1992 Honda Civic Overheating & Losing Coolant?

OK, this is what is happening. There is a bad spot in the head gasket or a crack in the head which goes from the combustion chamber area to the water jacket. What this does is put combustion pressure into the cooling system. This pressure disrupts the flow of the coolant. This causes the engine to get hot. When you shut the car off, the pressure in the cooling system relieves itsself into the combustion chamber. This is where the coolant goes. You can put in some silver seal and it will most likely delay needed repairs. Good luck.

Always start by checking the fluid level, if it's correct then there could be a problem with the fan not kicking on, wires not installed properly or it wasn't connected at all. If it is kicking on, go in front of the car when the fans on and make sure it wasn't installed backwards, it'll be blowing air out the front of the car instead of sucking air in like it should be, yes some shops really do accidentally install the fan backwards. Reason I think it's the fan is because, from what it sounds like, the car will overheat at idle but when moving the temperature will tend to drop back down or fluctuate because of stop & go traffic and city driving. At 30mph+ there is sufficient air being blown through the radiator without use of the fan to cool the coolant but at idle or speeds below 30mph there is not enough air flow to cool the fluid without a fan and if the fan is failing then the coolant will not be able to cool down thus overheating the engine. Another possibility, thermostat failed or the wrong temperature rating thermostat was installed. Or the radiator cap is faulty or one with a different rating was installed than the recommended one which I think is around 16lbs. Radiator caps hold pressure in the system to keep the water from boiling and creating air pockets, if there's no pressure the water will boil at at high operating temperatures and create air pockets that will overheat the engine.

Is the exhaust smoke white...that's a sure sign of a leaking head gasket or worse a cracked head. I'd say it is very likely after that many overheating episodes, the head is cracked. Take it somewhere and have a cooling system test performed to reveal any other possible leaks. Then have it tested for exhaust gases in the coolant. That will tell you for sure.

If your oil looks OK then I would check all the hoses.. If you blow a head gasket your oil looks milky.. It is obvious that its something other than oil in it... But you also may have warped the head gasket.. Over heating it over and over can do that.. They sell head gasket sealer but when my dad messed up the head gasket on my car I tried it and it didn't seem to work.. You may want to check on a new engine or just get another car..

Yes if this has over heated several time the head gasket could be bad and if this head is aluminum then the head could also be warped.

You are eventually going to end up with a seized up engine. Since it only overheats after 200 miles you should just sell it, nobody is going to test drive it for that many miles.