<nipracw@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1172723485.878657.323790@v33g2000cwv.googlegr oups.com...
>> you haven't experienced significant coolant loss, all you really have is
>> a misfire. head gaskets on hondas are usually accompanied by coolant
>> loss and bubbling into the expansion bottle. injector cleaner has
>> nothing to do with it. suggest you do a pressure test for leakage or a
>> chemical test to see if you have hydrocarbons in the coolant. and you
>> won't usually get water in the oil in hondas because the wet liners mean
>> coolant has no access to oil passages unless the block and/or head is
>> cracked.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> When the problem first surfaced, I lost about half of my coolent.
> Once I stopped the car I topped it off and drove it to the garage.
> Didn't seem to run THAT hot (maybe a bit warmer than usual, but arrow
> didn't reach halfway mark, fairly cold day though). Also as noted I
> didn't really examine the coolant in the expansion bubble with the
> vehicle running, but it certainly didn't smell right...
>
> Glad to hear the observation on not having water in my oil, seems to
> corroborate everything else. Good design choice on Honda's part I
> guess!
>

My own preference for a field test for a bad head gasket (especially with
those symptoms) is to start with a cold engine and remove the radiator cap.
Start the engine, pinch off the hose to the coolant reservoir and put the
palm of your hand over the radiator cap opening for 10-15 seconds. If you
feel steadily rising pressure, or worse, pulsations from the engine, it's
bad news. I don't recall ever seeing a false positive from this test, but
there are occasional false negatives. Bubbles can come from trapped air, but
pressure that quickly has to come from the combustion chambers. Pulsations
are pretty much a certainty for a bad head gasket or warped head - no crack
is that bad!

I agree that the sudden misfire accompanied by clouds of white smoke points
strongly to coolant in a combustion chamber. Add the disappearance of the
coolant and the mystery is not much of a mystery any more.

Mike