Bought a car with Blown Head Casket? (gasket, salvage, Japanese)

[dterminal]

So I bought a Honda Civic 2004 for 1400.00 and I am wondering if I made the right choice.

The car runs really good but I was told to constantly put water in to keep the car from overheating.

The main reason I bought it because I do need a second car and the person who sold me it is a family member who is a mechanic and said that is main problem. Other then that it will need a new car ignition in the future. Overall, it runs good and it is salvaged and repaired with some minor cosmetic stuff is all. but i just feel guilty i made the wrong choice. soo now what should be my next step in choices...fix head-casket or buy a new engine?

[Sydney123]

Fix the head gasket before... You have to buy an engine?

[Electrician4you]

Look for a Japanese replacement engine. You can fix the headgasket which runs about 600 bucks if you don't want to replace the engine.

[bmwguydc]

How many miles are on the engine? You should also look into replacing the timing belt as that generation Civic had a belt, not the chain as used from 2006+. When replacing the belt, also replace the water pump as it more readily accessible when performing the timing belt change. So, I would look at the head gasket and the other services to see how you want to proceed. It's likely less expensive to fix the engine you have, especially with a family member who is a mechanic.

[GnomadAK]

You might want to pop for a rebuilt engine. I replaced a head gasket on a Escort, and since I was in the engine that far I had the head decked and the valves cut. Unfortunately I didn't get into the cylinders or do the rings and that engine went from boiling water to burning oil. In the end I had to swap out the whole engine.

[dterminal]

Hey I appreciate all your responses, the engine has 90k miles. The timing belt had already been replaced I am def considering doing just the head-gasket repair because its more affordable and the mechanic can fix it, he just never got around to ordering and fixing it because he has been busy with other cars (neighbors mostly). the reason why i thought new engine because I thought it might be better in a long run but it cost more and would have to take to an actual shop which i do not know estimates. You all are really helpful

[HappyRider]

No engine with a blown head gasket runs “really good”. In fact, it should not even start if you have to keep pouring water in it.

[dterminal]

Originally Posted by GnomadAK

You might want to pop for a rebuilt engine. I replaced a head gasket on a Escort, and since I was in the engine that far I had the head decked and the valves cut. Unfortunately I didn't get into the cylinders or do the rings and that engine went from boiling water to burning oil. In the end I had to swap out the whole engine.

That is what worries me, good point.

[dterminal]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

No engine with a blown head gasket runs “really good”. In fact, it should not even start if you have to keep pouring water in it.

well it does not always need water its like every couple days he suggested to put some water.

[Drover]

Wait a minute -- did the person who sold it to you tell you it has a bad head gasket, or has it otherwise been diagnosed as a bad head gasket by a mechanic? Or are you just assuming that because you need to constantly refill it with coolant/water?

Anyway, if it really does need a new head gasket, get it fixed right away (or replace it with a used engine- that might be the cheaper option). An engine will not last long with a bad head gasket.