1997 Honda Civic just had oil changed, leaked oil and overh

Hi cyanide240,

Thank you for the donation.

Did you check the coolant level in radiator?

The smoking could be due to leakages from the coolant and is steam from the overheating, not due to the oil leak. The oil leak could be another problem.

If any leakages had occurred due to punctured hoses or othere coolant passages, they would not be full.

You would have to perform a pressure test to know if the head gasket is gone.

The gasket might not fail immediately and might take up to 6 months for it to really fail. In the meantime, top up the coolant and test for leakages. Repair the leaks and you can continue to drive, hopefully the overheating was not too serious and did not cause any major damages.

After replacement of the thermostat, the cooling system has to be bled of air failing which the radiator would seem to dry up.

Top up the coolant, run engine with A/C turned on and radiator cap off. When coolant level drops, top up. Keep doing until the coolant level stabilises and close radiator cap.

Actually there is a bleeder bolt that you should have released while toppng up the coolant to bleed the air, but you have been running the engine for some time now so I believe you have minimal coolant drop in radiator and that is why I recommend the above bleeding process.

If the radiator and recovery tank keeps drying up, there must be a leak in the system. Get a pressure test done to confirm. Check the interior of vehicle for leakages as it could be from the heater core.

Note : If the radiator is drying up while the recovery tank is overflowing, the head gasket or radiator cap is bad. Check the hose between the recovery tank and radiator is not leaking.

Thank you for the feedback, it is much appreciated.

A pressure test would let you know if there are any leakages and would indicate if the head gasket is bad.

However if there is a problem with the head gasket and the problem is new, the leak could be minimal and the pressure test might not show immediately unless the time holding the pressure is prolonged.

If after the bleeding and driving around does not show any indication of the coolant level dropping, then there is not necessary to perform the pressure test yet.

If it is the water pump and the O ring of the pipe behind the engine, ensure the pipe is not corroded at the seats for the O ring.

When engine is cold, recheck the coolant level in radiator.

Also check the radiator fan to ensure it is running when the temperature goes up.