D17A2 over heating issue ** intelligent questions**

[Logan98036wa]

My question: why is my car loosing coolant?

Symtoms: Loss of all coolant in system, One hose will sometimes be warmer than the other hard to squeeze while warm, engine is hot after running more than normal, fans do not engage.

Observations/test: Fan does not turn on, heat/ AC works, thermostat opens at 195 degrees, does not leak under car, waterpump replaced 10k ago with OEM, radiator cap is oem and not broken, no coolant in my oil and even compression on all cylinders. temp gauge always reads normal and after a few days all of the coolant will be gone.

can anyone help me piece together what is going on here?

thank you!!

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Do you smell coolant in the cabin of your car?

When you accelerate somewhat hard, do you see any smoke?

Which hose is warm and which is cooler? Is this while the car is at operating temperature?

Did you check the fuse for the fan with a fuse tester?

Was the thermostat ever changed?

 

[Logan98036wa]

Do you smell coolant in the cabin of your car?

yes and around the front of the car

When you accelerate somewhat hard, do you see any smoke?

no visible smoke

Which hose is warm and which is cooler? Is this while the car is at operating temperature?

bottom hose between thermostat and radiator is cooler after I turned off the car for 15 minutes they were too hot to touch when car is on and were firm with pressure.

Did you check the fuse for the fan with a fuse tester?
no I just looked to see if it was burned out.

Was the thermostat ever changed?

yes 5k miles ago it was the cause of my last over heating issue.

thank you for your response

 

[Wreckless Hype]

yes and around the front of the car

bottom hose between thermostat and radiator is cooler after I turned off the car for 15 minutes they were too hot to touch when car is on and were firm with pressure.

no I just looked to see if it was burned out.

yes 5k miles ago it was the cause of my last over heating issue.yes 5k miles ago it was the cause of my last over heating issue.

Can you see any signs of moisture around any of the hose clamps? Where they meet the fittings?

Is there any dampness on the carpet under the glove box?

As long as the hose is firm and warm (essentially hot) and not leaking, it should be fine.

Check the fuse with a fuse tester

Was it an OEM thermostat? It was installed correctly? Are there any signs of leaking from the housing, the hoses connected, or the sensor in the housing?

Is there anything in your overflow tank?

 

[Logan98036wa]

Can you see any signs of moisture around any of the hose clamps? Where they meet the fittings?

no its dry and no coolant marks. there is some marks on the head but not inline with anything.

Is there any dampness on the carpet under the glove box?

no it is very dry.

As long as the hose is firm and warm (essentially hot) and not leaking, it should be fine.

Check the fuse with a fuse tester

I have continuity with my volt meter

Was it an OEM thermostat? It was installed correctly? Are there any signs of leaking from the housing, the hoses connected, or the sensor in the housing?

its a new honda thermostat and yes it is installed correctly. sensor is in the housing

Is there anything in your overflow tank?

no it lost ALL of its coolant.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

no its dry and no coolant marks. there is some marks on the head but not inline with anything.

no it is very dry.

I have continuity with my volt meter

its a new honda thermostat and yes it is installed correctly. sensor is in the housing

no it lost ALL of its coolant.

Test the fuse and make sure it's good. If it's good, you can put 12v to the fan and it should manually kick on. Should also check the radiator fan relay and make sure it's not blown.

If you fill the radiator, bleed the system, top it off completely and let it idle, do you lose coolant? If so, it has to be visible one way or another.

If you're not losing coolant at idle and you drive it down the street, do you lose any? Check for visible trails of it leaking? Can you see anything splashed down the underside of the car?

 

[Kenneth]

Test the fan, see why it's not working.

 

[Logan98036wa]

Test the fuse and make sure it's good. If it's good, you can put 12v to the fan and it should manually kick on. Should also check the radiator fan relay and make sure it's not blown.

I cannot find the relay. I have a sheet on how to trouble shoot the switch but i never mentioned where it is.

If you fill the radiator, bleed the system, top it off completely and let it idle, do you lose coolant? If so, it has to be visible one way or another.

the car will not bleed its system. the coolant is not getting hot even though the temp gauge reads operation temp.

If you're not losing coolant at idle and you drive it down the street, do you lose any? Check for visible trails of it leaking? Can you see anything splashed down the underside of the car?

it is not leaking from anywhere.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

If you fill the radiator, top it off completely and let it idle, do you lose coolant?

At some point, it needs to stop taking fluids.

Essentially, at this point, you're car is not overheating because as you've described it, the car never actually overheats. The temp gauge reads normal, there's nothing in your overflow tank, you're saying the thermostat is opening.

When the car is at operating temperature, after it has been idling some, is the top radiator hose as warm as the bottom hose?

Your fan does not work properly - you need to resolve this issue.

Coolant is not leaking on to the ground, inside the cabin, in to your oil, or through the exhaust. Coolant doesn't just vanish.

How do you know there's no coolant in your oil, have you fully drained the oil pan?

 

[Logan98036wa]

At some point, it needs to stop taking fluids.

Essentially, at this point, you're car is not overheating because as you've described it, the car never actually overheats. The temp gauge reads normal, there's nothing in your overflow tank, you're saying the thermostat is opening.

the thermostat opened when i put it in hot water on the stove. it is not opening while the car is on. the coolent also does not warm up when the car is on.

When the car is at operating temperature, after it has been idling some, is the top radiator hose as warm as the bottom hose?

no only the top hose gets hot (one with out thermostat)

Your fan does not work properly - you need to resolve this issue.

I jumped the 12v and it turns on im going to check my switch next.

Coolant is not leaking on to the ground, inside the cabin, in to your oil, or through the exhaust. Coolant doesn't just vanish.

How do you know there's no coolant in your oil, have you fully drained the oil pan?

did my oil today and it was free of coolant.

my relay works. my sensor is not getting hot because there is no flow through the block. Getting the coolant to flow through the engine is my next step. I have tried burping it to no avail

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Which hose is warm and which is cooler? Is this while the car is at operating temperature?

bottom hose between thermostat and radiator is cooler after I turned off the car for 15 minutes they were too hot to touch when car is on and were firm with pressure.

When the car is at operating temperature, after it has been idling some, is the top radiator hose as warm as the bottom hose?

no only the top hose gets hot (one with out thermostat)

So the top hose gets HOT, the bottom hose gets hot and both were firm. This all seems somewhat conflicting.

How much coolant have you put into the system?

You mentioned you can smell coolant in the cabin and outside of the car. The car is leaking coolant somewhere. You need to start at one hose, follow to where it connects to, then find the other hose and follow it to the next point. You should do this until you're back where you started. Also check the hoses for the heating core / water valve, whatever. Check these rubber hoses when the car is running and if you can get a picture of them, label which ones are cold, warm, and which are hot.

You obviously have a leak somewhere and you have a better chance at finding it than I do.

 

[Logan98036wa]

So the top hose gets HOT, the bottom hose gets hot and both were firm. This all seems somewhat conflicting.

How much coolant have you put into the system?

there is about .6 gallons

You mentioned you can smell coolant in the cabin and outside of the car. The car is leaking coolant somewhere. You need to start at one hose, follow to where it connects to, then find the other hose and follow it to the next point. You should do this until you're back where you started. Also check the hoses for the heating core / water valve, whatever. Check these rubber hoses when the car is running and if you can get a picture of them, label which ones are cold, warm, and which are hot.

You obviously have a leak somewhere and you have a better chance at finding it than I do.

Sorry for the confusion. I got different results when I re-checked it.

After I drove it both hoses were not. the top hose is always more hot than the bottom.

it smells like burning coolant not like coolant out side of the car.


BWAAAHHH by Logannn00, on Flickr

the hose in this picture is the hot one. the hose below it is the one that comes from the thermostat

 

[Wreckless Hype]

.6 gallons as in, a little more than half, but not a whole gallon? Am I reading that correctly? Did you fill it until the coolant topped off in the radiator? It seems like you're not putting enough coolant in the car. Fill it until no more will fit in, start the car and let it idle with the heat on max setting. The car should pull the coolant in. If it's not, then it seems like you have a blockage somewhere.

Was this happening after you got the water pump replaced? Was this WHY you got the water pump replaced?

There's info missing that we need to pinpoint so we can find out what the hell is going on here.

 

[Logan98036wa]

.6 gallons as in, a little more than half, but not a whole gallon? Am I reading that correctly? Did you fill it until the coolant topped off in the radiator? It seems like you're not putting enough coolant in the car. Fill it until no more will fit in, start the car and let it idle with the heat on max setting. The car should pull the coolant in. If it's not, then it seems like you have a blockage somewhere.

Was this happening after you got the water pump replaced? Was this WHY you got the water pump replaced?

There's info missing that we need to pinpoint so we can find out what the hell is going on here.

water pump was replaced with my timing belt. yes I have a little more than half a gallon and its full in the radiator. ive been trying to get more coolant into but no avail

looks like a blockage I cannot fit anymore coolant. heat blows hot but coolant in the radiator is cold to the touch.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

looks like a blockage I cannot fit anymore coolant. heat blows hot but coolant in the radiator is cold to the touch.

I would drain the entire system, disconnect both radiator hoses from the radiator, and pull the thermostat out, run a garden hose through the top radiator hose, which will run through the gully, water pump, water pipe on the rear of the engine, through the thermostat housing and through the lower radiator hose. It will also run through the heating system, but you can loop the two hoses together to take that out of the equation if you wanted to. Should flush the system.

If you're not getting anything from the lower radiator hose, you've got a blockage somewhere. If it does just run out freely, then you'll have to properly flush the system after that to get any of the impurities out and then refill, bleed the system and go from there.

 

[Logan98036wa]

I would drain the entire system, disconnect both radiator hoses from the radiator, and pull the thermostat out, run a garden hose through the top radiator hose, which will run through the gully, water pump, water pipe on the rear of the engine, through the thermostat housing and through the lower radiator hose. It will also run through the heating system, but you can loop the two hoses together to take that out of the equation if you wanted to. Should flush the system.

If you're not getting anything from the lower radiator hose, you've got a blockage somewhere. If it does just run out freely, then you'll have to properly flush the system after that to get any of the impurities out and then refill, bleed the system and go from there.

I flushed my system on a steep incline this time and was able to get it to burp and start working properly. I am going to watch the level of fluid and report back if there is more coolant loss.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

I flushed my system on a steep incline this time and was able to get it to burp and start working properly. I am going to watch the level of fluid and report back if there is more coolant loss.

How much were you able to fit in? Should have been well over a gallon.

 

[Osiris19]

Why did I get tagged in here lol