1992 Honda Accord Not starting/ coolant leak/ stuck in gear

MUDDMAN

MEMBER
1992 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
184,000 MILES

I've had a problem in the past with putting my car into say, D3, but the gear indicator on the dashboard will blink on D4, and I will need to manually shift the gears as I drive down the road because it is stuck in too high a gear. This problem seems to correct itself if I turn the car off and let it sit for a few hours.

I've recently had a problem with my car not starting. It will turn over fine, but not make the final push into starting up. I've also have to replace the coolant relitively frequently in my radiator, and anything I put in my overflow tank either leaks out or is being sucked into the radiator rapidly.

When I replaced my spark plugs today, I noticed they were slightly white colored. I believe this means my engine is too hot. Also, one of the spark plugs was filthy with oil, and one had a bunch of gunk on the upperside of it.

Any suggestions?

1 Reply

PEAR69

MECHANIC
1,482 POSTS

You have the classic signs of a failing head gasket. Being that the spark plugs have a slight white color to them means that coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber.
It also sounds like coolant may be leaking into the engine oil. This can be the indication of a cracked oil cooler. Oil is cooled by a coil located inside of your radiator as it flows through it. This coil may be cracked.
The best way to test for any of these problems is to do a compression and leak down test on ALL cylinders.