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#11
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
BT wrote: > Thanks all for the input. The dealer found no evidence of engine > damage. So it looks like I may have gotten lucky. But still an > expensive repair. I found an independent mechanic who will do it for > 900, and that's most likely what I'll do. Still better value than > buying a new car. > > Will keep you guys updated. > Cheers, > BT Two items that were not covered in this discussion... 1. Is this the original radiator, if not - How many miles since the replacement? 2. You checked the coolant level in the overflow tank but did you check the radiator itself? JT |
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#12
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
On Jul 2, 7:29*pm, Grumpy AuContraire >
wrote: > BT wrote: > > Thanks all for the input. The dealer found no evidence of engine > > damage. So it looks like I may have gotten lucky. But still an > > expensive repair. I found an independent mechanic who will do it for > > 900, and that's most likely what I'll do. Still better value than > > buying a new car. > > > Will keep you guys updated. > > Cheers, > > BT > > Two items that were not covered in this discussion... > > 1. Is this the original radiator, if not - How many miles since the > replacement? > > 2. You checked the coolant level in the overflow tank but did you check > the radiator itself? > > JT Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the thermostat went bad. I did not check the coolant level in the radiator. But because of the sweet smell the day before, I am pretty sure the gasket was gone before I noticed the overheating. Does that change anything? Thanks BT |
#13
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
BT wrote:
> On Jul 2, 7:29�pm, Grumpy AuContraire > > wrote: >> BT wrote: >>> Thanks all for the input. The dealer found no evidence of engine >>> damage. So it looks like I may have gotten lucky. But still an >>> expensive repair. I found an independent mechanic who will do it for >>> 900, and that's most likely what I'll do. Still better value than >>> buying a new car. >>> Will keep you guys updated. >>> Cheers, >>> BT >> Two items that were not covered in this discussion... >> >> 1. Is this the original radiator, if not - How many miles since the >> replacement? >> >> 2. You checked the coolant level in the overflow tank but did you check >> the radiator itself? >> >> JT > > Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the > dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the > thermostat went bad. if the thermostat goes bad, the gauge will show. if the coolant level drops, the gauge frequently won't. as grumpy says, with the engine cold, you need to regularly check coolant level in the radiator, /not/ the expansion reservoir - any leaking means the bottle stays the same, but the coolant in the radiator disappears. > > I did not check the coolant level in the radiator. But because of the > sweet smell the day before, I am pretty sure the gasket was gone > before I noticed the overheating. > > Does that change anything? > Thanks > BT |
#14
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
On Jul 3, 6:14*am, jim beam > wrote:
> BT wrote: > > > > Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the > > dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the > > thermostat went bad. > > if the thermostat goes bad, the gauge will show. *if the coolant level > drops, the gauge frequently won't. *as grumpy says, with the engine > cold, you need to regularly check coolant level in the radiator, /not/ > the expansion reservoir - any leaking means the bottle stays the same, > but the coolant in the radiator disappears. Good call. The last time I checked the radiator itself was about 4 weeks ago when I did an oil change. It was fine at that time. And the dealer said the coolant level was fine when they checked it. They also couldn't find anything wrong with the thermostat, but suspect it was stuck at some time, which may have caused the damage. This would be the original thermostat. How long are they expected to last? I dunno. It seems like the head gasket just gave up the ghost because of age or something. Do they have an expected life-span? BT |
#15
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
BT wrote:
> On Jul 3, 6:14�am, jim beam > wrote: >> BT wrote: >>> Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the >>> dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the >>> thermostat went bad. >> if the thermostat goes bad, the gauge will show. �if the coolant level >> drops, the gauge frequently won't. �as grumpy says, with the engine >> cold, you need to regularly check coolant level in the radiator, /not/ >> the expansion reservoir - any leaking means the bottle stays the same, >> but the coolant in the radiator disappears. > > Good call. The last time I checked the radiator itself was about 4 > weeks ago when I did an oil change. It was fine at that time. And the > dealer said the coolant level was fine when they checked it. They also > couldn't find anything wrong with the thermostat, but suspect it was > stuck at some time, which may have caused the damage. This would be > the original thermostat. How long are they expected to last? > > I dunno. It seems like the head gasket just gave up the ghost because > of age or something. Do they have an expected life-span? > > BT not usually. occasionally one is just defective, occasionally there is a head/block machining defect, but most of the time, it's thermostat which in turn is much less common than coolant loss. |
#17
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
BT wrote: > On Jul 2, 7:29 pm, Grumpy AuContraire > > wrote: > >>Two items that were not covered in this discussion... >> >>1. Is this the original radiator, if not - How many miles since the >>replacement? >> >>2. You checked the coolant level in the overflow tank but did you check >>the radiator itself? >> >>JT > > > Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the > dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the > thermostat went bad. > > I did not check the coolant level in the radiator. But because of the > sweet smell the day before, I am pretty sure the gasket was gone > before I noticed the overheating. > > Does that change anything? In my experience, any radiator after 150K is usually plugged or well on its way. JT |
#18
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
Tegger wrote: > BT > wrote in news:590dc13f-0fde-4e2d-851b- > : > > >>On Jul 3, 6:14 am, jim beam > wrote: >> >>>BT wrote: >>> >>>>Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the >>>>dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the >>>>thermostat went bad. >>> >>>if the thermostat goes bad, the gauge will show. if the coolant level >>>drops, the gauge frequently won't. as grumpy says, with the engine >>>cold, you need to regularly check coolant level in the radiator, /not/ >>>the expansion reservoir - any leaking means the bottle stays the same, >>>but the coolant in the radiator disappears. >> >>Good call. The last time I checked the radiator itself was about 4 >>weeks ago when I did an oil change. It was fine at that time. And the >>dealer said the coolant level was fine when they checked it. They also >>couldn't find anything wrong with the thermostat, but suspect it was >>stuck at some time, which may have caused the damage. This would be >>the original thermostat. How long are they expected to last? >> >>I dunno. It seems like the head gasket just gave up the ghost because >>of age or something. Do they have an expected life-span? >> > > > > > Sort of. At /minimum/ you're expecting over 200,000 miles from a head > gasket. > > It's normally the "fire rings" that fail on an all-aluminum engine. Those > are the parts of the head gasket which keeps combustion gases inside the > cylinders. The fire rings can only take so much pounding over the years > before they eventually develop weak spots that turn into gas-leakage > points. > Overheating (or near-overheating) accelerates failure of the fire rings > through warpage of the head, as does corrosion due to neglected coolant > changes. > > There are three things you can do to prolong the life of your head gasket: > 1) NEVER allow the temperature gauge needle to rise much above "normal"; > 2) change your coolant every two years, even if it's the "long life" kind; > 3) make sure your ignition timing is always kept spot-on (on cars with > distributors). And have the radiator serviced/cleaned (rodding) every ten years or 150K miles. A partially plugged radiator will raise havoc with any cooling system. As JB stated, thermostats should be replaced maybe every five years and lastly, a faulty water pump should be considered. Sometimes impellers can start to slip. JT |
#19
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
Grumpy AuContraire wrote:
> > > BT wrote: > >> On Jul 2, 7:29 pm, Grumpy AuContraire > >> wrote: >> > >>> Two items that were not covered in this discussion... >>> >>> 1. Is this the original radiator, if not - How many miles since the >>> replacement? >>> >>> 2. You checked the coolant level in the overflow tank but did you check >>> the radiator itself? >>> >>> JT >> >> >> Original radiator. And still in good condition according to the >> dealer. All hoses are fine too. Their hypothesis is that the >> thermostat went bad. >> >> I did not check the coolant level in the radiator. But because of the >> sweet smell the day before, I am pretty sure the gasket was gone >> before I noticed the overheating. >> >> Does that change anything? > > > In my experience, any radiator after 150K is usually plugged or well on > its way. > > JT > with a plastic tank, it is prudent to simply replace it being as they tend to crack round about then anyway. no cleaning, no bugs in the matrix, guaranteed functionality. |
#20
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1999 Civic blown head gasket
Thats pretty reaonable for my area. Most mechanics won't touch a 10 year
old vehicle and 3K is more like dealer price in NY area |
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