My daughter’s honda civic 1992 keeps overheating, hoses keep bursting. Each time she gets it fixed, another hose bursts. The car sometimes doesn’t start. The radiator is always full, but the reserve tank always empties. Water is coming out of the tail pipe. Someone said it is probably a warped head gasket. Could it be something else?
It could be a head gasket problem but some testing is needed to confirm it.
Is the engine overheating? Is the cooling fan operating?
Change the thermostat, check your oil, watch the flow through the radiator (it’s 15 years old and could be clogged). Do you have steam coming from the tailpipe? How’s the condition of the motor oil? Any water in it? The hose bursting indicates that something is blocked. Rocketman
Not a warped head gasket, but a warped head.
What has probably happened is the head gasket has failed, and now combustion gasses are getting past the fire rings on the head gasket and superheating the coolant while at the same time pressurizing the cooling system. This will cause the heat and pressure to build very rapidly in the cooling system, and the hoses get blown off and the engine overheats. And the coolant coming out the tailpipe confirms that this is the problem.
Tester
"Not a warped head gasket, but a warped head.
What has probably happened is the head gasket has failed, and now combustion gasses are getting past the fire rings on the head gasket and superheating the coolant while at the same time pressurizing the cooling system. This will cause the heat and pressure to build very rapidly in the cooling system, and the hoses get blown off and the engine overheats. And the coolant coming out the tailpipe confirms that this is the problem."
Sounds like you have an accurate description of what’s going on. Can this be fixed, or does it need a new engine etc. Do you think we should sell the car? Would anyone even buy it? Another problem is the car not starting, mostly after my daughter gets gas. Is this related to the head or could this be a fuel pump problem. I was just reading the answer to another query that if you let your car go to empty, you can ruin your fuel pump. Sounds like the car might have multiple problems. What do you think?
A 92 isn’t heading toward its best years. I think it’s too much risk to have it fixed at that year and price. The problem seems to have been going on for a while. You could get the head replaced for around $1500 but there could be other things damaged because of trying to drive it that way.