Possible head gasket leak

NEWYORK0717

MEMBER
1995 HONDA CIVIC
1.5L
AUTOMATIC
179,000 MILES

While replacing the bolts and gasket around valve cover on engine I found coolant in the oil. I was told its a head gasket but my car does not overheat or have white smoke from the exhaust. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars if I don't have to. Any suggestions of what to do? The car has been sitting for a couple of weeks because it needed new headlight which I ordered online. When I purchased the car they drove forty minutes to bring it to me without any sign of overheating.

1 Reply

SCGRANTURISMO

MECHANIC
4,897 POSTS

Hello,

If coolant is mixing with your oil than this is a sure sign that you have a blown head gasket. There are oil and coolant galleys that let both flow from the engine block into the cylinder heads. Your head gasket can be blown without letting either fluid into a combustion chamber, so there will be no blue or white coming from the exhaust. An easy check is to look at your vehicle's oil. If it looks like coffee creamer, you have a blown head gasket.
I have included a few links down below for you to go to:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolantantifreeze-in-the-engine-oil
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Please go through these guides and get back to us with what you find out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros