my car has been burning the hell out of radiator fluid and it over heats about every 5 miles. Their is a leak behind my engine that i can see, it is little drops but eventually it leaks all the fluid out which cause's my car to overheat. the leak is on drivers side right below the starter. I have no idea what to do or even where to begin on how to fix, please help. Thanks

 

General knowledge says a head gasket, but check your reservoir and let us know what the coolant looks like.

 

Its been awhile since i've messed around with cars. I really dont recall what a reservoir is or located

 

Would this also cause my car to lose compression and a juming idle when i sit at stop lights?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eibach95Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would this also cause my car to lose compression and a juming idle when i sit at stop lights?</TD></TR></TABLE>

A blown headgasket most definitely would.

 

i think he means it feels like its loosing compression from the idle surge, which is cause by the low coolant level. sounds like a water pump, but you said under the starter which is on the passenger side. if you mean under the alternator then i vote water pump. most of the time a head gasket blows it blows from the cylinder to the water jacket, or oil jacket to water jacket, i cant recall ever seeing one leak from water jacket to external.

 

yeah sorry i did mean the alternator. I was told awhile back that my wATER pump was going bad. so you guys think it may be a bad water pump?

 

its the water pump.

 

on a scale of 1 to 5 how hard is it to change the water pump? 5 being hardest and would it be a good idea to change the timing belt at the same time. I've have the factory timing belt still after 188,xxx miles..starting to wear on me

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eibach95Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Its been awhile since i've messed around with cars. I really dont recall what a reservoir is or located</TD></TR></TABLE>



<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eibach95Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">on a scale of 1 to 5 how hard is it to change the water pump? 5 being hardest and would it be a good idea to change the timing belt at the same time. I've have the factory timing belt still after 188,xxx miles..starting to wear on me</TD></TR></TABLE>

heh. i'd say just take it to a mechanic.

 

dude, maintenance is key w/ any car. definately change the timing belt and water pump at the same time. its hard to put it on a scale, i mean it takes me all of 45mins, but i have air tools and have done it many times. in the backyard w/ all handtools it should be doable in a few hours. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=649277 of coarse get a helms to help w/ setting the timing cuz theres differant ways depending on the motor.

 

yeah i know maintance is the key and i'm a expletive up for not taking care of my car. College life kinda took control. their is no way i'm taking it to a mechanic. i have air tools and all of the above, i should probably get a helms manuel. Do they sell those at Barnes and Noble? haha

 

i hope that was a joke, go to a parts store for a manual. anyways, if you can afford the downtime do it yourself, a shops gonna charge around $500 for parts and labor to do it, and the parts can be had for under $100 and any labor you do yourself is free. its not bad once you start and actually see its nothing to it. i mean even that write up goes overboard in my opinion. good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eibach95Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah i know maintance is the key and i'm a expletive up for not taking care of my car. College life kinda took control. their is no way i'm taking it to a mechanic. i have air tools and all of the above, i should probably get a helms manuel. Do they sell those at Barnes and Noble? haha</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol. like i said, take it to a mechanic. i don't think you know what you're getting yourself into.

 

hey, timing belt and water pump is novice stuff w/ the right tools. it takes no skill at all. i mean, take asses. belts off, take motor mount out, swing alt bracket back, valve cover, upper timing cover, a/c torque mount from frame w/ jack under motor, lower motor, remove crank pulley bolt, remove crank pulley, reinstall crank pulley bolt, remove lower timing cover, rotate engine to marks line up, jack motor up, loosen tensioner bolt, remove belt, remove water pump, reinstall, wala. whats hard, seriously 45mins w/ the tools.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by schardbody &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey, timing belt and water pump is novice stuff w/ the right tools. it takes no skill at all. i mean, take asses. belts off, take motor mount out, swing alt bracket back, valve cover, upper timing cover, a/c torque mount from frame w/ jack under motor, lower motor, remove crank pulley bolt, remove crank pulley, reinstall crank pulley bolt, remove lower timing cover, rotate engine to marks line up, jack motor up, loosen tensioner bolt, remove belt, remove water pump, reinstall, wala. whats hard, seriously 45mins w/ the tools.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha i know that. i don't think our friend does though.

 

he does now, i never discourage someone from learning, hence the reason i said "if you can afford the downtime". not bashing you, cuz hey im a mechanic by trade, so the less everyone knows the more i make, but i always encourage people to try something before saying they cant do it.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm not dumb founded on cars. I've lowered my cars myself, upgraded front disc, calipars, a-arms and ect. i guess i will add this to the list on the self-done to my car. I will keep you'ns posted.. Anyone know a guestamint price on a water pump?

 

water pump 45 bucks and the timing belt should be roughly 40

 

here a cool trick!

they have coolant dye!

first wash off the engine bay or wever coolant is!
throw some coolant dye in the radiator!
drive for a bit!
use black light to find leak!

it could be a o-ring gone bad on the water tube on the back off the block or a leaky hose! never know ?

i would try that to try and pinpoint the problem before taking the front cover off

 

thats not a bad idea, but 188k on the stock water pump and timing belt, i say change em anyways.

 

yea i would change them with that many miles