I own an 03 civic ex. It's got basic bolt on stuff intake exhaust etc. Recently I was driving down the road and a giant plume of white smoke came out of the exhaust. Fearing the worst, I pulled over and my engine was already severely overheated. Hot enough to melt the ignition coils. My question to you all fellow honda enthusiats is this: how would I go about seeing what damage has been done to my engine. Obviously pulling the head will show me what's left of the gasket but how do I go about seeing what is left or salvageable on the engine. Thank you for your time, it is greatly appreciated.

 

Its probably not worth it to tear down and rebuild, swap in a low mileage used engine and call it a day, but obviously check the cooling system so it doesnt heat up again.

 

Usually you check the block and head for flatness with a precision straight edge (100 dollar tool) and feeler gauges. Most times only the head is warped and you can resurface and replace the head gasket.

If the head is extremely warped it could possibly affected the camshaft line bores in which case a lot more machine work will be required and a new head might be cheaper.

If you don't have the tools to check at least the flatness the previous poster may have the best suggestion for you.