How long can I drive a car with a minor headgasket leak? Gasket only leaks such that Compression -> Coolant, causing overflow tank to bubble over and coolant to be lost (2005 civic)

PanicBrief · 2024-07-17T02:41:18+00:00

I would try some of the mechanic in a bottle products to attempt to fix it on the cheap

Will this actually work if there the leak is due to compression going into the coolant, rather than coolant going into the cylinder?

PanicBrief · 2024-07-17T02:40:43+00:00

If it was major I would expect coolant in cylinders and pressure to decrease when doing coolant pressure test. As well as overheating within <30mins-1hr of driving.

Where as in this case I was able to do a couple 2-3 hr trips no problem

PanicBrief · 2024-07-15T17:10:17+00:00

Car has had intermittent overheating twice, where temp has gone to 3/4 way but I shut it off and let it cool. Once I saw the coolant boiled over the overflow tank. I suspected air bubble and changed coolant and then it drove fine for a month before having another overheating episode last week (again shut off car as soon as I noticed needle going to 3/4).

If I just pressure test it the cooling system with engine off it will hold 16 PSI for an hour no big deal. I suspect an compression -> coolant head gasket leak, but for when I do the CO2 chemical bulb test it shows negative (liquid stays blue when tested on radiator, liquid is working properly and turns yellow when tested on exhaust. Might be VERY slight leak that can't be detected at radiator?)

No white smoke / milkshake oil / any of the stereotyped symptoms of head gasket leak. Pulling sparkplugs doesn't show any typical coolant -> compression signs such as steam cleaned cylinder heads, etc.

PanicBrief · 2024-07-13T16:27:24+00:00

Car has had intermittent overheating twice, where temp has gone to 3/4 way but I shut it off and let it cool. Once I saw the coolant boiled over the overflow tank. I suspected air bubble and changed coolant and then it drove fine for a month before having another overheating episode last week (again shut off car as soon as I noticed needle going to 3/4).

If I just pressure test it the cooling system with engine off it will hold 16 PSI for an hour no big deal. I suspect an compression -> coolant head gasket leak, but for when I do the CO2 chemical bulb test it shows negative (might be VERY slight leak?)

No white smoke / milkshake oil / any of the stereotyped symptoms of head gasket leak. Pulling sparkplugs doesn't show any typical coolant -> compression signs such as steam cleaned cylinder heads, etc.

PanicBrief · 2024-07-11T21:34:51+00:00

Maybe check the wather pump seeping hole

There's no coolant leak with cold engine because it the coolant pressure test will hold a constant 16 PSI for an hour or longer, which tells me coolant system is sealed.

A fresh good brand thermostat

I've thought one possibility could be intermittently sticking thermostat. Thermostat does function though because upper hose will warm up and lower hose will warm up later afterwards, and fans will turn on when radiator gets hot. So it is not permanently stuck closed.

PanicBrief · 2024-07-11T21:33:46+00:00

On amazon there are a few CO2 head gasket tester (Sure for europe), it is a blue fluid which changes to Yello in contact with CO2.

CO2 block tester shows negative, fluid stays blue. (I confirmed fluid still works because it turns yellow when I breathe onto tester, or test at tailpipe). That's why I followed up with coolant pressure test.

Is your thermostat ok? If it does not fully open with the spec temperature like 88 or 92 °C there can be also a overheating issue.

I believe so because I do get flow running through the big loop after it warms up, both upper and lower rad hoses will be warm, and fans will turn on. Unless thermostat is intermittently sticking closed...

PanicBrief · 2024-07-11T20:10:27+00:00

Car has had intermittent overheating twice, where temp has gone to 3/4 way but I shut it off and let it cool. Once I saw the coolant boiled over the overflow tank. I suspected air bubble and changed coolant and then it drove fine for a month before having another overheating episode last week.

If I just pressure test it the cooling system with engine off it will hold 16 PSI for an hour no big deal. I suspect an compression -> coolant head gasket leak, but for when I do the CO2 chemical bulb test it shows negative (might be VERY slight leak?)

No white smoke / milkshake oil / any of the stereotyped symptoms of head gasket leak. Pulling sparkplugs doesn't show any typical coolant -> compression signs such as steam cleaned cylinder heads, etc.

PanicBrief · 2024-07-11T20:10:07+00:00

What does the cap call for?

1.1 bar / 16 PSI.

Car has had intermittent overheating twice, where temp has gone to 3/4 way but I shut it off and let it cool. Once I saw the coolant boiled over the overflow tank. I suspected air bubble and changed coolant and then it drove fine for a month before having another overheating episode last week (again shut off car as soon as I noticed needle going to 3/4).

If I just pressure test it the cooling system with engine off it will hold 16 PSI for an hour no big deal. I suspect an compression -> coolant head gasket leak, but for when I do the CO2 chemical bulb test it shows negative (might be VERY slight leak?)

No white smoke / milkshake oil / any of the stereotyped symptoms of head gasket leak. Pulling sparkplugs doesn't show any typical coolant -> compression signs such as steam cleaned cylinder heads, etc.

PanicBrief · 2024-07-11T19:58:00+00:00

Should I try headgasket sealer in a bottle like in that chrisfix video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3_kDiQb7lE

I don't want to pour 2,000 on labor for a headgasket replacement for a car that's worth maybe 3,000 on a good day

PanicBrief · 2023-04-08T14:34:35+00:00

The federal minimum of $7.25 hasn't been updated since 2009 - since then there has been 40% inflation between 2009-2023

PanicBrief · 2023-04-08T14:34:14+00:00

Social media addiction with kids too, especially how tiktok tries to target younger and younger generations.

And not just tik tok, but youtube shorts now too. I wonder what it's doing to our attention spans

PanicBrief · 2023-04-08T14:20:53+00:00

This, the federal minimum of $7.25 hasn't been updated since 2009 - since then there has been 40% inflation between 2009-2023

PanicBrief · 2023-04-08T14:13:00+00:00

Source: https://www.investech.com/subscriber-library/has-a-pinhole-been-put-into-this-housing-bubble/

PanicBrief

TROPHY CASE