Gramy

My son bought a 98 hx. I noticed the fan not coming on and temp a little high. I put a new sensor and checked all the fuses. Fan comes on but still hot. New thermostat, heater core, fluids. Ran it until the fan kicked on twice per the manual. Now its still hot and no heat. There was no heat to start with. Hoses are hot. Fan comes on. I even shorted the fan so it would run the whole time while I test drove it. Still hot. Im stumped. Any help...

95accordCE6

Check the temp of the hose going into the heater core and coming out to see if the core is doing its job/no blockages, check the upper and lower radiator hose temp, make sure the water pump is functioning properly, double check the thermostat by testing it in boiling water after a visual inspection, then try flushing the radiator and all hoses to remove any blockage. After all that check the compression and oil for any traces of coolant.

SDej8

iTrader: (2)

I'd start by checking your heater core for blockage

Gramy

Its a new heater core. After installing it I did a flush to it to make sure the fluid was flowing. The top radiator hose is it coming from the block. The lower is cool. The line coming from the heater core going to the block is warmer then the line going in. Im going to pull the new thermostat and check that to make sure it opens. And check the compression. Im not sure if I should just change the water pump and timing belt, or start to order a rebuilt head and gaskets.

95accordCE6

Wait to do the head/gasket until after the compression test. As for the heater, make sure the heater valve, blend door, and switch are all functioning properly. The lower rad hose being cool makes me think there is a blockage in the radiator, check that and try flushing it, be sure to use the proper mixture of coolant and bleed it properly

nismoracingsx

isn't the fan switch on the thermostat housing though? how is the fan coming on with the lower hose "cool"?

OP says he flushed the whole system (this includes the Radiator, correct?)

OP, I found that when I bled my system, I actually had to rev the engine a handful of times to force some very stubborn air pockets out of the system. I had no heat until I figured this out.

GL

Gramy

I reflushed the system today. Did have some small stuff coming out along with what looked like gold flakes. The thermostat is new but im going to try another. Think the last was a cheap one. Also doing compression check tomorrow. Thanks for the advice. Will post results.

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

Is that a sign that someone (maybe the previous owner) put some kind of head gasket "fix" in the radiator? Some of those products look like metallic bits in suspension.

95accordCE6

Yep, that'd be one of the miracle in a can fixes, most likely causing a blockage. To properly bleed the system (most efficiently) the rpm should be be held to 1500-2000 rpm. The fan comes on be the temp sensor says the coolant is hot and the lower hose is cool because there's a blockage. For the heat I'd recommend checking the blend door and the heater valve as I already suggested, if the heater valve is malfunctioning that will effect whether the bleeding process goes properly as well as the obvious lack of heat

Gramy

I have tried the following since my last post. Compression test, good. Flushed the system and filled with coolant. Ran the rpms up to 2k and had the fan kick on. Noticed more gold flakes coming into the funnel. The heat was good. I checked the heater control at the firewall and that is working well. I drove the car for 7 miles with no overheating. But didn't go over 40 mph. Once I went over 40 the temp went up. This morning I reflushed the system again. Noticed more flakes but on in the radiator. I ordered a new radiator and im installing it tomorrow. If this does not work im at a loss. I noticed the heat went in and out. Guessing a blockage. Thats why im trying a new radiator. If it continues my guess would be water pump? If im going that far my gut tells me to do the head and timing belt at the same time. I seen the pump and belt sold as a kit.
It has become more of an obsession at this point just to prove this car wont win.

tony_2018

You know......it could be that the water pump has failed and isn't cycling the fluid properly....

Also those gold flakes could be from the copper headgasket spray maybe?? So it could mean that both head and block could be warped. COULD BE.

Gramy

My thinking is my son is going off to college next year. It's a 7 hour ride for him. So if I replace everything he will have a good car for his college years. At this point is the only good spin I can put on it.
After tomorrow if it is still acting the same way I'm just going to do the head gasket, water pump and timing belt at one shot.
I was thinking the gold flakes maybe that bars stop leak or something along that line. What ever it is, its driving me nuts.

tony_2018

Well it shouldn't be hard to take off the head. I suggest not taking the intake manifold off and just removing the head with one go. Just make sure you unhook the manifold from that bracket underneath it.

PrettyMuchBoned

Why do you think the intake manifold should stay attached?

NerfGunner420

makes it a whole lot easier

Grape Ape Guy

My 98 had a lot of the same issues, head had to be surfaced 2x due to overheating and warping. I changed thermostat, coolant, hoses, checked relays and everything. End result was faulty radiator. Sounds like your on the right track, i would assume water pump issue if radiator does not solve it

Gramy

I was able to take the old radiator out today. I feel this is a good thing. The amount of crap that was inside make me feel like the flow of coolant was not nearly enough to keep the engine cool.
With some being poured in it I could see more gold flakes coming out and the flow was not good. I only get 2 to 3 hours per day to work on it during the week so things are going slow. Thanks for your input and I will try to update as I go forward.

tony_2018

Wow its could be rust deposits, meaning they actually poured water in there instead of coolant fluid. I think you should have that water pump checked out as well Sir.

TomCat39

You thoughts on radiator stop leak for the gold flakes sounds highly likely. Putting a new rad in will give you a much better idea and I suspect your issues will ease up. Unfortunately that crap has been flowing through the system with your new heater core so it might get partially clogged up a bit but shouldn't affect engine temp as much.

I still think the majority of the crap is clogged up in your radiator and your flushes keep dislodging some of it. The new rad should stop that from happening and severely reduce the amount of that stuff in the system.

I personally wouldn't rip the head off until after I've done a block test to see if you get exhaust gasses passing through your coolant. With strong compression, no signs of water in the oil and/or signs of oil in the coolant.... I would be highly skeptical it's the head gasket. And a semi plugged up radiator will definitely affect engine temps, especially loaded engine temps.

turtlegrip

If you are doing head gasket, get the head and block resurfaced, I would not skip that part! Or find a good motor to swap...

Gramy

Radiator in. Having issues trying to get all the air out of the system. Seems the radiator coolant gets hot before the thermostat opens up. The fan has not kicked on since the temp has not gone up.
Still no heat. My thinking is the coolant is not being moved around enough. This is the 2nd thermostat I tried putting in. 2 nd from napa auto. OEM 180 degrees. I'm going to try and burp the sysyem again tomorrow. I have checked and recheck the fan system. It works. If I cant get heat back tomorrow and the temp to stay down while driving I have no choice but to put a new water pump in. As I stated before this car will not beat me.

turtlegrip

Jacking up the front passenger side of the engine and running the heater (although idk since its not working it seems) and a few taps on the engine and the radiator hoses helps get air out. You can test the thermostat in a pot with boiling water to be sure. Ive had times where it seems like forever before all the bubbles came out. Very well could be the water pump and thats a good enough reason to check head levelness and head gasket and t-belt all at the same time. If those gold flakes are head gasket "quick fix" then that will also be a good way to clean it all out. I am guessing you would have noticed oil in the coolant, but is there coolant burning in the exhaust or coolant in the oil? That quick fix crap can be hell, could have gotten into the new heater core right away although I think it might be more likely that the coolant not getting moved around enough as you stated would be a logical reason for the heater to not work. Good luck.

Gramy

After running the car today with fan coming and off I was looking under and noticed what I think is coolant coming from behind the pulley. Not much. But enough that it left a trail. So its all broken down to the pulley. Had to get another tool since the timing marks would shift when I was trying to break the nut free. Has anyone had any look keep TDC and breaking this nut free. I checked some youtube videos. Some people are nuts. I dont mind buying a tool I dont have.

turtlegrip

Crank pulley bolt? An impact gun is the easiest way to do it but the service manual says not to use one I believe.

Also pepboys (ect) usually rents the crank pulley bolt tool.

Gramy

I found out that there is a 50mm tool that slides into the pulley and locks onto the frame. Made it much easier once I bought it. Only $20.
Now I'm wondering since I have most of the engine pulled apart is it worth doing the head gasket at this time?