Hey guys, I have been searching the internet for this, but I can't seem to find the correct answer.

I just grabbed a 93 Accord, and there is coolant in cylinder 2's spark plug well.

All the others are clear, and there is no sign of coolant leaking, no overheating, no smoking, no coolant in the oil.

Would this be a bad head gasket? Or is this something else?

Thanks!

 

make sure you double check for leaks. you might be leaking coolant on top of the spark plug boot, and its getting past the boot into the spark plug hole. you may need to pressurize the system for the leak to show itself. i dont think a blown head gasket will cause this.

and are you sure its coolant? does it have ablueish or greenish tint to the fluid? if not, and its just water, it could be from rain, or washing the car... water could be getting past the rubber seal n the hood and getting into that #2 cylinder too.

 

Yea it's definitely coolant, it's not a lot of it, but it does seem to refill itself anytime I drain it lol. I also noticed the car doesn't overheat at all, even sitting idling for a while or while driving.

 

unless your head is cracked all the way to the spark plug threads..... in that case... uh-oh

 

Yea I was wondering about that as well, but I would be hard-pressed to believe it would just be enough to ONLY get in the one spark plug and not anywhere else lol. Could an intake leak cause this?

 

There are some coolant-filled lines that run near the No. 2 cylinder but I can't think of any way coolant would find it's way in there.

The only seals in the line of the plug tube are the VC seal and the seal between the rocker arm assembly and head.

About the only possible explanations are - like Purple Hatch said - your head might have a serious crack in it, or maybe the coolant line for the idle control valve or fast idle valve might be spraying onto the plug boot during operation, somehow finding its way down into the plug well.

Otherwise, maybe someone's messing with you.

 

With valve cover off pressure test while warmed up.

 

Another possibility...

When washing an engine, I've accidentally gotten water in the spark plug holes, and found water even days later. Could a coolant spill have happened and just have trapped the coolant in that one cylinder?

 

Wouldn't the head being cracked leave coolant in the oil as well?

 

Maybe maybe not but a pressure test will show something.

 

compression test it

 

It could. I was just suggesting an alternative. Although a cracked head would have much more leaking going on. You could use a detection dye in the coolant. Dry out the spark plug well, and if it leaks again you'll see the dye and confirm that its coming from the inside of the engine.

 

careful with the compression test. it may give good compression but still have a crack (still not a bad idea to check anyways). and do like rallyrcr said and put a dye in the coolant.

and also you can have coolant in the oil, it all really depends on where the crack on the head is.

 

The dye kit is a good test, but keep in mind this is a florescent dye kit. You'll need a black light to see the dye.

 

Yes, get a pressure tester.

 

Yea, I did do a pressure test, it does seem it's coming from the head, I am just going to get rid of it, I paid $400 for it, and I'm gonna see if the original owner wants to buy it back, if not I am not going to tinker with it. I can't risk going down a rabbit hole with fixing anything if I am not 100% sure that will get it back up to a usable state.

Thank you guys for all your help though, I was able to get it running a ton better, hell, the AC won't shut it off anymore lol, and it idles a lot better. But I don't want to risk a teardown of the head only to realize I need to reman it, and go down that trip lol.