90 civic over heated- now oil on top of spark plugs

So, I lent out my car to a friend. When I met up with him, the car was
smoking like crazy and really hot. The radiator was almost dry and as I
would fill it up, it smoked like a cyclone (the radiator did have a small
leak that got worse). Also one of the sparkplug wires was forced up from
pressure within. now it is missing at idle, so i pulled the wires and
there is a bunch of oil in the middle two cylinders above the spark plugs
where the spark plug wires attach. Any ideas about what happened. Damage
done. Fixes.

Help please and thanks in advance.

 

Best Case: Blown head gasket

Worst Case: Blown head gasket, cracked head, collapsed pistons and
stuck rings.

Others here may include more.

Based on your narration, I would lean toward worst case...

JT

 

So, I lent out my car to a friend. When I met up with him, the car was
smoking like crazy and really hot. The radiator was almost dry and as I
would fill it up, it smoked like a cyclone (the radiator did have a small
leak that got worse). Also one of the sparkplug wires was forced up from
pressure within. now it is missing at idle, so i pulled the wires and
there is a bunch of oil in the middle two cylinders above the spark plugs
where the spark plug wires attach. Any ideas about what happened. Damage
done. Fixes.

Help please and thanks in advance.

You need to have the vehicle towed to a mechanic and have him determine
the damage. If the engine overheated--it could have caused a cracked block
and a blown head gasket. I hope that I am wrong since if I am correct in
my guess--it means it will cost you over a thousand dollars to repair the
problems.
If the oil is black in color--it could mean there is water in the
oil--that means you have a cracked head gasket. If you drain some water
out of the radiator and find oil in the water--it could mean a cracked
head gasket.
Jason

 

thank you all for your replies.

Jason, you said the following.

If the oil is black in color--it could mean there is water in the
oil--that means you have a cracked head gasket. If you drain some water
out of the radiator and find oil in the water--it could mean a cracked
head gasket.

1. Is there a way to determine if the head is cracked?

2. Is a blowin head gasket something I can fix on my own?

 

If the car overheated to the point you describe, chances are excellent the
engine is very badly damaged and not worth fixing. Your bearings will
likely be shot as well as the cylinder bores, pistons, deck face and head.

Find a good used motor, and take better care of this one.

 

thank you all for your replies.

Jason, you said the following.

If the oil is black in color--it could mean there is water in the
oil--that means you have a cracked head gasket. If you drain some water
out of the radiator and find oil in the water--it could mean a cracked
head gasket.

1. Is there a way to determine if the head is cracked?

2. Is a blowin head gasket something I can fix on my own?

It's difficult for anyone but a mechanic since it involves taking the
engine apart. A mechanic can easily determine if you have a cracked head
gasket. For example, they can hook up the same equipment they use to check
emissions and determine if the head gasket is cracked. It's my guess that
if there is a large amount of water vapor in the emissions--that's how a
mechanic could easily determine if the head gasket is cracked. If the head
gasket is cracked--it could mean that the block is cracked and that is an
expensive problem to repair. It may even mean that you will have to buy a
rebuilt engine. Drain some water out of the radiator and pure it on some
cement while the sun is shining. If you see rainbow colors in the
water--it means the head gasket is cracked. I done that test on a
neighbor's car that overheated. I could see rainbow colors in the water.
The rainbow colors means there was oil in the water. I later learned that
a mechanic determined that I was correct--it was a cracked head gasket.
They plan to junk the car since it's 25 years old and it's in bad
condition. Even the windshield has a huge crack in it.
jason

 

well, that's not good.

no biggie. that's what happens if a plug's not screwed in right. screw
it back in and don't worry about it. if it's fouled, use a new one.

that happens on these hondas all the time. entirely independent of your
other issues.

overheating could mean head, block or just gasket damage. reinsert the
plugs, refill, and see what happens. you could get lucky...

if it's shot, replace with a jdm engine. much cheaper than fixing the
old one.

 

SO...

First thankyou for all of your replies. I fired up the car and after
blowing the oil out of the cylinders (smoked pretty good for a while), the
oil dropped down after I pulled the plugs. The car is still running. I'm
going to check compression and check for contaminated coolant. The tail
pipe isn't smoking anymore. fingers crossed. the car just topped 280k
today. while i haven't owned it the whole time, this is the best car i
have ever owned.

thanks,

glenn

 

SO...

First thankyou for all of your replies. I fired up the car and after
blowing the oil out of the cylinders (smoked pretty good for a while), the
oil dropped down after I pulled the plugs. The car is still running. I'm
going to check compression and check for contaminated coolant. The tail
pipe isn't smoking anymore. fingers crossed. the car just topped 280k
today. while i haven't owned it the whole time, this is the best car i
have ever owned.

thanks,

glenn

That is good news. One of the other tests that you could try is to change
the oil. Pure about 4 ounces of the new oil into a glass or Rubbermaid
container and save it. Drive the car at least 5 or more miles per day for
one week. At the end of the week--Use the dipstick to spread some of the
oil from the engine on the left side of a paper plate. Pure some of the
oil from the container or glass on the right side of the same paper plate.
If the oil on both side of the plate is the same color or looks the
same--that means you probably don't have a cracked head gasket. However,
if the oil from the engine is much darker (even black) than the oil from
the glass or container--that probably means that you have a cracked head
gasket. Black oil that has been in a car for only one week means that the
oil has water in it. Please let us know the results of the compression
check.
Jason

 

compression test will tell if theres a problem. then the head needs to
come off. it can be checked for warping, cracks, etc.

its doable but not fun, especially for a DIY project.

 

no dude, black oil is from soot/combustion product. oil with coolant in
it is like mayonnaise. oil may turn black in a week from cleaning gunge
out of a dirty engine, but that's a whole different ball of wax.

usual signs of badly blown gasket are either bubbles in the coolant or
mayonnaise under the filler cap.

 

so. no bubbles in the coolant and no mayo under the filler cap. i won't
be able to do compression for a few weeks till i get a guage. ran great
today. thanks again. i'm just hoping for the best.

 

good! and if it keeps running ok, don't bother with the test. if
there's a variance in the cylinders, you'll only worry about it, even
though it's common and otherwise completely unnoticeable. just drive
until real problems arise. take care of the oil leak though and check
the valve lash while you've got the cover off. use quality oil next
time you change it - different oils have different leak propensities.
google this group for history on that.