Blown Head Gasket

We were able to save head, and pressure tested it at the machine shop. Now I will be putting the head back on and changing seals. One question, do you have a reference to diagrams of this engine or info to where to find specifications with brief descriptions of what needs to be replaced when putting the head back on?

Ty.

The car takes forever to put warm air out of the heater. Coolant can be in tip top shape, does not matter. And also has a problem with coolant, every now and then the radiator is just empty, as if spaceships in the night removed it. Then you wont have that problem, just long enough to forget you had it, then POW, its gone again. Im not making this up. And I have had 2 Accords, 4 civics in my lifetime. This is the first Post 2000 model. Never came across this.I think blown head gasket, fill res. And it wont move. Too wierd.

Thanks, im actuall burping the car right now, to eliminate that gremlin. And yes, I typically add to radiator, unless im driving it.

Thanks for all the input.I liked the "air lock" idea from the beginning, but continued staring under the hood for hours.I tried using a spillproof funnel, got lots of bubbles, but had an overheat, and took a step back.I threw in the towel, convinced it was my heater core being plugged. The shop I use, stood the car up" practically on its back bumper, and ran it. Car is in a state of warmth it has never known. This approach made sense, I just never saw it comin.I.E, the approach.

Excited to think it may help someone avoid uneeded downtime. GO BLUE!

I'm running a b16a type r engine in my 95 civic eg at the moment, the past 2 weeks its been over heating so I've been avoiding driving it since flushing and replacing the coolant in the radiator, the fan is working but not to its best capacity, the thermostat is opening a little late but its all working none the less. I have done some research online and the symptoms my car is showing is pointing to a blown head gasket (coolant dissappearing with no leaks, tiny amount of oil in the coolant, loss of power while driving, over heating then cooling again within minutes, tiny puff of white smoke occasionally coming out my exhaust) I was just wondering if there was a difference in symptoms between a blown head gasket and a cracked head? As obviously there is a major price difference in repairing either one of them.

Thanks heaps, I'm actually based in western Australia so might just have to call around local mechanics for pressure testing

Brought car to shop. Was overheating slighty, leaking coolant intermittently for 3months. We kept topping it off. Prior to that had heater issues for a year where it would heat sometimes, and blow cold air at others. Shop said waterpump was leaking, radiator was leaking, and they replaced. Replaced timing belt because it was old. Day after out of the shop, car overheats into the red zone, and we pull over and leaking coolant all over the ground. Opened the radiator and it was almost full, the overflow still had some fluid. We alsofound that the fan and the coolant overflow tank were jiggling and loose, never being reattached to the front of the car with, coolant all over the road, When we checked, both the radiator and the overflow were full.

Took it back to the shop and they said the head gasket had blown. Whose fault is this?Did the shop do something, did it just magically wear out the next day? Very upset with shop.

Thank you for your answer. If you have a moment to answer two more? Would a shop check for head gasket problems when replacing a radiator and water pump? Couldn't the damage have occured when the engine went into the red zone? There was not a problem in the oil visually or any exhaust smoke to indicate damage previously to our taking it in to the shop. Thank you.

I see. The diagnosis was made using a very nifty tool that was put in the opening of the radiator filled with a liquid that changed color to indicate the blown gasket. I was hoping that would be part of standard procedure to rule out head gasket problems after all the other work had been done. Either way, its blown and I am just trying to determine when and why. Thank you for your help!