter and use a pump to pump it to the specified pressure. the cap should hold this pressure for up to 2 minutes.

 

Head gasket I had a similar problem.

 

the idle problem is probably being caused by an inadequate level of coolant in your system, and that would create the cel too. also you can pressure test your coolant system to make sure it holds pressure.

 

actually it was really bad white smoke at first, but now it's just burning coolant smell. it smells like coolant straight from a cold startup.

i thought that maybe draining and leaking coolant everywhere after my 5ish times of flushing my coolant possibly leaked some coolant through an exhaust flange somewhere would cause burnt coolant....but i'm sure it's all burned/evaporated by now (it was months ago).

i haven't checked my radiator cap yet...i guess i could try that. why would my radiator smoke like mad and fan never come on though? i think i'm going to test my coolant temp switch today when i get home from work.

 

is the exterior of the radiator causing the "smoke" or is this happening when you take the cap off???? i would suggest getting your coolant system pressure tested. i wonder if your radiator has a small leak????????

 

could be that the coolant is leaking on to the hot radiator and smoking. the fan is controlled by the thermostat. the white smoke is comming from coolant burning. the stuttering is probably comming from the coolant mixing witht the air/ fuel is the cylinder. looks like you may be out a couple hundred bucks and a few hours of labor. start by replacing the thermostat and see how much that fixes. Remember when trouble shooting, start cheap and work to the more expensive fixes.

 

work's over, time to head home and try to figure some things out...i'll repost if anything new arises...
*sigh* sometimes i hate my car.

 

alright, i took off my oil cap this time...looked inside, and there was this whitish milk-looking liquid inside. is this the indication of a blown head gasket i've been waiting for?

 

yes