I noticed my temp gage in the red zone today on my '94 Accord EX...Pulled over and checked the coolant reservoir and it was almost empty. Checked the radiator and it was completely dry. I had almost all the coolant hoses replaced this summer and it doesn't appear to be leaking coolant anywhere. Is it burning off coolant through the engine because of a BHG or do you think it is a water pump going bad or something else?

I topped off all the coolant tonight and I'm gonna monitor it closely and see what transpires...

 

do the following

1. check your oil. if it is way above the "F" mark then you are expletiveed because it is a head gasket

2. pull the plugs and see what their condition is. If they are messed up, do a compression test, if it fails you are expletiveed as you will need to do head work

 

Oil looks good and it is not above the "F" mark...I'll try and pull the plugs tonight.

 

Update: Checked coolant in radiator and coolant reservoir after driving about 20 miles. Radiator looks dry and coolant reservoir went back down to MIN line after filling it to the MAX line the other night. Oil level looks fine and so does the oil itself. I don't see any oil in coolant or vice versa. No apparent leaks anywhere either. I'm quite frustrated now...Where is all this coolant dissapearing to so fast??!!

 

Jack the car up and look on the back of the block. Most likely you are losing coolant somewhere on the back of the block.

 

I had something similar happen to my 95ex last year, it ended up being the head gasket. the coolant was leaking into the one of the cylinders. Have you ever had trouble starting your car?

When I had this problem there were a few times where my car would barely start, and then a plume of white smoke would come out from my exhaust.

 

if u can smell coolant in the engine bay
then its leaking somewhere

if u can smell coolant from the exhaust
then u r buring exhaust

 

do a compression test maybe ur heater hoses r leaking.. those leaks r kinda hard to see

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by -RedneckDave- &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Most likely you are losing coolant somewhere on the back of the block.</TD></TR></TABLE>Most likely the head gasket is shot, you don't lose that much coolant with no signs of external leakage any other way.

 

Great...Now you guys have me pretty much convinced it is the head gasket. Although, I have to say I haven't had any issues starting the car lately, nor have I had a cloud of white smoke come out the back when I start it. Anyhow, I'll monitor it closely for now. I plan on getting the timing belt and water pump done soon, so I guess I'll have the head gasket replaced as well. It just turned 182,000 miles, so stuff like this can only be expected.

 

how much does it usually cost for a machine shop to recondition a head for head gasket replacement cause i've been hearing prices from 50 all the way to 250 bucks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mark2583 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how much does it usually cost for a machine shop to recondition a head for head gasket replacement cause i've been hearing prices from 50 all the way to 250 bucks</TD></TR></TABLE>
Just to machine the head face flat, $50 sounds near the mark. You do however need it to be done well, especially with an alloy head the surface finish should be as smooth as possible, a rough cut might lead to sealing problems further down the line...

 

The same thing happened to my integra a few weeks ago. My car was smoking like a bitch and the temp gauge went past H. I thought I blew my headgasket because thats what my friend was telling me. Well I wasn't so sure so I drove my car until it started smoking again, popped my engine and watched where all the smoke came out of. I wait till it cooled down and inspected that area. Well, it turns out that one of the hoses that goes from the radiator into the engine had a tiny *** cut in it and it was leaking coolant onto the engine. Fixed up that little hole and everyone was back to normal.

Before you jump to conclusions make sure you check EVERYTHING, make sure that all the hoses are fine. And don't pour coolant into the reservoir, make sure you pour it in STRAIGHT into the radiator.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hellnoitsalex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Before you jump to conclusions make sure you check EVERYTHING, make sure that all the hoses are fine. And don't pour coolant into the reservoir, make sure you pour it in STRAIGHT into the radiator.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm pretty sure its my HG because if i rev the motor with the radiator cap off coolant comes blowing through the hole and after driving for 1hr+ then it starts pushing out coolant behind the block underneath the intake mani. This has been an ongoing issue that is gradually getting worse and worse, when i went to crank my car up after 8hrs at work it took about 5 minutes to get it started. Hopefully the head is not warped beyond repair or even worse...cracked!! My budget is limited right now but i have to get this taken care of asap. I have done simple jobs such as valve cover gasket replacement, p steering/alternator belt replacement etc would you recommend me trying to take this thing off myself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mark2583 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i'm pretty sure its my HG because if i rev the motor with the radiator cap off coolant comes blowing through the hole and after driving for 1hr+ then it starts pushing out coolant behind the block underneath the intake mani. This has been an ongoing issue that is gradually getting worse and worse, when i went to crank my car up after 8hrs at work it took about 5 minutes to get it started. Hopefully the head is not warped beyond repair or even worse...cracked!! My budget is limited right now but i have to get this taken care of asap. I have done simple jobs such as valve cover gasket replacement, p steering/alternator belt replacement etc would you recommend me trying to take this thing off myself.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just revving the engine with cap off is likely to blow water out of the filler whether the gasket is blown or not. As you rev the engine you increase the coolant flow through the system, ans as you do this likely to increase pressure in the upper tank and water will overflow.

Make sure your coolant coming out beneath the intake manifold isn't just from some leaking hose or whatever. You'd be surprised what lives behind the block / below the manifold that you can't readily see, have a very good look down there...

 

in that case i'll just bring it to reputable repair shop tomorrow and act like i have'nt the slightest clue whats happening so they can check it thoroughly and tell me whats wrong