1999 Honda Civic LX Stalling/Overheating!

KKUNERT

MEMBER
1999 HONDA CIVIC
163,000 MILES

My 1999 Honda Civic LX SOHC is stalling, jittering and pissed off to say the least.

(I don't know much about cars so bear with me).

I've had problems of overheating previously where my car's thermostat would hit 140. I think I've fixed the issue, I've replaced the thermostat but it was still doing that and 2 hoses blew and needed to be replaced. I've had to consistently fill my radiator with 50/50 antifreeze on a daily basis to ensure it won't overheat, so far that seems to be keeping the peace.

But now as of 5 days ago, I'm experiencing these new issues of stalling. Upon taking my civic into my mechanic, his meter showed that there was a misfire in the 2nd cylinder a month prior and now all 4 are misfiring. He thought it was the head gasket at first. I had just recently replaced the spark plugs with NGK Platinums, new spark plug wires and a new distributor cap.

I've received many possible culprits to my problem consisting of possibly the Throttle Position Sensor, Fuel Filter/Injection, Distributor or a radiator cap. I'm financially strapped at the moment and only could afford the radiator cap which didn't solve anything, however my radiator is running on 80% water at the moment. I'm really at a loss and I feel like I've done what I could and I'm at my wits end. Please help my poor little Civic cheat death for a little longer. Thank you

6 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Is the recovery tank overflowing or being depleted?
If the overheating had caused a head gasket failure, the radiator would run dry with recovery tank overflowing.
A block test should help you verify the problem.

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Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 AT 6:09 AM

KKUNERT

MEMBER
4 POSTS

Hi KHLow2008,

Thank you for your reply, I believe the recovery tank is being depleted. It's almost as if the Antifreeze evaporates within a day, however there's no sign of a leak or pressure issue. Would this also have something to do with all 4 cylinders misfiring and it stalling? Thank you in advance!

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Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 AT 6:35 PM

RBERQ

MEMBER
16 POSTS

Antifreeze would NOT evaporate in one day. When the car is running, is there a lot of white exhaust coming out the tailpipe? That would indicate a bad head gasket or warped head, coolant going into the cylinders and going out the tailpipe as steam. It could contribute to stalling if bad enough.

Did your mechanic clearly rule out a bad head gasket, by doing a compression test and/or cylinder leakdown test?

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Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 AT 1:29 AM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

If the recovery tank is depleting, it means there is a leak somewhere but for it to dry out in one day, it is not really possible as with such a leak, it should be substantial and the pressure in cooling syste would drop too much for it to be able to recover the coolant from spare side.

Improper bleeding of the system can result in air trapped in system but too much air trapped in system do does not allow it to recover the coolant from tank.

Misfiring can be due to a lot of possiblities and what you need to do now is to confirm the engine is good and don't waste time an money for uncessary repairs.

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Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 AT 8:32 AM

KKUNERT

MEMBER
4 POSTS

I took my car into two mechanics and both of them said I need a new engine. My head gasket WAS blown and that coolant was leaking into the 2nd cylinder. The mechanic said with a head gasket replacement, (depending on how far and how I drive it) the car would last about a year until the issue would return. So it would be best to get a new engine. He said it would cost $1750 which includes the engine, parts and labor. So I'll more than likely have to bite the bullet and go with that and hope the engine has low mileage.