A/C on 91 Civic died, then had coolant problems. What's going on?

Question

First the A/C on my 1991 Honda Civic died. A few weeks later I saw a tiny bit of white smoke in the exhaust. It had never happened before and stopped almost immediately. A few days later it overheated, I checked the coolant overflow and it was pretty empty. I added to the overflow (but not to the radiator) and it drove fine. The next day I checked it again and it was low. Again I added to the overflow, and again it drove fine. The third time I checked it was a little low so I added to the overflow and directly to the radiator. There are no clouds of white smoke or anything. There might be a TINY bit of white exhaust, but I also might be convincing myself that there is. It's that imperceptible. What could all this be? Could it be a cracked cylinder head or gasket? Wouldn't I have plumes of white smoke coming out? It also takes a little oil (no blue smoke, just have to add a tiny bit of oil every few fillups or the oil light will come on after a while). Could this be related? I figured the oil was just due to it being almost 20 years old.

Answer 1

I would consider having the radiator flushed to see if that helps out any with the coolant and a/c issue. As for the white smoke, I have to agree that it sounds like a head gasket. It may not have totally gone out on you yet, but it will if left unchecked. A head gasket is also not a cheap fix. With a 91, I'd consider looking for a newer car.

Good luck!

Answer 2

>> I saw a tiny bit of white smoke in the exhaust. It had never happened before and stopped almost immediately. A few days later it overheated, I checked the coolant overflow and it was pretty empty. I added to the overflow (but not to the radiator) and it drove fine. The next day I checked it again and it was low.

Your head gasket is blown.

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>> Wouldn't I have plumes of white smoke coming out?

Only if the leak is big leak.

Good Luck...

Answer 3

Dude, it's a '91 Civic!