90 Civic SI head gasket

I am looking at buying a 1990 Civic SI. The owner told me that the rad
broke (plastic) and the head gasket went after that. Does this mean
that the engine probably over heated ? Are there other problems that I
should look out for?

Terry

 

Not necessarily. Head gaskets will eventually fail even if never abused.
You don't say how many miles on this car. But so long as the gasket
replacement was done properly, you should be OK.

 

My sons '94 went at 80,000. Not sure if it was clogged radiator and over
heating that did it, but I replaced the radiator with a better cooling one
and a new HG, and she's been fine since (95k on it now). We never ran it
hot, replaced it pronto. Work was done by a trusted mechanic at AAMCO.
Like the other person mentioned, as long as it was addressed early, and not
run in that state, it should be fine.

I'd ask who did the work and a receipt if they have it.

G-Man