jdmhondas4life

hello everyone i am currently having some problems with my em1 for some reason its overheating. it only happens after driving for a couple of minutes and only when i stop at lights or driving at very low rpms. if i drive on highway or any main road temperature remains constant but when I'm in heavy traffic or at stop lights temperature will begin to rise. i also want to mention that it does not reach the red line on temp gauge it only reaches about 3/4 and then it drops and the rad fan turns on i tried bleeding the coolant according to the helms manual several times and i don't have any coolant lost. i did replace thermostat with a honda OE part and also temperature sensors and coolant fan but problem is still there. i also checked my ignition timing and its on time recently replaced blown head gasket so i know its good. could it possibly be the water pump bearing ? the car has about 170k miles and the previous owner said he replace timing belt and water pump at 100k miles. i looked for leaks on water pump but didn't find any. i also checked the heater core and hoses but they seem fine. Any help and opinions welcome thank you guys.

jbpnoman

Re-bleed the coolant system.

jdmhondas4life

ill try again tomorrow any possible causes???

jbpnoman

Well, you said you replaced a number of major components in the cooling system, but didn't mention bleeding afterwards - only before. You probably have air in your system. Bleeding takes a LONG time - I had to leave my car on jack stands for an hour and a half before it was done. It's stupidly easy (easier than changing your oil), it just takes five times longer.

jdmhondas4life

you might be right sorry i didn't mention i did it after i replaced the parts but my bleeding i only waited about 5 to 10 minutes and called it done. i did notice that the fan never turned on during the bleeding process and the helms manual did state it must turn on at least twice so i probably F***ed up on that. so you think the water pump is not the cause ?

jbpnoman

Highly doubt it. If the water pump was shot, it wouldn't be cycling hot/warm like you describe. Jack it up, bring a few magazines, and let it run with the radiator cap off for an hour on jack stands. Keep it topped off when it bubbles over.

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

dont forget a catch pan/rags, it is a messy job.

jdmhondas4life

sorry for the late reply!!! but i got some pretty bad news i was doing the bleeding process again yesterday and this is way happened for a couple of hours:


im thinking its a combustion leak what you guys think ??

jdmhondas4life

the bubbles never reduced by the way !!

92lxsleeper

you have a blown headgasket my friend. after you change it, check your fan and fan relay to make sure it is functioning properly.

goldsy

Oh yeah, that's a head gasket!

jdmhondas4life

i recently replaced the head gasket in january i thing the machine shop were i took the head didn't do a good job

mechanix619

How long was the engine running?

jbpnoman

Or you didn't do the head gasket correctly. There's half a dozen easy mistakes to make when you're changing a head gasket. Either way, time to do it again.

jdmhondas4life

mechanix619 the engine was running more then a hour possible 2 during the bleeding/burping process..

and jbpnoman i am pretty sure i did it right i followed the helms manual specifications along with other books and the torque specs for the ARP head studs.

the machine shop only charged me 30 bills to resurface and to check if it was warped.. i though that was a steal but now i am thinking i probably got screwed over.

i had a question as well, can i reuse ARP head studs because i had barely bought them when i changed the head gasket... i think i read somewhere that they are reusable?

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

yes, you can reuse them.

jdmhondas4life

well at least thats good to know F**k it, i guess ill give it another try.. oh yeah and i forgot to mention when i did the head gasket i didn't get the block shaved i pretty much just cleaned the surface.. do i have to remove it to get it resurfaced at a machine shop or can i do it my self somehow?

jbpnoman

If it needs to be resurfaced, you'll need a machine shop to do it. Buy a precision straight edge and some feeler gauges, and you can check it yourself. Regardless, you should remove the block to have it hydrosonically cleaned at a machine shop.

jdmhondas4life

ok so regardless of anything block should still come off the engine bay and must go to a machine shop.. should i disassemble the whole block or just separate from trany and stuff that bolts on the outside off it and take it to get decked if needed and cleaned. i would prefer to leave pistons and crank assembled to block to avoid more work??

jbpnoman

Talk to your machinist. Most require a bare block to clean, some don't.

JRCivic1

Before you go thru the effort to replace the head gasket or pull the shortblock to strip it down and have it surfaced, let me make a suggestion. The fan switch may be corroded or damaged and is coming on too late to keep the car cool in traffic.

Lets consider the facts as you have given them:

Only gets warm when in stop-and-go traffic... runs fine on the highway.
Gets warm in your video after nearly one hour of idling while trying to bleed the cooling system, however, as you rev the engine near the end of the video, the frequency of the bubbles is reduced.

The rapid bubbling that you see is actually the coolant reaching the boiling point since you do NOT have the radiator cap on. Remember that antifreeze reduces the boiling point of water, and without pressure, pure water boils at 212' F. Mixed 50/50 with antifreeze, the boiling point can be below 200' F. Revving the engine moved fluid thru the engine and cooling passages more rapidly, and the temp was reduced just enough to fall below the boiling point.

Solutions:

Check to make sure that the rubber sealing ring on your new OE thermostat is properly placed around the perimeter of the thermostat so as not to restrict water flow through the weep hole at the 12 o-clock position.

Consider replacing the fan switch. A Mugen switch will force the fan on at 180 degrees, increasing your cooling in stop and go traffic.

Park the car "nose high" somewhere and allow the car to cool down from the "fully warm" condition, making sure that your funnel maintains a surplus of coolant in it. This could take, as stated above, between 1.5 and 2 hours. Once done, don't forget to top off the overflow reservoir if it is low.

Good luck.

jdmhondas4life

hey JRCivic1 i didn't really understand what you suggested to do here

"Park the car "nose high" somewhere and allow the car to cool down from the "fully warm" condition, making sure that your funnel maintains a surplus of coolant in it. This could take, as stated above, between 1.5 and 2 hours. Once done, don't forget to top off the overflow reservoir if it is low."

did you want me to re-beed the system or just after driving to park in a sloping surface with the front of the car in the higher position but what funnel are you talking about??? sorry for the confusion. and well before i take the head of and block i am going to get a compression test done and coolant pressure test to see if i find some external leaks... my fan switch is only two months old and i though in order for the mugen fan switch to work properly you also need a racing thermo that will open sooner?... i do want to thank every one for your help and you time i really appreciate it.

jdmhondas4life

did a compression test on all cylinders and they are loosing compression my guess is that the head gasket didn't seal right.

JRCivic1

The point of parking the car up-hill or "nose high" is to create an environment where the radiator neck is the highest point in the cooling system... the higher the better. This helps to force air bubbles out if they are trapped inside the cooling system when the engine is off.
Remember that a fluid takes up a greater volume/area when it is at a higher temperature, and thus, takes up less volume/area when it cools off. Having a coolant bleeder funnel (can be purchased at most auto parts stores) connected to the top of the radiator opening increases the ability to bleed the system, and provides a place to keep a surplus of coolant for the radiator to draw in as the temp decreases toward ambient. Without this, a constant vigilant eye must be kept, and each time the coolant drops below the neck opening, you must add a little more coolant. Air bubbles are not your friend here.

Low compression does not guarantee that you are in fact leaking exhaust gas into the water jacket or cooling passages.

jdmhondas4life

ok so pretty much bleed the cooling system again but buy a spill free funnel to get it done better ???? or should i test the compression of the cooling system to find leaks swell??