1984

I have had sporadic overheating but nothing constant, until now. Coolant bubbles/boils out the radiator (without cap on). I can hear it bubling with cap on. Was going to try one of those "head gasket" miracle cures, but, nah that will not work.

Does this sound like a head gasket? I have done some work before on cars, not too much on this one. Did a head gasket on my sons 2005 Accord (4 cylinder) took some time but managed through it.

Is this something a novice can handle? I assume this would be over $1000 if I had it done by a mechanic.

I should add. There is oil in coolant, no coolant in oil.

 

If you have oil in your water it is most likely a head gasket. Have you tried doing a pressure test? If you don't have the equipment to do it yourself it is a relatively quick test that a good mechanic can perform in about an hour. That would be your best next step. As far as a novice doing the job I wouldn't recommend it because the heads will have to be resurfaced and the valves done or you'd be wasting your time.

 

Is your cooling fan operating?