1994 Honda Prelude Possible Head Gasket?

WIZEGUY72

MEMBER
1994 HONDA PRELUDE

Engine Mechanical problem
1994 Honda Prelude 4 cyl Manual 151000 miles

I had a problem with overheating, I immediately shut off car to let it cool. After I let it cool we checked the thermostat when we pulled thermostat the coolant was sludge and had oil mixed in. We checked the oil and we have no water or coolant in oil. We have did a flush on the coolant system and let run for 15 minutes and the car never overheated. But we did notice a clear smoke coming out of exhaust now. I just had the engine rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago could this be a head gasket problem and how much should we expect to pay to have this fixed?
06/05/08- Turns out I have two small cracks in the head. DAMN! My mechanic say's he's trying to find me a replacement head and I have a 2.3L dual overhead cam engine so if anyone has suggestions on where to find a used one please let me know. Otherwize I have to have Honda cast me a new one and it's very spendy. So I'm hoping someone out there know's where I can find one.

Thank you

1 Reply

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

to make sure you have a head issue, get the cooling system tested for exhaust gasses. This will be a sure indication that you have a gasket problem, also look at the spark plugs, dirty brown colour is also water. As for the repair. This will depend on what is wrong, a cracked head will cost more that just a gasket issue.

Mark (mhpautos)