My 1998 honda accord ex 4 cly. 140,000 mi. serviced and maintained regularly seems to be losing coolant very quickly, i have to refill the coolant every week, i think its going into my sparkplugs. the reason i know my sparkplugs are flooded is because sometimes my car wont start. (have to dry the sparkplugs and then the car starts.) Got the battery and alternator checked and they are alright. The car overheats very often!! Recently replaced a hose behind the firewall or main frame of the engine to fix the overheating. The check engine light turned on and diagnosis was 1) V-tec malfunction 2) cyl 2 & 3 faulty. WOW that does not sound good, can anyone help me out.... if you need anymore info please ask. im certain its internal engine problems.. can anyone be more specific. thanks!

oh yea, when i rev my engine in neutral, i cant get past my 5 rpm (probably due to the vtec malfunction, although i've never reached vtec). What is Vtec malfunction... how'd that happen?!

 

I think when the car's not moving (like revving in neutral) the ECU has a lower rev-limiter, so that last thing might be correct.

If the sparkplugs are clean & shiny (like steam-cleaned??) that would indicate a headgasket. Usually the cylinder pressure leaks out the other direction, making the anti-freeze bubble & overflow.

I've never seen a CEL code for cyl 2 & 3 "FAULTY". What's the actual code number? I'm guessing misfiring?

 

Can you see oil residue in the overflow tank on the left, and/or does the oil look foamy/whittish - look on the filler cap? Is your oil level higher? If not then your headgasket is fine.
When you dry the plugs do they smell like gas?.

 

Jim Blake - yes cyl 2-3 misfire is correct, what does that mean and how can i fix it? 3/4 spark plugs are fairly clean, 4th one is darker than the rest....?

draser - no residue, how do i know if my oil level is high, my oil change is not due for another 1000 miles. no foam or whitish stuff.... YES when i dry my sparkplugs, they smell like gas, but you can see a greenish tint, so im assuming thats anti-freeze not gas.

thanks for the help guys!!

Also, i experienced yesterday after driving approx. 40 miles, i stopped at a Safeway. when i came back to my car 10 mins later and tried to start it, it would barely start but turn off immediately unless i applied pressure to the gas pedal. (once i took my foot off, the car would die) So i revved as high as i could, went into drive and the car felt as if it were stalling, but i was able to gain speed slowly, as i made circles in the parking lot, the stuttering went away, and after that, my car was overheating excessively. Finally after making it 40 miles back home, i noticed a tea kettle type of whistling coming from my car, so i parked at my destination and opened the hood. The overfill tank was boiling..... (and whistling) WTF..

 

That certainly sounds like a blown head gasket to me. My '97 Hyundai Accent Gt did that exact same thing with the overflow when the head gasket was blown. Have you ever had your car's thermostat changed? How about the water pump? Both those can cause overheating too. You can check your oil level by pulling out the dipstick with the engine off and the car parked on a level place, and seeing what the oil level is on the dipstick, it's marked so you can tell. If the oil looks like anything but normal oil, like was described above, you would be getting coolant into your oil. Needless to say, it may be time to have a good mechanic check your car out.

 

Next is a compression test, that will tell if the headgasket is gone. It will read normal compression probably on cyl's 1 and 4, and low on 2 and 3.

Frequent overheating can lead to headgasket damage, so I'd also check the thermostat like it was suggested. I would not use the car in this condition, or fix it quick if it's the only ride, since overheating can cause head warping, block damage, etc - not trying to scare you.

 

i feel like theres already been quite some damage... such as head warping or block damage...? what r other possibilities for overheating an engine. im thinking i need a new engine, but i hope not. thanks draser.

Also, today after driving my car (accelerating fast for about 5 -10 mins, just to see how fast the car overheats) i noticed steam coming from the front right of the hood (no whistling this time), but my overfill reservoir was steaming! when i took the cap off, the black rubber tube showed evidence of the whitish substance you wrote about... whats that mean?!

 

Another sign of a bad headgasket.

Combustion gas leaks out from the cylinder, into the water-jacket of the block/head. That raises pressure in the radiator, & it bubbles out from the overflow reservoir. It can bring some oil with it too, especially if the headgasket also leaks from the pressurized oil passageways into the water jacket.