Hey guys I'm new to this forum.

I have a 1999 Honda Civic Ex with a 5 speed manual transmission. I've had this car for 3 years, and I've taken very good care of it. I'm only 19 and I've done almost all repairs myself (everything from an O2 sensor to the replacement of my clutch).

A while ago my CEL came on saying my cat was running below efficiency. It turned itself off so I ignored it. Recently, my car has been idling funky. It'll drop really low (500-300 rpms) and almost stall, then will go up to 1500 rpms..

I've cleaned the IACV twice, and couldn't find any vacuum leaks.

Now, I have a coolant issue. I found that I had almost no coolant left a few weeks ago so I filled it back up again. About a week later, I looked and it had not drained empty, but it was "significantly" lower.

My father noticed that my car was blowing smoke, either oil from a piston ring, or coolant?

I read somewhere that I might have a cracked cylinder head or a bad head gasket.. I need some help to point me in the right direction.. Here are the symptoms:

-White smoke from exhaust pipe occasionally
-Catalytic Converter is shot
-Last time I changed spark plugs there was a white powder on them
-Loosing coolant with NO visible external leaks
-Car DOES NOT overheat! I repeat, it DOES NOT overheat.


Thanks guys!!!

 

You head gasket dead


Best way to check is too look at the top of your pistons through the spark plug hole with each cylinder at tdc and see if one is cleaner than the others

Or do a leak down test If bubbles come out from the radiator the r.i.p. you head gasket

 

And if none of the above suggestions makes a prominent appearance, you can rent a block tester from some auto parts stores and do a combustion chamber gas test through the radiator.

As well as a compression test can also give you tell tale signs of a blown head gasket. If two adjacent cylinders are dead, it's usually the gasket between them.

 

Thanks guys, I'll check this weekend when I get home from school. Other than than what I stated earlier, the car drives absolutely fine. No loss of power etc... still think it could be a bad head gasket? I'm a college kid so if this is the case it might just be a write off and a final goodbye I've put a lot of time and effort into this car, I would hate to see it go

 

Do the head gasket. Its a good learning experience.

I taught myself how to change my own headgasket, eat ***** and cut my own hair.

 

Yes...but have you ever eaten a headgasket while changing the haircut on a *****? Because you need a master's degree for that. Player.

OP....a head gasket wouldn't make the car a write off. That's a waste. You have options:
-longblock swap. Sell your longblock with the blown gasket to someone that wants to fix it.

-headgasket job. Not bad...just time consuming and lots of chance for error.

-Sell the car to someone for money. People will pay good money for the car. Although....the cost of a new car is higher than a headgasket.

-find a shop to change your headgasket.

 

The coolant loss isn't guaranteed to be the head gasket.

First determine if your head gasket is bad. The coolant loss can also be the heater core. That's where my loss is. So far I only have to top up the reservoir every few months, but it will get worse as time goes on. And there is no obvious signs of leaking.

And this time of year (winter cold) a little periodic white smoke is not to be considered an immediate head gasket job.

Just doing the head gasket to do the head gasket is a waste of money and parts, unless that is what you want to do for learning experience.

 

Does anyone know where I can find a good write up on how to replace the head gasket on my d16y8? Last resort, I'll replace it myself. Does the Haynes manual have a write up?

 

Go for the Factory Service Manual (aka Helm's Manual). The haynes manual isn't that good from what I understand.