I'm having an issue with my car. (1996 Honda Accord DX 4 Cylinder 2.2L F22B2 Engine)

To start out with. My car seems to lose water. I can't find the leak? Could it be a head gasket? Also, on idle my car seems to bog down a bit. It feels like the car is about to turn off on me and the car feels like it's only firing on a couple of cylinders. The car seems to do good when I hit the pedal and go above 1000 RPM, but then when it goes back down to idle, the same feeling of rough idling goes on.

I don't seem to see any water in the oil, no water in the oil, but my radiator water does give out radiator cap sized bubbles.

Cold starts are filled with rough idles and I have to let the car sit for 15 minutes so the idle becomes smooth, but during the day, the idle gets rough again.

I do top off the radiator with water only because I can't afford to buy coolant every time the coolant disappears.

I have tried cleaning the IACV with carborator cleaner and its nice and clean again, but the problem persists. There isn't any engine codes, and I just want to know if anyone knows or has experienced what I have so a solution to my head ache inducing issue is solved.

 

Somehow coolant is leaking. I'd suggest renting a radiator pressure tester at a parts store. When the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and top off the radiator. Use the hand pump to pressurize the system to ~16 psi. The pressure should hold for a long time. If you lose pressure, try to find the leak.