overheating help
- Thread starter madmike91
- Start date
RonJ
Banned
White smoke in the exhaust?
Oil or gas bubbles in the coolant?
Coolant in the oil?
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Did you bleed the cooling system like this:
1) Park the car on an inclined driveway with the front end higher than the rear.
2) Push the dash heater lever/knob to MAX heat.
3) Follow the directions in the diagram below (hint: the bleed bolt is located where the upper radiator hose connects to the engine):
ghost_xero
The Civic of Civics
what my alien friend ronj is trying to not come too is that ur head gasket mite need to be replaced....
RonJ
Banned
Yeah, I only want to go there if all other options are exhausted.
over heating
My brother I hate to be the one to bear the bad news, but your head gasket is finished. My civic is currently doing the same thing, I bought a head gasket and I going to replace it hopefully over the weekend. Get your head gasket changed and the problem with be over Word.
1993DX
New Member
Same issues.. Mine overheated a little quicker, but essentially the same.
Replaced the head gasket and my overheating blues were gone.
I put in a new water pump and timing belt while I was at it, mine had 140,xxx miles on it so it seemed like the right thing to do. You might want to do the same?? It's only a little more work and both are pretty inexpensive. It's good insurance if nothing else.
Replaced the head gasket and my overheating blues were gone.
I put in a new water pump and timing belt while I was at it, mine had 140,xxx miles on it so it seemed like the right thing to do. You might want to do the same?? It's only a little more work and both are pretty inexpensive. It's good insurance if nothing else.
RonJ
Banned
Good initial sign. Keep us updated.
just goes to show, its not always a head gasket... people are quick to assume that its that, in fact i drove my car for 2 years with a chronic over heating problem and the gasket was just fine, it was some hoses that needed to be replaced.
1993DX
New Member
ugh.. I wish that had been my case lol.
But that's the way it goes I suppose. Cheers to you madmike91 for having a simple fix!
1993DX
New Member
Well I used a Chilton's when I did mine and it worked perfectly fine. I'd really suggest you pick one up. Even if someone here could read off verbatim another how to for you, it's still nice to have around.
You said there are no coolant leaks and no smoke coming from the tailpipe?
No smoke would mean the hg isn't split from a coolant passage to a cylinder.
No leaks would mean it isn't split from a coolant passage to the edge of the head.
- Unless for both cases the break is very small.
Checked your oil for coolant contamination again. Check your dipstick, the underside of the filler cap, and pull the pcv valve / hose and check it. It'll look like a yellowish slime.
Either way I'd check your compression, and your cooling system pressure.
Ronj can hook you up with the compression check in his sig. The cooling system check just uses a hand pump and a pressure gauge that attaches to the radiator, you'll be looking for the pressure being low and/or the pressure bleeding off. If it does, then you're cooling system has a leak somewhere.
If the compression is good, the cooling system holds the proper pressure, and there aren't any signs of contamination in your oil.. You may just have a bad water pump or clogged radiator.
And this may seem extremely simple, but how new is the thermostat?
You said there are no coolant leaks and no smoke coming from the tailpipe?
No smoke would mean the hg isn't split from a coolant passage to a cylinder.
No leaks would mean it isn't split from a coolant passage to the edge of the head.
- Unless for both cases the break is very small.
Checked your oil for coolant contamination again. Check your dipstick, the underside of the filler cap, and pull the pcv valve / hose and check it. It'll look like a yellowish slime.
Either way I'd check your compression, and your cooling system pressure.
Ronj can hook you up with the compression check in his sig. The cooling system check just uses a hand pump and a pressure gauge that attaches to the radiator, you'll be looking for the pressure being low and/or the pressure bleeding off. If it does, then you're cooling system has a leak somewhere.
If the compression is good, the cooling system holds the proper pressure, and there aren't any signs of contamination in your oil.. You may just have a bad water pump or clogged radiator.
And this may seem extremely simple, but how new is the thermostat?
1993DX
New Member
I just realized that you said the bleed helped, but only for a while and it's overheating again.
This to me would suggest you have a leak in the system somewhere. It may be somewhere that isn't too visible, possibly the heater core.
How well does you heat work? Do you hear any sort of "sloshing" in the interior when you're driving? Have you noticed your windows fog very easily, or a (even if faint) smell of coolant?
This to me would suggest you have a leak in the system somewhere. It may be somewhere that isn't too visible, possibly the heater core.
How well does you heat work? Do you hear any sort of "sloshing" in the interior when you're driving? Have you noticed your windows fog very easily, or a (even if faint) smell of coolant?
RonJ
Banned
My suggested steps:
1) You already replaced the cap so just replace the thermostat and bleed the cooling system again.
2) As 1993DX suggested, pressure test the cooling system. A gradual decrease in pressure would indicate a leak somewhere.
3) Do cylinder compression and leak down tests in an attempt to reveal a blown head gasket.
4) Replace the radiator.
1) You already replaced the cap so just replace the thermostat and bleed the cooling system again.
2) As 1993DX suggested, pressure test the cooling system. A gradual decrease in pressure would indicate a leak somewhere.
3) Do cylinder compression and leak down tests in an attempt to reveal a blown head gasket.
4) Replace the radiator.