AmyR.

Help.... Ok my 02 civic was not getting warm inside, then would. Then a few days later, it started to overheat.....due to this happening before and me having to replace the motor due to it cracking, I knew to not let that get to the H. Checked it out and yes was low on antifreeze.filled it up, drove home. Checked again, low again. Filled it, and yes every time now I'm putting more in. It is not a lot though. I replaced the cap, due to it not staying tight. However today, had to add more antifreeze. I checked, the fan is working. What's my next step???

AmyR.

Oh and no there is not any antifreeze on the ground after being parked.

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

Might be kinda hard since it's cold out and normal exhaust becomes visible but look to see if there's a lot of white smoke. Also it could be a leak up high and/or only leak when the system is under pressure. For what it would cost to risk driving around till you know what's wrong, I'd take it in and get the cooling system checked/pressure tested. You may even have a leaking water pump. Unfortunately this is kinda hard to pinpoint without actually having the car in front of me to look at. If no leaks can be found with a pressure test, I hate to say it but the next step would be a compression test. Head gaskets are not uncommon with that motor.

AmyR.

There is no antifreeze going into the oil. I did check that also. I think it might be the overflow tank for the antifreeze??

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

Very possible, If the fluid froze in there it'll crack easy enough.

Just sayin, and I hope for your sake I'm wrong. These motors are prone to head gaskets cracking slightly and you'll burn it off more then what'll make it into the oil. I've seen several come into my shop where coolant is disappearing and not leaving a puddle. Some it's a slight leak from the t-stat housing that also has the upper rad hose and EGR thing on it that previous D series didn't have. Some it's a water pump that is barely begun to leak and most of it dries up or gets absorbed by the dirty grease build up around the lower timing cover. Also depending on what anti freeze you have in there, some stuff will actually turn to a black greasy mess when it gets hot enough.

Only sure way to really know if it is the gasket, first things first, pressure test, should lose pressure cause it's clearly leaking some where, but this should show you where exactly. Then if you can't see anything anywhere, get a compression test done, this still might not give you any concrete proof so the third thing is if the shop has an emission test machine. Using the exhaust probe instead of putting it in the tail pipe, hold it over the open rad cap. Increase readings of things like CO and HC's coming means that exhaust gasses are leaking into the coolant, and it's likely a 2 way street.