I have a 98 ex and this morning i over heated for the first time so i pull off the freeway and find that i have no coolant so i fill with water and i do the same for the over flow... I get to work fine i have lil to no water left in the overflow and when car is ideling there is a lil white smoke and there is some liquid coming from the exhaust??? I also notcied the smell of collant in the engine bay but i couldnt see any leaks? If it is is the head gasket hard to replace? It seems pretty simple?

 

its not alot of smoke tho it looks like when you start your car up on a cold day.

 

The head gasket should take an afternoon to replace if it's your first time. Last time I replaced it, all I bought was the new head gasket (~$40) and a new intake manifold gasket (~$17).

I'm wondering why the car overheated in the first place...

 

becasue all my coolant was gone

 

Man.... It does sound like a head gasket.

Check the back of the oil cap. If it looks like a mocha latte, then it's the head gasket. Then I'd check then drain the oil.
Get something large to catch the oil in. If it's light brown, then that's where all your coolant went

 

Well, that's what I'm getting at. Coolant doesn't just magically disappear. It has to go somewhere (from somewhere).

 

chit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! stupid car

 

do i have to machine the head and is it expensive??
and if so is there an aftermarket head i can but to get more power???

 

you will most likely have to machine the head. Im not sure how much they cost though.. But, it all depends how bad you overheated the car. Go with a straight head and a feeler gauge and you will see if the head is warped.

 

now if i want to add some hp is there anything i can do while the heads are off