I have just bought a 2005 civic s 2 hours into my trip home temp gauge went high. roadside assist put water in and told me everything should be fine. next day took it to local garage.

they tested compression and said it was fine. when I picked it up and drove away noticed some steam then found oil in the radiator.... mechanic said he was going to put some sort of sealant additive "which should fix it"

I am very worried and tried to call the seller who....yes you've guessed will not answer his phone...

Does anyone have any words of wisdom to help me please!!!

 

Something is blown or cracked. I hate to say it, but you bought a lemon. You're in for some major repairs.


I'd also find a better mechanic.

 

My dad is dealing with the garage so will ask for the figures. I have asked a friend and he also said he thought something cracked or HG issues. I am very worried about this but need to know the brutal truth so I can sort it.

thanks for your reply

 

HG's are a common failure in these cars and it sounds like that's the problem, starts out as a pin hole and gradually gets worse. Normally the car will run just fine until the coolant gets low enough for the motor to overheat. I'm sure the previous owner knew about it since it overheated 2 hours after you bought it, he probably just made sure the coolant was full for the test drive.

Now he won't answer your calls, scumbag.

I wouldn't trust the stop-leak additives they have out there, if it works at all I wouldn't give it long before the problem comes back.

I would have the timing belt+water pump+tensioner replaced while they have the head off. Hopefully the head isn't warped and the valves are in good shape. If all it needs is a HG it shouldn't be too bad, you would've had to do the timing belt soon anyways and it won't be too much more than that as long as the head is in good shape.

 

Yes the seller delibertly defrauded you , could try small claims court, or take justice out on the seller since you know where they live.

 

headgasket's are quite common on them... they are also known for the coolant tube on the back of the motor too get rusted out and start leaking either way it's not a diffucult task and gasket's are cheap.... shitty deal either way thou!

 

thanks for all the replies getting the car checked over by a new mechanic on Monday....will let you know

 

Im speaking from experience of a blown head gasket, and I can guarantee the HG is blown. Probably not a large enough hole to blow white smoke, but its enough that youre burning coolant. After a long drive, does your engine bay smell of maple syrup? If so, thats the smell of burning coolant. Theres only 2 real causes of this: 1 being a blown head gasket, 2 being a cracked head, likely due to a blown head gasket.

Its gonna cost you around a grand for a new gasket. Honda wants closer to 2, but any reputable shop can do it. Figure approx 175 for the gasket kit, around 4 hours of labor, and likely $3-400 for a shop to machine the head flat again (its aluminum, likely warped). While youre in there, theres a few maintenance jobs that you would be silly not to do. Timing belt is obvious. Even if it doesnt look warn, it costs like $10-15 and will be expensive to do again later, and as stated the water pump. Both of which are approx $400 jobs if you do them separately, or pretty much the cost of materials for this job, seeing as the belt has to come off anyway and the water pump is just a matter of 3 or 4 screws.

As far as the seller goes, there is absolutely no way he didnt know about this prior to selling the car. You have all his information from buying the car. Do whats necessary to get a hold of him. I would threaten with small claims court if he is still difficult to get a hold of. Theres really no sugar coating this one...you got scammed. good luck. If you have any specific questions about the head gasket job, pm me. just had mine replaced a few weeks ago