k90n90w

I have a 96 honda civic ex with around 167,000 miles on it. I had the head gasket and water pump replaced about 2 weeks ago. Before I did that I replaced the thermostat, all three of the switches/sensors, overflow tank, and the radiator cap. When I got my car back it was still getting hot and I noticed that they ground my radiator fan to the battery plus there were other things wrong with it that were not there before. I took it back to the shop and got it back the same day. They replaced the fuel filter and said that it was running fine that it didn't get hot on them once. Then it seemed to be ok for a fews days. Then it started to run hot when I would go up a hill. I went to check the coolant level and noticed that my cold air intake was hanging off. I put it back on and put some lucas fuel injector cleaner in it. It drove perfectly for one day but....now it's starting to get hotter more often than it did when I first got it back. There are no leaks that I can see or any coolant loss. I also noticed little pieces of copper looking stuff in neck of the radiator and on the cap. I'm hoping that the cooling system just needs to be flushed or the thermostat needs to be replaced again but I'm not a mechanic and I don't have experience with working on cars. If someone could please help me out with figuring out what is going on I would really appreciate it.

FN187

Thats really weird considering you changed your headgasket, you sure your head is not warped?

k90n90w

The mechanics said it wasn't. I'm going to flush the cooling system and replace the thermostat again tomorrow and hope that works. I let my car cool down for about 2 hours and just went and started the car without the radiator cap on and coolant didn't splash out which was happening when the head gasket was blown. I don't know if that means that the head gasket isn't blown again but like I said before I'm not a mechanic so I don't know if that really means anything.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

You can't take it back to where you got the work done? Maybe you need a radiator.

k90n90w

I could do that but they take a long time to get the work done. I know that it's something that takes time. My problem is that my job is going to different county courthouses to do research and deliver and pick up documents so if I don't have a working car then I can't work which means I can't pay for my car to get fixed. I just wanted to see if anyone may know what is going on with my car and would it be hard to fix myself.

delsolintegra

If the radiator is original it could be the problem.
I put a all aluminum radiator in my 93 del sol and it's been good for a couple of years. Got it over the internet, even with shipping it was reasonable.

k90n90w

I'm not sure if it is or not. I've had the car for 10 months.

1991_crxsi

iTrader: (1)

air bubble?

magichands

Make sure the cooling fan is coming on when its supposed to. replace the radiator. (ALWAYS REPLACE RADIATOR WHEN YOU DO A HEAD GASKET) the copper stuff you're seeing is most likely block sealer or a type of stop leak. if the passages in the radiator were partially clogged, block seal could make them worse, reducing flow and causing overheat.
I hope you had a reputable shop do the head gasket. i have heard horror stories about people being charged for a head gasket when all that was done was block seal added to stop the gasket leak.
Also it is possible all the air was not bled out of the cooling system. make sure it is bled correctly and completely. regardless, you should replace the radiator, they're easy to do.

Norlael

this.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

^^

Yup.


Make sure the front of the car is higher then the rest.

start car, turn heat on full blast

Squeeze hoses to help force out air, give it short blasts on the throttle not past 3500rpms to help evac air pockets. Add coolant as needed.

When the bubbles stop coming to the surface, the fan has come on a few times, then your done.

k90n90w

I was referred to this shop when I was calling around for estimates for the head gasket. The guy who referred me seemed to think they were the best place to do the work. The shop that did the work said they would look at my car for free and let me know if it was the head gasket and that they would work with me on the price since I don't have a lot of money because I only work part time. The fan works it juat doesn't stay on as long as it should so that's why they grounded it. They said they thought the fan was not working properly was because of a bad ecu and recommended that I replace it. I haven't done that yet. Instead of doing the thermostat I'm going to look for a radiator since that is the only thing that hasn't been replaced yet. Should I get an all aluminum radiator? I want to flush the system also so should I do it before or after I put the new radiator in? Thanks for the replies I really appreciate the help.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Well...why did your head gasket blow in the first place? Maybe the underlying cause didn't get fixed.

Also...if you used a non-Honda genuine thermostat, it can be the cause of your problems. Aftermarket thermostats are more miss than hit.

A clogged radiator, clogged passages, a bad water pump, bad coolant, etc could all add up.

Flush the coolant when you do the radiator. By that, I mean drain and refill it. Pull the block drain plug to let it all out of the block as well.

Never use anything but distilled water. Don't do a garden hose coolant flush or add tap/drinking water to undiluted coolant.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

^^
I never used distilled water.. only spring water

TomCat39

The mineral salts in spring water are still salt. Salt helps accelerate corrosion, this is why distilled water is recommended for both batteries and coolant.

Depending on your city, municipal water (not well water) is usually soft enough to not be an issue so most who don't use distilled tend not to run into problems. The chlorine might cause issues though.

Reverse osmosis filtered water from the store jug fill stations in the city is just as good as distilled being the reverse osmosis even removes the fluoride and chlorine from the water.

k90n90w

I'm searching for a radiator right now and I already planned on flushing the system.