"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3FJQg.752$o71.483@newsread3.news.pas.earthlin k.net...
> From reading here, and working with a friend's car this past summer, the
> oil-in-the-coolant and coolant-in-the-oil indications do not seem to
> always appear. My friend's Civic was experiencing regular overheaing.
> Ultimately she had to have the coolant tested for exhaust products at the
> local dealer. That nailed it. Her 99 Civic, about 115k miles, needed a new
> head gasket. Years before she had had one overheat episode. But it might
> have just been the very hot summer this year that put too much strain on
> the gasket.
>
Definitely - failure from the combustion chamber to the coolant passages is
pretty common. I imagine it has something to do with extremely hot gasses
under high pressure hammering on it ;-)

> If the car is not overheating, then from what you say, I guess I'd change
> the oil and monitor for a few weeks. Or consider having the coolant
> chemistry tested for something like $50.
>
> With the recent overheat episode, I would not be optimistic.
>
That's the part that worries me, too. Even a single serious overheat can
warp the head (and it's not just a Honda thing), causing the middle to lift
up from the gasket. The repair is the same as head gasket replacement with
the addition of having the head planed at a cylinder head shop or machine
shop. In any event, the head will have to be checked for flatness and should
be looked over by an expert before reinstalling, if you (the OP) do have to
remove the head.

Mike