Head gasket?

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I had the radiator and hoses replaced back on tday weekend- nov 28th or so and had no issues except for adding small amounts of coolant . Then about since mid Jan I had fluctuations in temp and fan blowing cold air. I had to add some more coolant . The thermostat was changed as well as the rad cap and I cant see any leaks even after I had it pressure tested. Oil looks good. One place said the head gasket is most likely starting to leak and my mech does not think so . He bled the system and large air bubbles came out then stopped.. Coolant went down below the fins again.. What do you think? I would assume if coolant was getting into the oil I would see it by now. Its been about 4 weeks since this started.The temp gauge went almost to the top a couple of times but I pulled over and shut it off before overheating..

Thanks
 
A bad head gasket can also allow coolant to go into the cylinder and get burned, so seeing nothing in the oil is only part of the story. Pull the spark plugs and see if some are cleaner looking than others.
 
I had plugs changed a month after rad was replaced. mech did not see anything but Ill have to recheck, thanks
 
Run a pressure test on the cooling system. If it's not holding pressure pull the spark plugs and have someone spin the engine over while you watch the spark plug holes. If you get some coolant -not gas- spraying out it's bad news for the head gasket. On the overheating, it's possible to get a bad thermostat, but having air in the system is a bad sign. Keep the radiator full and keep checking the bleed valve. If it keeps having air in the system it's also likely bad news for the head gasket too. Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: andrewp1998
I had the radiator and hoses replaced back on tday weekend- nov 28th or so and had no issues except for adding small amounts of coolant . Then about since mid Jan I had fluctuations in temp and fan blowing cold air. I had to add some more coolant . The thermostat was changed as well as the rad cap and I cant see any leaks even after I had it pressure tested. Oil looks good. One place said the head gasket is most likely starting to leak and my mech does not think so . He bled the system and large air bubbles came out then stopped.. Coolant went down below the fins again.. What do you think? I would assume if coolant was getting into the oil I would see it by now. Its been about 4 weeks since this started.The temp gauge went almost to the top a couple of times but I pulled over and shut it off before overheating..

Thanks


You mentioned you did not observe any external leaks? Did you look under the car for leaks or drips when the temp gauge almost spiked and you pulled over and shut it off before overheating?

I wonder if your water pump is on the way out, because if not it may be going somewhere internal as mentioned. They usually have weep holes for when that occurs and unsure if a pressure test would recreate that. Driving would..
 
No leaks that I can see and water pump is just over a yr old, new t stat last week
 
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You can use an emissions tester & "sniff" the coolant reservoir or right over the radiator with the cap off to sniff HC's. There's "block check" chemicals out there that change color if the head gasket is blown. I can't believe your mechanic hasn't tried any of these testing methods.
 
Originally Posted By: mehullica
You can use an emissions tester & "sniff" the coolant reservoir or right over the radiator with the cap off to sniff HC's.


HC's = Hydro Carbons
 
The guru on the TRS advise zip tie-ing a rubber glove to the radiator neck. If the glove dances there is exhaust in the coolant.
 
Lisle makes a detector for combustion gas in the overflow tank. Its pretty definitive and easy to do. If theres air getting into the cooling system from a bad head gasket the detector will reveal it.
 
Originally Posted By: 64bawagon
Lisle makes a detector for combustion gas in the overflow tank. Its pretty definitive and easy to do. If theres air getting into the cooling system from a bad head gasket the detector will reveal it.


Is that the one where the liquid turns yellow in the presence of exhaust gas?
 
You can drill a small hole (1/16 inch) on the flange of the thermostat to allow any trapped air to easily slip by and belched out via overflow. The issue is air behind the thermostat, if the thermostat housing is at the highest point in the cooling system. A thermostat will not open if an air pocket is behind it.Head gasket issues will show up several different ways.. Combustion gases can escape into the coolant system. When its begining, you will see bubbles all the time in the radiator with the engine running.. When its really bad, coolant will be forced out, fill and overflow out the recovery bottle.
 
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Originally Posted By: Lubener
You can drill a small hole (1/16 inch) on the flange of the thermostat to allow any trapped air to easily slip by

Such modifications are ill-advised, and not terribly well thought out. Here's the Civic thermostat:
33340S-1_ANG_A.jpg


Notice anything that's already present on it?
 
No coolant when cold. mech last week bled the system with lots huge bubbles. ran ok for 2 days then fxxxed up again! I just had to pullover now on the highway cause the heat went up to the top and I just put coolant in there yesterday!! I just put in more coolant, I cant see any leaks!!!!



Carpet is dry
 
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Large bubbles came out when the system was bled then stopped after a while . I have to
.put in coolant in it every 2 days.
 
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Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: Lubener
You can drill a small hole (1/16 inch) on the flange of the thermostat to allow any trapped air to easily slip by

Such modifications are ill-advised, and not terribly well thought out. Here's the Civic thermostat:
33340S-1_ANG_A.jpg


Notice anything that's already present on it?


T stat was changed last week
 
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