Overheat? Probably not...

99 Stock GSR 196k engine hot to touch

I am hoping it is fans/stat/relay related

but...

drove the car Monday and Tuesday on the freeway 30 miles or so, no noticeable issues or heat then. I did buy this car Sunday, put the muffler and stock air box back on Monday, seemed solid.

Today, I noticed a little whiff of white smoke on start up and a strong exhaust smell driving in reverse (obviously) but I thought this might be due to the last owner running straight pipe and myself sticking on an old, not been used in a while stock muffler.

Drove in stop and go city traffic off and on during errands for a few hours yet after dinner driving home there is heat coming into the interior from the dash vents while driving and the heater is off.

Get home, park and there is noticeable heat around the hood so lifting that and touching the motor uncovers the source...

Overheating issue but what from?

Engine, surrounding area hot.
(Exhaust cat to muffler cool to touch)
Radiator overflow has some liquid in it but not full, less than half really.
Oil looks fresh from last weeks oil change. Still golden.
No leaks around the motor or on the garage floor.
Top radiator hose is hot, bottom is warm.
Radiator cap is hot (dont try this at home) but comes off without any explosions to show green fluid to the top.
Cluster temp gauge is left of middle during driving, far left on C at start up.
I did look at the under hood fuses, 20A all look complete with no burns even swapped out the cooling fan one for a new one...did smell a little burnt inside though; due to engine heat???
Anyway I cant test/check the large relay-ish "black 4 prong" ones. Auto parts run 730am!

I didnt miss shift on the way home or any hard revs, not my driving style. No pops or drama.

I did try leaving engine on and heat running on high to wait for the fans to start but after 10mins no fan. Is this not enough time for the fans to start? Even if the motor is hot to the touch, valve cover almost to hot to keep hand there. I would think the fans would be on asap.

Pardon the novel but being a site noob I wanted to be sure I had an issue I could not resolve.

Past midnight, no volt meter/etc, home thankfully but work tomorrow. 5.5 miles one way, gonna try and crawl it, then pop the hood before work to see about the temp.

Any thoughts are welcome, its and high mileage B18C but it revs and shifts as it should. Kinda bummed about the heat issue three days after purchase and not same day but thats used cars for you... atleast its a honda. A little effort now, the car could make 300k+

Thank you

 

So what's the problem? Motor is too hot to touch after driving for awhile? Is that not a normal thing for motors?

 

Honestly I am still awake wondering the same thing. It has been ten years since I had a GSR but now that tonight I could not see the fans turn on I just can't shake the thought that the heat is a little too much. It really feels like I could brand a DOHC VTEC into my forearm on the top of the valve cover.

I am posting here to see if anyone else has experienced a similar scenario... I would rather baby a normal occurrence than ignore a minor to major fix and loose my motor.

 

If your temp gauge is working fine and it clearly shows you are not overheating then it's fine.

 

Hmm from your descriptions...I would think air bubbles in your cooling system, bad fan switch which doesn't allow the radiator fan to cool the radiator, maybe a loose hose connection on the heater core. Not sure, but doesn't hurt to look into those areas of interest.

Since you bought the car, you don't really know what kind of maintenance, if any, were done on the car so it would be smart to do them now to maintain a healthy motor.

I would definitely bleed the coolant for air bubbles, replace the fan switch and/or thermostat.

Let's just hope it isn't a serious issue like a faulty water pump or bad headgasket...but considering it's age & high mileage, it's possible. Good luck in finding the issue.

 

Ambient air is like 95 degrees here, you can pop your hood and your motor is warm without even starting it lmao. I think I would be more baffled if I drove my car and the valve cover was cold.

 

Thanks for the perspectives, it helps me think of more...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKujB...e_gdata_player

This morning after starting a bit of white smoke and kept doing it for a few blocks. 5.5 mile trip and the engine bay is hot again...

It could be any number of mechanical/external factors but still no fan so that's where I will start but with the weather here & the high miles of the car it may be due for those major Honda cooling parts and or the head gasket.

I will try to update back when I any leads/results.

 

i think you're overthinking this. of course the motor is going to be hot to the touch. thats normal with any car.

the white smoke in the morning is normal, how cold is it? it is just moisture in the exhaust evaporating.

hot air is going to blow out of the vents at speed, even if the blower is off. it you don't want that, put it on recirc.

if your needle isn't going past the middle, don't worry about it.

 

Ya I tend to circle the kill, even before I'm hungry... Especially with limited sleep, espresso and a new toy.

kyden I don't mean to abuse the forum, like I mentioned above it had just been a minute since I ran a GSR. I am not shy of a little wear and I am still driving, I just don't want to make ANY PREVENTABLE ISSUE worse by not addressing it.

 

Overheating is indicated by your temperature gauge....it's kinda sorta it's job. If you say your temperature needle is less than halfway all day every day....then will a mod please delete this useless thread.

 

Ok cool then my car must be perfect, ASE certified point n click repairs... Tip top.

Without really getting into it further I believe my concerns to be valid, especially with a high mileage vehicle (196k+) I have owned now for 4 days. (do I dare think its had a battery cable pull?)
I do not intend in any way with my communication or questions here to abuse or clog up extra space on the server.

 

It is not a "useless thread" the OP has a problem and is asking for help.
Just because the temp. gauge reads normal means very little, it may or may not be working properly, the ECT sensor may or may not be working properly.

GSR JS10 ignore the him, your concern is legitimate.

I am also pretty sure you do not have an overheating problem, I am however concerned that the rad fan has not turned on, it is normal for it to not turn on when driving at steady speeds, but in stop and go traffic and when sitting and idling it should turn on, the rad fan should turn on when engine temp, hits 192+ degrees F.

I would start by confirming rad fan circuit is working, unplug the ECT switch it has a green lead and a black lead, use a paper clip to jump the terminals in the plug, [ign. switch on] rad fan should turn on, so so and let me know what happens, feel free to IM me. 94

 

fcm

Thanks for the details, ECT on the side of the head? I tried the paperclip but the fan did not activate. I could of used a non conductive paperclip or jumped it wrong, either way I am eager to figure this out so I plan to drop it off at an auto shop near my work tomorrow. I really wanted to do this anyway since there is 196+k on the car.

I will ask to have them code it, inspect it, etc, and give me an estimate... perhaps have a few other 200k naughty honda parts refreshed as well.

Thanks again, I will update the post on the turn around.

 

lol wow.. OP If you want to spend money like that please send your car my way.. I would jumper your fan from the connector and test the motor thats about it go get you self a DVOM (digital voltage ohm meter)

Are you sure your fan isnt comming on? Have you started your car and let it idle with the hood open and standing in front of it? Not sitting in side of it?

 

Op, if you're checking to see if the fan comes on, don't have the heater on. Otherwise you're dissipating heat from the engine, through your heater core which keeps coolant temp low

 

Everything sounds normal to me.
My engine is always hot as ****, and you can feel heat radiating from the hood when closed, and especially when open. As for literally touching it, even almost an hour later, its still quite warm on the valve cover. [Weather by me is 70-100deg., nothing below 65]
Temp gauge (if proven to be working) will show anything out of the norm.



Kind of a side note, but COULD be quite important...

Why is you check engine light on?
Not sure if you stated, but I dont recall reading about it.

 

Ps- ethos. STFU & GTFO!

 

Guys I don't mean to "fold" by dropping off the car, but the timing is real bad for projects in my life.

I thought I was buying a clean daily, the car was supposedly "stock" minus springs/wheels but the white smoke on start up & check engine light on day 4 of having it makes me want to know more about the car than I know about cars.

Maybe its nothing, if so I'm ok with getting it confirmed. Honestly though having had a GSR before (10 years ago) that ran perfect after a few simple fixes, I know there is always something that can go...

 

1. Get the check engine light checked into. It may be nothing, it may be something.

2. As stated earlier, the smoke at start-up is normal. It's starting to get cold, the dew is hitting the ground (at least here) and things get wet overnight.

3. Engines get hot. It's rather simple of a concept.

4. As the old fart guy said, the biggest concern is your fans not turning on. That could be causing you more of issues. If the fans don't come on even when jumped, they're probably bad. 196k on the motor and bad fans? Not exactly an impossible-to-fathom feat there.

Here's a trick: do you have friends, parents, or others you can check their engines out for? Take their ride, drive the same drive, and check THEIR engines afterwards. Not the hood. Not that cute plastic cover that hides everything. Check their ENGINES. I'll bet they'll be hot too.

 

ethos0518: GTFO u dam 10 yr old (or at least by ur posting, it makes u seem as if u were), kids like you dont belong on here and give this site a bad name.

As for the OP's problem, i do understand where he is coming from. My current vehicle is properly cooled, and at operating temperature, the valve cover i can put my hand on and of course its hot, but the heat can be handled.

As for an older car of mines, I was unable to put my hand on the VC at all without burning the sh** out of my hand because of the extreme heat.

So obviously he has a cooling problem, and hes trying to figure out what it may be. I never figured it out with my old car cuz i was selling it anyways, so i dont have an answer for you OP. Just simply laying it out better so everyone can understand you. Best of luck

 

Exactly what it is... Hotter than it should be, check engine light on now.

 

I would figure out what your CEL is and go from there. There is a DIY on how to jump your service connector on the passenger side in the Integra FAQ.

 

Hello OP, like i said before. You don't have an overheating issue. /thread

 

my ls gets that hot too. no overheating issues

 

my engine never gets hot to the touch even after drag racing