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Crap - just found out I have a blown head gasket on my 1991 Acura Legend. Yikes - pile of money to fix and just bought a new car for the wife.

Saving grace - didn't happen on the trip to Training Camp!

We just went through this with Scott's car NC. We ened up putting the money into fixing it after much deliberation. Now we regret it. We are both wishing we'd just invested in something newer. I guess it depends on how much it is but for us that just would have worked better. Especially considering it has broken down 2 times since then. LOL

Good luck though. I hope you have a good friend who is a mechanic!

I have a good mechanic, but just bought new tires, just bought a new (used) car, and radiator cap/olichange.

Probably will get it fixed since I plan on keeping it for another 2 years. It's been a great car - this isn't an uncommon thing for 91' Acura's with 180k miles.

Still sucks tho.

Still sucks tho.

agreed. sorry to hear that. basically they have to take the entire top half of the engine apart to get to that particular gasket. definantly get it fixed, and don't drive it too much, as it's probably mixing oil and water. if it overheats in a condition like this, theres a good chance that the block will be warped, and you'd be looking a an engine replacement, not just a gasket replacement.
i hate car problems. and just think, i wanted to be a mechanic when i first got out of high school. glad i woke up and smelled the coffee.

Man, that's horrible. I hope you get the car fixed soon. I hope I don't have any problems like that in the near future. I don't know anything about cars. I wish I could help you out.

i blew my head gasket once in the back of an '87 chevy malibu station wagon. her name was sally and we met in bar in toledo and....wait, this wasn't a metaphor thread? oops.

NC43Hog wrote:Crap - just found out I have a blown head gasket on my 1991 Acura Legend. Yikes - pile of money to fix and just bought a new car for the wife.

Saving grace - didn't happen on the trip to Training Camp!

Well that just sucks!!!! Sorry about that NC. But, definitely glad it didn't happen at Training Camp! Always a good side!!!!

I had a '90 Sunbird that blew the head gasket. For that one, it was NOT worth repairing since the car was falling apart anyway! But, I had to drive it about 5 miles from where it first conked out to the mechanic's and OMG -- I don't think I have ever seen sooooooo much smoke coming out of a car!!!! My friend was following me and decided to pull way back because she couldn't see my car anymore for all the smoke and thought she might plow into me if I had stopped. I was "coasting" through 4-way stops and people were honking and pointing at my car! "Da -- Your car is smoking....!" Morons! How could I possibly have missed that fact????!!

Anyway -- that was the death of her!

Good luck with yours!

taz

Thanks folks, I am getting her fixed (should get her back next week). All in all she has been a great car and I need her for a few more years so I am biting the bullet.

I never had lots of smoke. I stopped as soon as I noticed the heat indicator (actually could smell the coolant. I had to drive about 4 miles more and just stopped ever so often to cool her down and add some water.

Things could always be worse, so I am better today than I was yesterday - just had repair (sticker) shock.

Well, those little Acura engines are pretty tough, but look at it this way. That gasket did its job for 13 years. It was gonna go eventually. There's a lot of aluminum in that head assembly, and man, do they pack some heat.
Never, ever drive a car with a blown head gasket. You never want antifreeze introduced to engine parts that were intended to meet oil only.
This is the best reason to check your oil regularly, aside from maintaining your oil level. If the dipstick is muddy, park that car and get it fixed.