87 Honda Accord Antifreeze burning out of exhaust ..No Mix w/OIL

Having same problem as 3 months ago. Car still drives fine. Radiator gets empty every 1,000 miles, no leaks, no mixture with oil. Oil is clear , not bubblely , not discolored. How can antifreeze burn through the exhaust and not effect the oil? Please , if you know.......... how this can happen ....please let me know. Thx

Reply to
matpex
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Those are symptoms of head gasket failure (possibly cracked head, but less common.) The unwanted path is between the combustion chamber and the coolant passages. When you turn the engine off, coolant forces its way into one or more combustion chambers and collects on top of the pistons. As long as the rings are good, you won't see significant antifreeze in the oil - what gets in there will boil off fast enough. When the engine is started the accumulated antifreeze burns off through the exhaust.

For a shadetree diagnosis...with the engine cold and idling, remove the radiator cap and clamp off the hose to the reservoir. Place the palm of your hand over the radiator cap opening and you will undoubtedly feel a constantly rising pressure and may even feel the pulsation of the affected cylinder(s) firing. Another rough test is to remove the cap when the engine is cold and the radiator is full, then pull the engine through all cylinders by putting a socket on the crank bolt and rotating the crankshft

*counterclockwise* two full revolutions - you will probably see the coolant level rise at least once. You may also see a difference in the spark plug tip(s) in the bad cylinder(s).

If you keep the coolant level up religiously you can go this way until it gets bad enough for other symptoms to appear. Full throttle will speed the destruction process. Ultimately the head gasket will have to be replaced. :-(

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

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