BT <bhthyagarajan@gmail.com> wrote in news:590dc13f-0fde-4e2d-851b-
52ba2b446f33@g7g2000prg.googlegroups.com:

> On Jul 3, 6:14*am, jim beam <m...@privacy.net> 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).


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/