Could antifreeze be in the engine?
Recently I had an issue where my 1996 Honda Civic temp gauge started to rise. I stopped the car to let it cool. I got to my destination and called husband to bring antifreeze to fill it back up. I drove it home that night and parked it. Found the problem was the radiator cap. Well now I'm noticing when I start the engine it sounds like it struggles and the RPMs rise higher than normal. It idles fine after a moment. Could this mean antifreeze leaked into the engine?
This would show up as foam on the oil stick. This happened to one of my cars once - it happens when the engine block is cracked. Check the oil stick after the engine has been running for a few minutes.
Maybe it's because you're driving a 20 year old car? I know those Civics last a very long time (I had one) but for heaven's sake. I doubt you have antifreeze in your engine.
Check the oil level after the engine has warmed up and if the oil is milky looking you have a blown head gasket or cracked block. If the oil looks okay then you need to check for a leak and that's done by pressurizing the cooling system. Most auto parts stores have the equipment available to rent. Make sure you test the radiator cap too. Quite often it's a bad cap.
Could be any of a dozen things with a 20year old car
If the oil filler cap was NOT removed when hubby topped up with anti freeze there's no additional reason why there should be anti freeze in the oil.
Without being disparaging the are many other reasons why a 20 year old car is not running smoothly. When was the last time it had a proper service.
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