1995 Civic EX.
First car. Had it for a little over 2 years now. I've put hundreds of bucks into it as well as much blood, sweat, and tears. I just sent in an oil sample to blackstone labs (they do oil tests to see how the engine is doing, it's pretty cool) and found out that the oil has some coolant in it, and the bearings and cylinders are wearing down way faster than before. I'll attach the sample results below.
I'm pretty sure this means that the head gasket is going, as well as the rest of the engine in general. From what I understand, there are 3 options: 1) replace the head gasket, 2) swap the engine for a healthy one, or 3) drive it till she dies and then get a new car. I really don't want to do (3) because I'm so attached to it. (1) seems like a temporary solution, as the rest of the engine is going. (2) seems like the most work, but the most fun, cause I could get a nice, big DOHC engine and enjoy the extra horses. Either (1) or (2) would require me to get some bodywork done because a PO got T-boned and the frame that the radiator and condenser sit on is bent in, making it impossible for the exhaust manifold to come off.
What are your guys's inputs? What would you do in this situation?
Thanks, friends.

 

I dont think I see this in your post, but how many miles are on this car/engine. That would dictate to me which route I would take. if the car has 150k or so I would throw a new head gasket on it, do some more maintenance while I was in there and run it for a while. If it has 250k I would swap it and call it a day. But keep in mind right now if you are mixing coolant into your oil and you are still driving it, it s going to get worse quite quickly.

 

150,000 Miles on the engine right now. A little bit more.

 

What maintenance would you do when you were in there? New pistons? Rings?

 

Switch to propylene glycol based coolant; it is F-A-R less toxic to engine bearings.

 

Just do a compression test and stop sending oil in from a 95 civic.

 

Get a gsr swap ready, drive engine til it dies, swap, enjoy having torque and short gears.

 

Wait, just read the body damage part.

Get a newer car.

 

Haha, why stop sending the oil in? Just not worth it?

 

The body damage isn't bad, it's just the part of the fender that the radiator sits on. I don't know whether it would be an expensive fix, or even if I could possibly do it myself, but I guess my lack of knowledge is a big part of the problem.

 

The apron is an expensive fix if its damaged severely.

 

I wouldnt open up the block unless I was suspecting an issue, but I would do an upper gasket kit, timing kit water pump, and anything else that is much easier to access with the head off. As said above that front apron can be quite expensive and quite dangerous if the car were to be hit again with previous damage. 150k is nothing for a d series as long as its not abused.

 

Is a head gasket problem evidence that it got abused? It sat around for a good decade, so that could have caused premature wear. At any rate, how long do you think the engine has left if I were to leave it alone with the coolant contamination problem?

 

Hard to tell. I had an engine which was exhibiting coolant contamination of the oil at around the 100,000 mile mark. I researched and discovered propylene glycol is not as toxic to engine bearings and immediately switched. I finally traded the old girl in with something like 212,000 miles on the clock and the engine was still ticking along as sound and reliable as ever.

 

Radiator support damage is cheap to fix, I think they sell replacement repop supports and quarter panels on rock auto

Oil analysis is great and all, but I dont see a point when these motors are a dime a dozen.

Coolant breaks down over time and can erode the gaskets. The coolant can also seperate from the glycol and you end up with rust. You can also have an issue with electrolysis and corrode the metal.

Perform a coolant flush and compression test

 

Where do you go to get these motors for cheap? I can't find any that would be cheaper than just getting a new car.

 

Think about where your car would end up if you got rid of it.

 

Did you fix the problem, or was it just that switching coolant types allowed the engine to last longer?

 

Never fixed the issue, UOA confirmed the switch to propylene glycol arrested the bearing wear and I just drove the old girl until the rest of the vehicle started falling apart, the engine was still running like a champ when I traded her in.

 

That's awesome, definitely switching. Propylene glycol based coolant is blue? And when I do the coolant flush, should I use it instead of regular coolant? Is there a process for switching?

 

I don't remember what color it was, and the only thing I did to prepare for the switch was to drain all of the old coolant out; fill the cooling system with water, drive a few miles, drain and fill again with water, and then drain and fill with a 50/50 blend of Propylene Glycol based coolant and distilled water. I'm pretty sure this is the coolant I used:

• Prestone | Products