I have a 2002 Honda Accord LX with 102k miles. 4-banger with automatic and kept stock. A few weeks ago it overheated. Radiator was empty. Filled the radiator and drove on. Radiator kept going empty but I couldn't see a leak. I gave it to a shop and they said the head gasket was blown, which would cause the radiator to empty. However, it would have had to have overheated to have blown, so what caused the overheating in the first place?

Anyways, they quoted me 1700 to replace the head gasket and replace the timing belt. However, now they're saying that the Accords from this year had their engines cast in sand, which caused bubbles which caused oil to leak into the coolant and make the engine overheat in the first place which caused the head gasket to blow. So to prevent issues in the future, the whole engine must be replaced. Does that sound reasonable? Anybody hear about this?

Should I just replace the head gasket and hope the engine itself isn't at fault?

 

Unless your block is cracked then you should be good to do your head gasket job and be good to go

 

Unless your block is cracked then you should be good to do your head gasket job and be good to go

 

What would cause a radiator to empty without a visible leak? This thing would have to be filled twice a day but no leak.

 

Also don't you have to take apart the car before you can see if the block is cracked?

 

A couple of things,,,,,first off,, there are many reasons why an engine would overheat...( bad t-stat, rad cap. fans inop, leaky hose, low on coolant,plugged radiator , bad water pump .... )..Did the shop chk to make sure that all were working ok , and 1 was not the cause of the blown head gasket??? did they pressure test the cooling system ??

Second,, I have worked on a lot of 2002 acc and never heard nor seen what they are telling you ,,about ( engine cast in sand , cause bubble and cause oil to leak in coolant ) ,, was this a Honda dealer ??
if head gasket is indeed blown it needs to be replaced, chk the head for cracks ,,if ok mill it , i would do a valve job while head is out, BUT need to find out what caused the head gasket to go bad in the first place,,,

I would pressure test the cooling system to chk for leaks , if you have to add that much water,( radiator empty )you should have seen it go out of tail pipe, (lots of smoke..) water in the oil ,, ??

 

So Ive had the same or similar issue as many of you. 2002 Accord SE Coupe. Last month our heater was blowing cold air and I opened the hood to find a coolant resevoir full of brown goopy sludge and an empty radiator

We replaced head gasket and since i had 120K miles, I also replaced timing belt, water pump, thermostat, radiator flush and oil change. But less than 1 month after doing this (yesterday), my heater was blowing cold air again.

I opened the hood to find a cracked hose (main going to radiator) I taped it up to drive home and now the whole hose is deformed and swollen.

My mechanic looked at it again and he thinks its the lower gasket, which im assuming is the oil pan gasket. I think he is wrong and or just guessing, but at this point it couldnt hurt to change it as its the cheapest "fix".

Should I cut my losses and get a new car? Ive already invested $1400 but Im going to need a family car in 9-12 months. Any suggestions?