OK, first check oil level, if its over full and looks like choclate milk u know where the coolant went. Next i would start it with the radiator cap off if oil is fine, see if you have compression entering cooling system, if so be prepared for it to gush out antifreeze, then theres always a compression test to see if the gaskets blown inbetween cylinders, but i suspect you have a leak versus a head gasket, but if it is a head gasket be sure to check with a straight edge and feeler gauge, check the block to. If it needs plained, that will bump compression slightly, Depending on miles, maybe a valve job? At least a three angle, find a good shop that could myabe even port and polish the head, then match the manifolds to the ports on the head, in all should help a lot in flow. ANy questions, feel free to ask

 

Check for leaks before you go ripping the car apart. As he said above, check for milky colored oil on your dipstick. Check for any leakage around the drivers side of the engine (water pump is there).

And futhermore, check all of your hoses. Heater hoses in the back of the engine are known to go after 100k.

 

I wouldn't recommend this because it will facilitate reverse flow. You want to ensure that there are anti-reversion steps both on the intake side and the exhaust side.

When I overheated my engine, I was lucky and didn't have to machine the head. As stated, just use a straight edge and a set of feeler gauges to check for flatness. Be sure to check all sides and diagonals.

If you want more power while the head is off, a 3 angle valve job is a good idea. You could also drop in a bigger cam and have a reputable shop do a mild port job. If you need to have the head machined, you could even have them mill it a little more for extra compression.

 

I have a 94 civic and my car had huge white clouds of smoke from the exhaust and milky color in the oil. Took it to my friend and he ripped it apart and found the head gasket was bad. It could be a cracked head too. You wont know until you pull everything apart.

 

He should still check the low-dollar "free" stuff before pulling the car apart.

 

wheres the alot of white smoke?? and whats did the oil look like

 

i just ran the car at idel for 2 hours trying to find any leaks.. I didnt have white smoke out the exhaust but i did have white steam I also found out that i have 2 exhaust leaks as well. Would that cause the white steam out the exhuast i also found out that i had no coolant missing either??? I dont know whats up now im confused

 

I had a lot of white smoke coming out and also my car would sound like crap when it was on. The oild will look milky. My oil was real light brown.