hey, i bought my 97 lx last week and i have the same issue. i busted my ankle the day i got it so i havnt been able to do much diagnosing but i drove it 20 miles home when i got it, the next day i hobbled out and checked fluids, coolant res. was empty, but didnt know if it was low to begin with, took over half a bottle to fill the res and rad. i drove it the other day fully warmed it up etc, later i checked again res lost about an inch n a half lower, so its def eating fluid, checked out oil dipstic, oil was low, and dark dark. needs changing but no sign of coolant in the oil pan. also another issue i have is that it seems the whole cooling fan system is down, no fans at all even while running a/c which is also not working, seems possible lack of clutch engagement, tomorrow im going to check the oil cap after i warm it up and see if theres a nice milky mixture going on in there. but there is no problem in drivability at all, nice accel. no miss etc, and i know it needs an oil change and plugs. so hey ill post my results tomorrow, and go from there

 

I moved your post to avoid confusion w/ other poster who hasn't resolved his problem.

A cooling system leak test by a shop or borrow pressure tester from auto parts store. It can be a problem to find correct adapter to radiator cap.

good luck

 

i turned on the heater fan while not running, and i could smell the aroma of coolant so i believe i found my issue, so ill clamp the inlet to the core and fill the res. then take it for a nice ride to see if it stops eating coolant, hopefully it is the core a hg job is not really what i want to do.