91 civic problems..HELP

[adaly86]

I have a '91 civic 1.3L. it has a problem when idling, if i rev it a bit it idles ok for a while, but after a while sometimes it will start... what i think is misfiring every 2 seconds or so, i think this because I can hear a little puff sound coming from the exhaust and the car seems to shudder. This happens when the car is cold and when it is at normal running temp, but is more frequent when cold
Also there seems to be alot of water coming from the exhaust everytime i start the car from cold i see a pool of water below the exhaust, even when warm if i rev it in 1st gear i can see a trail of water where the car has been. The car has been parked in the driveway for around a month now and cannot be driving on the road because its very expensive to insure 3 cars here in ireland, no rain water could have got in the exhaust does anyone have the answer to any of the 2 problems? it would be great if you could help me out, Alan

[oldkeg]

Sounds to me like a head gasket is letting coolant into the cylinders. Are you loosing coolant? I had a car that would do that once in a while. It got more frequent as time went on and I took it to a mechanic who replaced the head gasket because I was getting coolant into cylinders 1 & 4 (6 cylinder) causing it to miss fire. Good luck!

[adaly86]

No coolant is being lost, i acutally had to take a good bit out like a month ago because it was over the max marker.

[91civichatch2571]

Hows your timing?

[adaly86]

im really not sure. I dont know much about that kind of stuff i do know it got its timing belt replaced not so long ago about 6 months if thats the same thing

[bambam89lx]

hey, just to let you know, that little white tank behind ur right side headlight is not where you fill up ur coolant. That is only an overflow tank. You have to take off the cap right in the middle of the radiator and check the level of coolant. Make sure you do this when it's cold. Also, as long as the liquid coming out of ur exhaust is only water and not gas or something, then it's ok. It's normal. It's supposed to do that. What happens is ur catalytic converted changes ur exhaust gases from Carbon Monoxide to Carbon Dioxide and Water which is a by-product.

[adaly86]

Thanks for the info, that tank does have min and max markers on it though, and i was told to put coolant in there by different people before, maybe its different depending on the region the car was made for? There is a slight smell of petrol from the exhaust area of the car, but that is normal isnt it? or could that be what is causing it to misfire sometimes? I started the car up today after about 2 days of not starting it, it started after about 5 secs without choke. Will that water in the exhaust cause any damage, i have noticed stains on the pipe at the bends. Thanks alot

[91civichatch2571]

Yea, your definitly supposed to fill tp the coolant at the radiator cap. The only time your supposed to fill up the resevoir tank instead is when the reserve tank is pressurized (never was in any civic)

[adaly86]

The level of the coolant is fine it is between the 2 markers, I have noticed that there is a smell of petrol from the exhaust at times and another type of smell on occasions but its hard to describe, it smells like a particular type of soap or something and is kind of a sweet smell, could it be the head gasket as mentioned above? the missfiring is not really occuring at regular intervals or that frequently, and the car is easy to start if started at least once a day

[bambam89lx]

dude, ur not listening, that white tank isn't where ur fill ur coolant. Check under the radiator cap. That tank is called an "OVERFLOW TANK". When ur car heat's up, the coolant expands (as does any other liquid when it's heated up). When it expands, there is an overflow. This white tank is where ur extra coolant goes when you have TOO much coolant in ur car when it heats up. Think about it, If you put it into that tank, how can it travel up and then through that little hose and into ur radiator. Take off the cap in the middle of the radiator and top it off with a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water. Do this while it's cold.

Trust the people on here (most of them anyway) we know what were talking about through experience....we're not gonna lie to you and lead you down the wrong road.

[adaly86]

ok well i took of the cap and it is actually full right up maybe like 4 cm from the top. so that means there is plenty of coolant right? so can anyone tell me, is there actually anything wrong with the car?