my car stays in first

1994 HONDA CIVIC
142,000 MILES • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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RMARTINEZ
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Hi,

My car (94 honda civic) is an automatic and lately it has stayed in first. Its also making squeaks noises when i turn it on and also creating a lot of white smoke out the exhaust. Is there any sign that this could be that the head gasket is about to blow? Or that the transmission is bad? It also uses way too much antifreeze liquid. I have to refill it every week or so. please help!
Feb 5, 2011 at 2:20 PM
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KHLOW2008
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Squeaking noise could be from the drive belts. Have them checked.

White smoke and necessity to replenish the coolant indicates a possible bad head gasket. Is the recovery tank depleting as well or only the radiator is depleting?

Transmission not upshifting could be a failing transmission, out of adjustment throttle pressure cable or insufficient transmisison fluid.

Feb 6, 2011 at 10:45 PM
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RMARTINEZ
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thanks this at least gives me something to go on.
Feb 6, 2011 at 10:59 PM
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RMARTINEZ
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about a four years ago my mechanic changed the head gasket and it was fine. now the only thing is that the radiator is always depleted of coolant/anifreeze liquid when i check it every week. the transmission had a flush and the belts are fine. but thats all I know .
Feb 6, 2011 at 11:01 PM
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KHLOW2008
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When belts ages, they tend to harden and produce squeaky noise. If there is any slack in the tension, squealing noise would occur ocasionnaly, especially during startup or sudden accelerations.

If only the radiator is depleting whereas the recovery tank is not and might be overflowing instead, it could be a bad head gasket, leaks between the recovery tank and radiator or a bad radiator cap. If both are depleting, you have a leak in the system and a pressure/leak down test should be able to detect the leak. A visual inspection might reveal something, look out for signs of staining due to presence of coolant, especially around hose joints.

If there is any problem with the valve body, flushing would not help.
Does accelerating and releasing the accelerator pressure allows the gears to up shift? If not, you have a fault with the valve body which requires the valve body to be serviced. Does manually shifting of the gears result in upshifting?
Does the D4 indicator light blinks while driving?


Feb 7, 2011 at 4:04 AM
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