mitchc05

Well I just fixed one problem now I've got another. Last Friday my car (95 Civic LX) starting running hotter than normal, it never got near the H but it was over half on the heat gauge. It went back down just under half so I drove it home and parked it for the night. Next day driving it around never went over half and was running fine but I changed the thermostat and rad cap anyway. Now its still not overheating but coolant won't stay in the rad. Filled the overflow to max after changing the thermostat and now its overflowing out the top cap because the coolant from the rad keeps going into the overflow but never going back to the rad. Right after turning off the car you can see and hear it bubbling in the overflow tank so I bled the coolant and still doing the same thing. Looking in the rad it's not full but the overflow has lots in it. I dont know what else to do? Why won't the coolant from the overflow go into the rad?

I'm pretty sure its not a head gasket problem becasue the coolant and oil look fine and its not smoking at all on start up or while running.

sageuvagony

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mitchc05 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Filled the overflow to max
</TD></TR></TABLE>

By that I hope you mean the max line right? Sound's like there is too much pressure in the system. A bad headgasket will SOMETIMES start out like that with nothing else noticable. Not saying it is, but could be.

When the car is cooled down, take off the radiator cap, turn on the car, and just let it idle for 5 to 10 min. Take notice at what's happening with the coolant. Does it sit there at first? Does it start shooting or spitting out water at all? If it does, does it happen when the engine is hot or cold? Your radiator may not be flowing correctly.

mitchc05

Yeah just the max line, but now its way over the max because the coolant keeps going from the rad to overflow but not back.

I will try takin the rad cap off and doing what you said and post back with the results.

b16a3delsol

your new thermostat may not be working correctly. it may not be letting the coolant circulate threw the block completly.

sageuvagony

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lsdelsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your new thermostat may not be working correctly. it may not be letting the coolant circulate threw the block completly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe installed backwards?

mitchc05

I'm sure the thermostat isn't in backwards but it does seem to take a long time for the lower rad hose to get warm.

I tried starting the car with the rad cap off this morning and it didn't shoot it out or anything but there is definately a lot of pressure in the system. When I took the rad cap off after it was sitting all night a bit of coolant sprayed out and a lot of air.

mitchc05

Well I flushed the coolant out of the rad and ran straight water through it for a while, drained that out, filled with fresh coolant and still doing the same thing. I let it warm up for a while after putting the fresh coolant in with the rad cap off and it bubbles a lot in the rad causing the coolant to spill out over the top with the cap off.

I'm going to take the thermostat out again I guess and maybe try another new one because it seems to take a long time for the lower rad hose to heat up and takes a while after the car reaches operating temp. for there to be heat coming through with the heater on.

Any other ideas are greatly appreciated - I need this car to get to work so I am currently driving it like it is just keeping an eye on the coolant.

sohc_coupe24

while you are changing thermostats get another radiator cap just in case. I had the same problem happen to me. Coolant kept going into the overflow but didn't want to go back. I changed the rad cap and problem solved.

mitchc05

I did try this, there's a new rad cap on it and it still did the same thing so I put the old one back on because it worked before but still no change so I do have the new one on now.

egsleepercivic

is your fan turning on ?

Targa250R

Coolant mixing with oil is one of the last signs that your head gasket has blown. Overheating and disappearing coolant are some of the first.

Have your coolant checked with a combustion gas detection kit before doing anything else. D15B7s are notorious for blowing head gaskets.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sageuvagony &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sound's like there is too much pressure in the system.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Typically caused by one of two things: Incorrect rad cap, or bad head gasket.

mitchc05

Yes I know all too well about D15B7's and their head gasket problems, got a couple friends with civics as well and both around the same km head gaskets went so I got to help them change it lol.

After doing a flush and bleeding the system, new thermostat and rad cap, and still having this problem head gasket is all that I can think of now. Where can I get a tool to check my coolant or could I just get this checked out at any garage? I don't really want to pay someone to do this but I guess if i have to.

mitchc05

Got the headgasket all changed this weekend, took us a total of probably 8-10 hours from taking it apart to running again - not too bad for never doing a head gasket before. It seems to have fixed my problem though, thanks for everyones help and input.