Maengelito

hello guys/girls
i'll start at the beginning...
2 years ago, i got a new oem radiator cuz the old one was cracked. i bought some of that stuff you put in broken radiators to clog leaks just as a temporary solution until my car got fixed. my car never overheated or anything with the busted radiator, nor did it when i got it fixed. the temp gauge needle was always just touching the left side of that temp gauge symbol thing (i dont know how else to explain that symbol) when the car was fully warmed up no matter if it was 20 degrees outside or 100 degrees outside. everything's been runnin great until a few weeks ago. i've noticed that my car is now running pretty cold. the temp gauge needle barely moves past the bottom "C" line (a little less than 1/4 the way up) when i'm driving. when i'm stopped at a stop light or just idling, the needle will be in the regular place it usually is. then as soon as i start goin again, the car will cool down again until i stop. i'm assuming that the thermostat is stuck open (better than being stuck closed), but i assume that running cold isnt good for the engine either. so does this sound like a thermostat thats stuck open to anyone else? could it be anything else? i've done a spot check under the hood, and i dont see any leaks or anything. and if you all think it is a busted thermostat, is it easy to replace? i've got a haynes that shows how to do it, and it doesnt look bad, but its cold and snowy outside, and i dont feel like draining and filling an entire cooling system right now, so is it necesary to drain the entire system or can i just disconnect that one hose and keep it held high so it doesnt drain while i replace the part? any pointers or tips i should keep in mind? sorry for the post being so long and incoherent, i just woke up!

TIA!

-brian

94TealGSR

Sounds like an open thermostat to me. As far as the coolant system goes, I've never changed one on an integra, but I bet it'll flow out of the motor pretty easily untill the level gets lower than the hole it's coming out of obviously. Good Luck.

bamaTeg

had exact same problem for 2 years when about 3 weeks ago I replaced the thermo myself...All I did was buy one from dealer and a gallon of antifreeze. took about 30 minutes. loosen radiator cap. move the big intake over (if you want, don't have to) get yourself a 10 mm socket wrench for bolt on top of thermo housing and a 10 mm angle or small straight wrench for bottom..just loosen both bolts and pull housing off. replace the thermo (after putting the little gasket on it the correct way!) and put housing back on. I didn't bother taking off the big hose attached to housing or drain the fluid from the block..just poured the new fluid in and cranked car and kept adding fluid till full...not hard at all..

ALF

There's definitely a problem with your thermostat. In my case, I changed both the thermostat and thermoswitch. It's not hard at all. You simply remove the upper radiator hose and unbolt three bolts that hold the thermostat housing in place. Since radiator fluid is going to spill all over the place when you remove the radiator hose, and to kill two birds with one stone, it would be wise to change out the fluid and mark that out as maintenance taken care of. Better yet, do it while you do an oil change. Fill and bleed after installing the new thermostat and you're done.

GreenD

thats exactly whats wrong w/ my car right now. (well at least one of the things thats wrong ). i already have a thermostat, just need to find time to put it in.

Desslok

What is a thermoswitch?

Maengelito

thanks for the replies everyone... i will get around to this pretty soon... doesnt sound too hard. and yeah, what is a thermoswitch?

-brian