shawn474

I have a 4 cylinder 1998 Honda accord lx with 180,000 miles. It has been a great car and I would love to keep it. I was driving to work last Thursday and it was overheating. Turned the heat on and temperature went back down until I could get to work. The car cooled off and I checked the fuses and relays - all were good. Checked the radiator and it was dry. Filled it with water and got it to the shop with no problems. Shop replaced hoses radiator and thermostat. They pressure tested and the radiator was leaking. Driving to work today the temp began to climb again while stopped in traffic. Not too high but gauge was about three quarters to H. Got it to work; no leaking fluid and radiator full. When I run the a/c both fans come on. Otherwise they do not run. I am thinking the fan is ok since it runs when the a/c runs. Am I correct in assuming that this is probably the fan switch or temperature sensor?

If so, can anyone point me to where these items are to replace and how hard they are to replace? If not, does anyone else have any other ideas as to what it could be? The mechanic was very adamant saying that it was not the head gasket. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. I appreciate it.

Take care,
Shawn

PS- forgot to mention that there is an active P0420 code. I have the ULEV car and have ordered the replacement O2 sensors.

jonathan12

I suggest replacing the water pump and we'll go from there. Is it blowing white smoke? and also check if the radiator fan is working.

shawn474

No white smoke at all; I think I caught as it was happening so hopefully that minimized any damage caused. Is the water pump something easy to replace or should it be done by a mechanic?

jonathan12

Could be easy to replace, just get the proper tools and theres a guide on how to replace water pumps.

holmesnmanny

Start the car and after it warms up, check the lower radiator hose and see if gets hot. It should, at some point before the car overhearts, get warm then hot. If not, the problem is the thermostat. Buy OEM Honda thermostats only. Don't mess with junk auto parts store thermostats that that do NOT have a failsafe like Honda thermos.

shawn474

OK so I have been driving the car for about 100 more miles and no problems at all with the temp gauge rising. Might have been an air buuble in the line or something as simple as that. Thanks for all of your help. The water pump as I understand would give a distinct ticking sound, which I don't hear and the lower radiator hose does get hot.

I also have the P0420 code and am replacing the o2 sensors today. I figured with 180K miles, they needed replacing anyways. I am hoping it isn't the cats or something major that is throwing the code. Thanks again.

tim73

Did you ever find the cause of the dissapearing water?

selbher

Regarding the O2 sensors. I always have P0420 codes. Replacing the sensors as I have been told is not the cheapest place to start. Take your exhaust manifold cover off and determine if you have any carbon tracks between the head and exhaust manifold. If yes, this is a gasket problem that could throw your code. Could also be leaks in you exhaust before the cat and sensors. I was told by a great mechanic that a pinhole leak in your exhaust could throw this code. All the best!

C3E27DL

Hello. I have the same car, 1998 Accord LX and kind of have the same problem. When I am driving in a stop and go traffic or If I am in a fastfood drive thru, car will start to overheat. The temperature gauge will start to climb to H, I will start to smell coolant and It will also leak. What I will do is I'll turn on the a/c and after a few seconds, the temperature gauge will go back to its normal state. I have flushed the radiator and have used Prestone cleaner, I checked all the fuses (everything ok), I have tested the fans (again, ok), I checked the hoses and I didn't see any leaks. When I am driving continously, the temp is normal. It only overheats when I am driving in a stop and go traffic or while I'm in a fast food drive thru. What could be the problem? I have Googled it and asked a mechanic already and I was told that the problem could be a bad temp switch. I just want to have a second opinion that's why I posted here. Please help. Thanks in advance!

bshygirl1981

I as well have a 1998 Honda accord lx...6cylinder.....my car did the exact same tbing...it would only over heat in stop n go traffic and in drive-thrus......i thought it was my thermostat so after 3 weeks i finally found the correct thermostat and i put it in....BUT THAT MADE IT WORSE!! I have no idea what ,could be the problem...please help me....im too attached to car to get rid of it so i am wanting to fix it properly....

86GMC

im having same problem with a customers car of mine. just replaced thermostat and ECT. didnt stop the problem. an ASE buddy of mine says to flush heater core. check and see if Stop Leak has ever been introduced into the engine. best way to check that is to see if there is a white gunk material inside the radiator. it will look like melted plastic almost. if stop leak has been introduced into the system then that has created a clog some where in the heater core lines or in the engine block its self. and using the chemical flush stuff might help but you'll be spending some money on that. in my opinion the best way to do the flush is with just plain old water through a garden hose. first thing you want to do is find out which way your water flows through the block and lines. it will either go clockwise or counter clockwise (aka. reverse flow). next thing is to disconnect the line that allows the water/coolant back to the radiator. if the water travels through the bottom hose and into the block then comes out the top then disconnect the radiator hose from the RADIATOR, not from the block. stick your hose with reasonable pressure (so its not creating the "volcano" effect out the top of the radiator where you stick the hose) in the top of the radiator. when you do this you want to make sure the water coming from the hose matches the fluid rate of the motor. then start the car and let it run. the water coming out of the top radiator hose should, if you have something clogging it, spit out crap from your systems and onto the ground which you should be able to see evidence of. i have done this method several times and it wont hurt your motor if you do it properly.
if you have any questions feel free to contact me at my email address.