Hehe.. Yet another mechanical issue.. This time with the car! I've been driving this old Honda Civic since I purchased it back in high school over a decade ago. It's great on gas, never smokes, purrs like a kitten, and is really just a treat to drive with its tight suspension and peppy acceleration. I've been all over the country in this thing and not even one single time has it left me stranded. Ever. My wife and I have owned several other cars over the years but this little Honda has always been dear to me.
Well starting about the beginning of summer, for the first time, it has been running a little hot. I do all my own maintenance and repair so I started going down the list when I service it. Checked the fan, checked water pump, flushed the radiator, swapped out the thermostat for a lower temperature unit. I even bypassed the fans thermostat to force the fan to operate whenever the ignition is on. For the life of me I just couldn't figure it out. Well the other day on an especially hot afternoon drive, the temp started climbing above operating temperature. For the first time in the cars 11 years of service with me, I pulled it over and shut her down. Went and got something to eat while it cooled off, then gently drove it on home.
I decided to go ahead and check for the worst-case scenario; the head gasket. Opened up the hood, took off the radiator cap, started up the motor and watched. Bubbles about the size of a grape would pop up in the fill spout every few seconds. When I goosed the throttle, coolant would rise up and overflow the spout, followed by larger more frequent bubbles. The head gasket was seeping combustion gasses into the cooling system. Air pockets were keeping the coolant from carrying the heat out of the engine.. Damn it.
The car is 22 years old. Yes I drive a 1987 Honda Civic with over 300,000 miles on it. I was 4 years old when that car rolled off the assembly line and 15 years old when I worked all summer to afford it.
Doing a full motor overhaul would cost far more than just buying a newer car. As a last ditch effort, I decided to pull the valve cover and check the head bolts. Since the gasket wasn't blown yet, just seeping, it might indicate some stretch on the bolts. If the head isn't tightly secured to the block, the gasket won't be supported enough to get a tight seal. Sure enough, I put a torque wrench on the bolts and found all but the center 2 were WAY below factory spec (49 ft/lbs). The pairs on the outer-most edges were down to ~25 or so ft/lbs!! I tightened everybody back down to where they should have been and closed her up.
I'm on day two after the fix now and that car, even under heavy load (got her up to 100mph on the highway) hasn't gone above 33% on the temperature gauge. It used to sit around 50% and climb to 60% when it's running hot. No more bubbles in my cooling system and absolutely zero overheat. It's even making more power! Hell, I'll probably need to swap in a higher temp thermostat when winter rolls around otherwise the thing will never warm up enough to heat the car! I am relieved beyond words!
So I guess the moral of the story, if you drive an older car, check your head bolts! You might just
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