87 Honda Accord Antifreeze burning out of exhaust ..No Mix w/OIL

Discussion in 'Accord' started by matpex, Jul 22, 2005.

  1. matpex

    matpex Guest

    Having same problem as 3 months ago. Car still drives fine. Radiator gets
    empty every 1,000 miles, no leaks, no mixture with oil. Oil is clear , not
    bubblely , not discolored. How can antifreeze burn through the exhaust and
    not effect the oil? Please , if you know.......... how this can happen
    .....please let me know. Thx
     
    matpex, Jul 22, 2005
    #1
  2. Those are symptoms of head gasket failure (possibly cracked head, but less
    common.) The unwanted path is between the combustion chamber and the coolant
    passages. When you turn the engine off, coolant forces its way into one or
    more combustion chambers and collects on top of the pistons. As long as the
    rings are good, you won't see significant antifreeze in the oil - what gets
    in there will boil off fast enough. When the engine is started the
    accumulated antifreeze burns off through the exhaust.

    For a shadetree diagnosis...with the engine cold and idling, remove the
    radiator cap and clamp off the hose to the reservoir. Place the palm of your
    hand over the radiator cap opening and you will undoubtedly feel a
    constantly rising pressure and may even feel the pulsation of the affected
    cylinder(s) firing. Another rough test is to remove the cap when the engine
    is cold and the radiator is full, then pull the engine through all cylinders
    by putting a socket on the crank bolt and rotating the crankshft
    *counterclockwise* two full revolutions - you will probably see the coolant
    level rise at least once. You may also see a difference in the spark plug
    tip(s) in the bad cylinder(s).

    If you keep the coolant level up religiously you can go this way until it
    gets bad enough for other symptoms to appear. Full throttle will speed the
    destruction process. Ultimately the head gasket will have to be replaced.
    :-(

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Jul 22, 2005
    #2
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