lax1089

97 ex accord.
ive been asking about this for a while and still no luck so i'll try again (already checked the forums).

after driving for 5 minutes, if i stop at a red light it will overheat until i accelerate. also, it seems like my coolant is dissappearing as i have to keep refilling the radiator (the resevoir stays pretty full though). after the car is turned off one of the fans kicks on and the a/c fan works as well. but i dont know if the fan works all the time (how do i test that?). there is no smoke coming from my exhaust so i dont think the coolant is burning up inside the engine.

im desperate and would apreciate any knowledgable explanations without having to pay 100+ an hour for labor at honda

YeuEmMaiMai

blown head gasket or worse yet cracked block

lax1089

it doesnt leak anything though...at all.

lax1089

HELP

DCFIVER

3 months waiting for the answer online?? take it to a shop already

jadziasman

Losing coolant? Driving it that way? Really bad move.
Don't wait any longer before repairing this problem since you're in Tampa and it's mid June! You could trash your engine and that will cost you dearly.

I abhor going to a professional mechanic but sometimes you just have to. Just make sure you describe the problem as thoroughly as you can and be willing to go to more than one mechanic for a second opinion. The actual problem might not be too bad and even if it is you will have the problem solved.

Turbowa

Your loosing coolant and not leaving any on the ground? Then there is only one place it can be going, into your cyl's. Hate to say it but you DO have a blowen head gasket. If you don't believe me go buy a block tester at napa or checkers and check for your self. The block tester will check for carbon-monoxide in the coolant.

lax1089

do shops usually have that kind f equipment so i can avoid buying the tester for one thing?

next_evolution

well bro since your in tampa florida why not take a drive across the howard franklin bridge into clearwater and i'll be more than happy to take a look at your EX, as far as a coolant leak it can be numerous things, so until you get either a tech to perform a block test or at the least throw on a radiator pressure tester you might want to avoid over heating your honda or you'll cause more harm than good. i have both tools as well, and im not gonna kill you on labor either, so drop me a line and we shall see what we can do.
peace

SearchBeforeUPost!

check your waterpump area carefully for signs of leaks. it is designed to weep when it is failing on the way out.

scott1ct

A cheap thing is a compression tester to see if the head gasket is blown. I would also check the oil to see if it is frothy from your coolant spilling into it and if your remaining antifreeze is mirky brown. Are either of these things showing up?

Okay, long shot but also a possibility. You ran the coolant really low before refilling and refilled but never bled the system. you now have air trapped in the lower radiator hose next to the thermostat. If you are at a light and the temp gauge starts to rise, if you just rev the engine (put in neutral if you have an auto and rev up to above 3-4k) does the temp gauge go down?

Also, how high does the temp rise to when idling? Does it take you driving around a bit to get it to the point where it will just keep going up on its own or does idling alone without driving make it rise up past the half-mark on the gauge?

lax1089

yes...i have to have driven for about 5 minutes (get it to normal temperature) and then when I stop the guage will go up to about 3/4 from the overheat mark. also, if i rev the engine while im stoppe the guage goes back down to normal until i stop revving it. i dont see any signs of oil in the coolant and the oil is not frothy.

another thought: since my idle fan doesnt turn on...could that cause the overheating which in turn would cause coolant to boil away and evaporate? in that case...can i jump my idle fan to the battery and just have it run constantly when my car is turned on?

scott1ct

okay. based on the two conditions you verified matching my own (idleing not enough to bring it up past the half-mark and revving lowering it), I'll share how mine was fixed. After my radiator was replaced, the shop never opened the purge valve so air remained trapped in the lower rad hose. Opening the valve located on the back of the thermostat housing with the rad cap off if this is the case willl cause the fluid level to drop if there is air in the system. Then you can fill it up till all the air stops coming out the valve, close the valve, and finish filling the system sans the air pocket.

One check for this is get your car up to a good operating temp. then feel the top radiator hose and the bottom. The top should feel really hot. the bottom should still be hot but not cool enough to hold onto for long. Mine, with the situation i described was luke warm and I could clutch it all day without getting burned. Feel both hoses and let me know if there is a major temp difference.

I don't know what situation could have caused you to run almost completely out of coolant for this same scenario to have happened and this may not be your problem but so far the symptoms fit what I weent through.

How much coolant have you added over the past months to keep filling it? Gallons? If it has been little half pints here and there, you may just be slowly burping air. But please, don't ignore any other symptims as they may also be happening.

Since the system is pressurized, it may not leak until really hot so you might not see fluid dripping on your driveway.

and about the fans. I didn't hear my fan kick on until after the car was off too or it got really really hot. I'm not sure the temps the car has to reach under what conditions before they kick on. The idle one would turn on for me after shutting off but now since the purge, it stays cool enough not to. The coolant should be enough to keep the system cool, revving the engine alone if it was just the fan, I don't think would lower the temp that fast if the system was functioning properly except for the fan

Is everything factory on your system? You never swapped out the thermostat or anything did you?

lax1089

i swapped the thermostat a few months ago and i know i did it right. i was involved in a frot end accident a month earlier and they replaced the radiator so maybe i need to release the purge valve. where exaclty is it?

scott1ct

How much coolant have you had to add the last 3 months? This is important to see if you are just topping off a burping radiator or really do have a leak or consumption problem.

download the 1994 shop manual for a detailed photo but it is pretty easily distinguishable on the side of the thermostat housing facing the windshield.

Was the thermostat you put in bought at the dealership? If not, what was the temp of the thermostat you put in? Installing a non-oem will also cause the fans to kick on at the wrong times.

How long after this radiator and thermostat work did this manifest itself?
Wish you had stated that you did radiator work recently in your thread, that kind of info makes it pretty clear something other than wear and tear may be involved. If you've had a cool winter, the accident and replacement over the cold months and this manifesting when the temp came up would have helped mask when the problem started.

lax1089

probably 3 gallons in the last 3 months. but it really varies because i will go 2 weeks without a problem and then it will start again. it was non oem bought at advance auto parts for my year and model but i forget the temp. as soon as i got the car back this problem started but it was random overheating...not at stops....then it stopped...and then it started so i replaced the thermostat with no result. than a hose broke after 2 hours of highway driving and honda fixed that. and after that the idling overheating started. sorry for the long story but that pretty much sums the whole thing up. by the way i bought the car this november and there were no problems until i got it back from being repaired. also...it has 110k miles and the timing belt and water pump have not been replaced as far as my knowledge.

scott1ct

3 gallons in this short a period of time, you are definately definately losing it somewhere. While driving and hot, spilling into the oil, somewhere.

I think your problems are multiple. You may have an air pocket that needs to be burped out and you should try that, but you also have coolant missing from the system and it's not magically disappearing. Is the oil frothy? Is the coolant brownish?

Your car is pushing 10 years over 100k and is well past the time for a timing belt and new water pump for starts. I would get it in for service for that and since they'll be ripping into your coolant system anyways, they may solve your overheating problem.

mark2583

I have almost the same problem though not quite that severe. my temp gauge only goes above half if im sitting in traffic for more than five minutes but i'm not losing any coolant though. If the a/c is running then the temp gauge stays below half because it actuates the cooling fan or as soon as i turn the car off then the fan will turn on. my issue lies with my fan switch (i beleive), i have yet to replace it___ just been turning my ac on if im sitting in traffic for a while