I have a 1996 Honda Civic manual transmission hatchback and suddenly one of these days my car starts blowing white smoke from the exhaust on a high heat day and also on a cool summer night, car runs really good and shifts nice just the smoke is really concerning is it the head gasket that’s blown? Or something else Like burning oil I checked the radiator and got this

Need help asap please!!!

 

That looks like either oil in the coolant, or some super old coolant in the system.

Have you checked your oil with the dip stick or drain a little to see if the oil is milky as well?

 

Yes and it’s not the oil is the same color as always and same level as always would you have any idea as to what it may be?

 

Are you running water in the cooling system rather than coolant?

What's floating at top of the radiator hole?

 

Honestly boss I have not used coolant whatsoever I’ve been using only water is that bad or does that make a difference?

 

Using water in the cooling system is akin to not changing the oil. Look at the discoloration of the water. You are seeing your engine corrode away.

 

So what would be the right call here would it be for me to replace the radiator and add coolant only would that fix the issue?

 

How long have you been running water in the cooling system?

 

Almost the whole time honestly since I’ve gotten the car which was a year and half a go would it be able to fix the issue this way?

 

Did you purchase the car with water in the cooling system or was coolant in the system?

The head gasket is almost surely blown. I'm trying to figure out whether fixing it is worth the time and money.

I'm strongly leaning toward suggesting you sell the car to cut your losses because the engine is likely dying from corrosion cancer.

 

I believe the car had coolant when the car was bought and if the head gasket was ruined how much would it cost to replace?

 

Call multiple local shops with excellent reviews for quotes. Post the prices to get feedback. Watch out for low ballers. It's better to get the job done right than to pay the lowest price.

But you should realize from the outset that you are almost surely throwing good money after bad. You can see your engine dissolved in the water running through the cooling system.

In the future, never put water into your car's cooling system.

 

For sure but since I don’t have a another car I gotta do the best to fix this one thank you boss and are you sure it’s the head gasket the oil is not milky either and no residue on radiator cap boss

 

Blown head gaskets can manifest in a variety of ways. The absence of those two symptoms does not rule out a blown head gasket. The white smoke in the exhaust suggests that the engine is burning coolant in the cylinders.

 

And even then replacing the radiator won’t do much?

 

The radiator is a concern, but the engine is the most important concern.

 

For sure I’ll try seeing to the radiator and changing the upper and lower hoses see if anything changes and last resort changing the head gasket on my little Civic