So i bought a civic

[loganlee0201]

The guy said it had 123k, turned out to have 112k on the odometer. First day I got it, it wouldn't start and the drive home had it overheating pretty bad. Changed the thermostat and it started up and didn't overheat for a couple days. I changed the spark plugs and put a new fuel filter on it. Now the radiator sprung a leak and my engine keeps overheating. I checked the VIN and it turns out it actually has 241k. Im debating between selling it or keeping it and making it a project. I'm not too experienced with working on cars but I have you guys and youtube. Should I drop the money it takes to get this running or sell it?

Edit: it's a 1995 honda civic ex

 

[jameswanser]

if just a radiator, can get a replacement new for around $100, and takes maybe 30 minutes to change. For a little more bling, can get a Skunk2 Alpha radiator for around $160.While the coolant is drained, might as well change the thermostat, and check all your hoses as well. Can do all this in a couple of hours.
As long as you don't have anything else wrong, a stock type radiator, some hoses, coolant and thermostat may set you back about $200.
So, it all comes down to what it's worth to you.

 

[loganlee0201]

if just a radiator, can get a replacement new for around $100, and takes maybe 30 minutes to change. For a little more bling, can get a Skunk2 Alpha radiator for around $160.While the coolant is drained, might as well change the thermostat, and check all your hoses as well. Can do all this in a couple of hours.
As long as you don't have anything else wrong, a stock type radiator, some hoses, coolant and thermostat may set you back about $200.
So, it all comes down to what it's worth to you.

I think i might also have to look into getting a new head gasket. How much do you think that will cost me? And with little knowledge of cars, could i replace it myself?

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[young_]

What is leading you to believe that it's the head gasket? If your radiator is obviously leaking, then I would start there.

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[HeX]

If you believe to have another issue, please explain why so you receive better responses.

 

[loganlee0201]

If you believe to have another issue, please explain why so you receive better responses.

My fault. It occasionally blows white smoke out of the exhaust when I accelerate. I read somewhere it may be that the head gasket needs replacing

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[loganlee0201]

What is leading you to believe that it's the head gasket? If your radiator is obviously leaking, then I would start there.

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It blows white smoke out the exhaust occasionally when I accelerate and i saw somewhere it could possibly be the head gaskey

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[young_]

That is consistent with a bad head gasket. I would go ahead and handle the more obvious issues like the radiator, and then get to the head gasket if the problem persists.

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[james032197]

I recently changed my head gasket cause I had the same issue. Take major care in how that's done, especially if your doing it yourself.

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[jameswanser]

changing the head gasket isn't hard or expensive (the gasket should be less than $100), but time consuming. You have to remove a lot of components to get it off. You'd need to drain the coolant, so doing the radiator change at same time would be a good idea. Also, while the head is apart, good time to replace items such as water pump and timing belt (if you're not sure when they were last replaced)
Again, may be time consuming, especially if you haven't done it before. If you plan on doing any of this yourself, I highly recommend getting your hands on a Factory Service Manual, and enlist the help of someone to help you out. I've done one in an afternoon by myself in the driveway, but I'd at least done a few timing belt changes prior, and had torn down another engine previously. Just go slow, research the steps before you start tearing anything down, and make sure you have all the parts and tools ahead of time. Then, expect to run to the parts store at least once anyway (well, that's what usually happens to me)

 

[mc360]

Make sure you check the head and block for warpage, buy some feeler gauges and a good straight edge. I would probably just take the head in for surfacing if you don't have tools to measure and tell them to take as little off as possible,also dont let someone belt sand your head it needs to be milled for a mls gasket. Make sure you have the proper torque wrench with the correct ft lbs measurement.

It's pretty simple to pull the head on a civic but make sure you find tdc first then mark the timing belt and cam gear (or zip tie belt to gear so it can lose timing) if you don't want to change the timing belt also. If it's your first time it will take you all day to do not including any machine time on the head