Ok so my civic has weird symptoms. It's a d16y8 motor with a low 265k miles on it. First off I notice that the coolant level goes down in the reservoir tank. Pretty fast, like in a day. I've heard it bubbling a couple of times but mostly when I drive it for a long time or something. There is no overheating. I never had the heat gauge come on. And I hear a weird noise coming from the intake part. Its like some air type noise. There are no signs of milky oil. I do notice that theres a light amount of white smoke from the exaust. Recently I smell a weird smell from the exhaust. Like a weird gas smell. Im not sure what this could be. Could someone point me in the right direction? Thanks

 

Easiest way to test for a blown head gasket is to test compression. Any auto parts store that rents tools should have one. You want to make sure all cylinders are about the same compression

 

start with a compression test, they also have kits which will detect exhaust is making it's way into the coolant, combustion byproducts test kit. You test a sample of coolant

 

Compression test alone wouldn't tell you the whole story, in fact you can have low/zero compression and have a perfectly intact head gasket. In addition to compression testing you should also look into a leak down test. That would give you a better idea of what's going on.

 

they have strips that you dip in the coolant, to test for combustion byproducts

 

what are they called. i cant find anything

 

It's called a Block Tester, and should always be your second step (after compression testing) when you suspect a blown head gasket.