Here's the problem. Last winter, my car ('88 Prelude DOHC) once climbed to about 80% of the temp gauge range, cause unknown. After this, is started to smell like coolant.

Inspection showed that coolant was leaking from somewhere under the intake, landing on the exhaust pipe at the rear of the engine bay, and sending lovely plumes of smoke up through the cowl. I've been told that a Honda's head gasket will be prone to failure if the engine is overheated; this also seems to make sense as the car doesn't even drip until it reaches operating temp.

After removing the intake manifold, I found that a 1" diameter coolant pipe running just below the block/head mating surface might be a bit corroded. I've attached a fairly blurry pic of said pipe, taken from beneath the car.

Questions:
- Has anyone ever had a leak in this coolant pipe? If so, is it possible (or necessary/practical) to fix or replace it?

- Is it likely for a head gasket to blow from a coolant passage to the atmosphere? There is no mixing of coolant and oil, and I probably drove the car for four months on long trips after it first started to leak.

Thanks much if you are able to advise.

 

Its an 88 Prelude, If the gasket hasnt been changed in a while it will blow....check the hoses, and if your motor is gone, just buy a new one...the engines are pretty cheap