EK4 PROBLEM ,HELP!

[CIVIC30]

WHEN I RUN THE CAR THE OVERFLOW BOTTLE BUBBLES AND LEAKS,BUT THE TEMP GAUGE READS OK AND THERE ARE NO VISIBLE LEAKS ,THE FAN TRIPS ON AND OFF AS IT SHOULD,ALSO I DID AN ENGINE WASH ,TRIED TO START ,NOTHING THEN ONE TUMBLE ,PUFF AND SMOKE,I THEN CHECKED THE PLUGS AND ONE ON THE RIGHT SIDE WAS FULL WITH OIL. I CLEANED IT OUT PUT BACK THE PLUG AND IT STARTED WITH ONE TURN OF THE KEY. WHAT DO YOU ALL MAKE OF THIS?

[ek4ever]

hmmmm......bubbles in the overflow could mean head gasket leak.....is there in oil in the coolant?? If so then definitely head gasket. Also if you see white smoke from your exhaust and it has a sweetish smell then it's head gasket.

Otherwise it could be the cooling system itself...this used to happen to my EK4 and it was the radiator that was plugged up....changed to a full metal one and replaced all cooling system hoses and that solved the problem.

As for the oil in the spark plug you need to change the spark plug top seals (i think it's called that)....very easy job....change all 4 at the same time....will have to take off the valve cover so change that seal one time.

[CIVIC30]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFO, I ALREADY HAVE A METAL RADIATOR BUT ITS PROBABLY CLOGGED ,CAR WAS DOWN FOR ABOUT FIVE MTHS

[ek4ever]

^^ that's most likely the problem....when you get it serviced remember to use only Honda Genuine Coolant/Antifreeze....do not use anything else....will save your cooling system parts from corrosion

[Civic Dude]

check the radiator cap as well.. seeing that u are not overheating, the cap itself could be loosing pressure to allow the water to leave the radiator and go into the bottle.

[CIVIC30]

thanks guys it was the radiator cap,problem solved