CRV2K

Hi all,

Iv recently replaced the head on my 2000 crv due to a burnt valve. I replaced all the gaskets involved (used a kit that came with all seals and gaskets) and the car runs well and does not miss (it missed really badly with the burnt valve). However i now have 2 problems:

1. After about 5 minutes of idling smoke starts to rise from under the exhaust manifold area (its hard to pinpoint the exact area). It does not smell sweet and a friend said he thinks it smells like burnt oil. I have checked the exhaust manifold and exhaust and that general area for leaks. The smoke progresses but i was worried to leave it on too long so i havn't run it for more than about 15 minutes, however i have done this a number of times so i would have thought it should be burnt off by now if it was just some spilled oil or something. I cannot see any visible leaks on the ground either and the levels (oil, coolant, etc) seem to be stable. I have also cleaned that area incase there was oil spilled there.

2. The cooling and condenser fans do not run even when having idled for 15minutes (or longer im not sure). I have tested the fans directly and by jumping the fan switch at the thermostat and both times the fans TURN ON. Iv also checked the fuses and relays. Also when i switch the a/c on the fans DO NOT run either. This confuses me as i thought they should run with the a/c on. Also I felt both the upper and lower radiator hoses and they both feel hot, doesnt that mean the thermostat is working?

Im at a loss here, iv spent ages trying to figure it out so any assistance is greatly appriciated. Iv been reading this forums for a long time and only registered now, this will be my first post. Thanks

Racer02gtstang

I'd try to burn off all the oil. I did a head gasket on one like 2 weeks ago and it smoked for awhile. Also turn the ac on to full blast. Both fans should turn on if working properly

CRV2K

Thanks for your reply. I feel better about the smoke now that u said it happened to u, if i may ask did urs smoke in the same sort of place (around the exhaust manifold area)? and u said it smoked for a while so is that for over like 20 mins or so? also i tried putting on the a/c to full blast and the fans dont run which is why im also worried about letting the car idle for too long.

thanks again

jlk16188

similar thing happened to me after rebuilding a civic. I just drove the car for a while to really heat it up and made sure all the air was properly bleed from the coolant. Turned out to be oil/coolant that had been on the motor. My fans also took forever to turn on but worked fine after a quick drive around town

Racer02gtstang

Yeas a lot of oil gets in that area and it smoked for around 30 min. Im a dealer tech so it was just a vehicle that came in. The fans can take a very long time to turn on with the car idling they may not even turn on. With the ac on try tapping the fan motors with something and see if they start to spin. They could be starting to go out. I see older Honda with bad fans all the time

CRV2K

thanks both for ur reply. sorry i havnt been able to reply for so long. the way iv "bled" the coolant is to run it until the hoses got hot (since the fans wont come on) and at operating temp then turning off and topping off the coolant. Both the rad hoses get hot so the thermostat seems ok.

iv shorted out the thermostat fan switch and the fans turn on so i know the fans work. they do not work when i turn the a/c on. this is now my main problem. if they turned on with the a/c then id feel ok that they would turn on later. this problem is really getting to me. any advice? thanks

jlk16188

did the fans work prior to you working on the car?

Are you sure you have all the electrical connections in the right locations and clipped in tight? its easy to forget to plug in the fans

CRV2K

yea the fans worked before working on the car as did the a/c. iv been over the engine compartment from above and below the car and i cant see any connections that arent plugged in. i plugged everything in where they seemed to go, they sort of had 'bends' in them if u know what i mean. the fact that when i short out the thermostat fan switch the fans come on with the ignition in ON really puzzles me. is there any other tests i can do to diagnose the culprit? could it possibly be an electrical connection eventhough the fans run when shorted? and anyone know where that electrical connection might be?

thanks alot everyone i appriciate all the help.

ptran9215

Hey, did you ever figured it out? I know it's been awhile. This exact same thing is happening to my girlfriend's cr-v and I need a solution.

CRV2K

Hi, well iv got it working now although im not sure the exact cause. For the fans not coming on what i did was i burped/bled the cooling system properly from what i read online and youtube. I filled radioator and put right amount in resoviour, turned the car on and after idle settled i ran at about 2500rpm or so until the fans came on. I was very scared at doing this as i thought they wouldnt come on and i was thinking i could have caused some serious problems but thank god the fans came on after about 4 minutes or so. I think either i didnt bleed it properly the first time or it was due to me just idling it since i was not able to drive it at the time.

For the smoke problem it just went away. I really dont know what it could have been. Since i was unable to drive it i started the car about every week (outside of course) and let it run for a bit and i sort of ignored the smoke and after a while it stopped doing it.

Sorry if this didnt really help you, especially the smoke part. If this is your daily drive and you cant figure it out you might wana get someone to check it out if u havnt allready done so. I was able to just see how it went since i wasnt driving it.

Let me know how it goes and if u need to know anything else!

CRV2K

by the way if u need to see how to bleed a cooling system have a look at ericthecarguy on youtube his videos are great, really informative!