Mr.E.G.

do not use a mechanic that thinks throwing parts at a car is fixing it.

JonBoy

How difficult was it and how long did it take?

RSXLNT

I have no idea what's causing your overheating problems. At 140k miles, we had an overheating issue too. Did everything to fix it. Finally discovered it was a warped head. Hope yours is an easier fix. Good luck with it.

Mr.E.G.

also, i have owned numerous civics. the only thing i have ever had a problem with on any of my civics was the cooling system. interestingly enough, i have had cooling system problem on EVERY civic i have owned.

a good mechanic will have the tools to test for a blown head gasket. one method is an exhaust sniffer. they open the radiator cap and hold the sniffer over. if it "smells" exhaust then you have your answer. there is a lower tech version that uses some sort of a flask with little floating balls of varying density. something about, if there coolant is airated with exhaust that the green ball floats vs. the blue one, or something like that.

Act of God

I have the car at a different mechanic now. They replicated the overheating but cannot diagnose the issue. They asked for another day with the car.

This suuuuuuuuuuuuucks. I hate commuting in the s2k, just wasting milage sitting in traffic.

sahtt

Just check the damn compression. You can do it yourself if you know how to change spark plugs. It's a 20$ tool and you can use it forever and check any used vehicle before you buy it.

First get the car warm but not hot.
a) Take out the spark plugs.
b) (optional) Pull fuse to fuel pump
c) Insert threaded compression tester in to 1st cylinder
d) Crank the motor [hold key like you are trying to start the car] for about 5 rotations or until the compression gauge peaks
e) Repeat for other 3 cylinders and you are done.

Civics are the easist cars in the world to do this on. Only 4 plugs and they are all right in front of you with nothing in the way.

curiouz_G

i mentioned the compression test already. they even rent them at autozone

civicson234

It was moderatly difficult, but it was the first time i had ever done something that serious on a car before, so my opinion might be a bit biased. It took about 4 hours, but i wasnt trying to rush through it or set some kind of record. The only big thing i remeber being a problem was i took the cylinder head of with a bit too much enthusiasm and managed to get some coolant into the cylinders, wich was a pain to get all of it out(didnt feel like trying to compress a liquid and blowing a new headgasket, or something worse.) The only reason it was difficult getting the head off on my civic was that the previous owner had never changed it, and the car had 187,xxx miles on it when i changed it. If i had my laptop id upload the pictures for you. I might just do that once i get the chance.

Just another question, is your civic an auto or a manual? Mine was an auto and i accidentaly lossend the cable that goes from the throttle body to the transmission. It took me a while to try to get the tension on that cable correct again, wich was causing the tranny to shift really awkward.

JonBoy

My friend's car is an automatic.

civicson234

I actually used some pdf files that had the procedure for headgasket removal. I got them from the UK honda website(i was stationed in england at the time.) They had everyting including the torque values and procedures for the head bolts.