Hello Honda Tech.
I have B18B block with B18C1 head and turbonetics turbo kit on my 97 integra. Motor runs storng and healthy. I just have problem with overheat. If I drive around 10~15 mins, it overheats and seems like water trying to come out from coolant reservoir tank. Thought it was HG, but no white smoke and did compression test it's good. Maybe it's thermostat so I took out the thermostat just to see it overheats and looks like it overheats in 10~15 mins again without thermostat so I don't think it's the thermostat. Thought about rad cap but there is no liquid spilled over cap area. Only think I can think of is bad radiator? Radiator is blocked by front intercooler so there is less air flow and looks like this is no name brand radiator. (I bought the car as is) My questions are...

1. Should I buy name brand radiator? (Which one is the good one? Could you guys recommend me a good half size radiator because of turbo setup) There is not much air going thorough cuz of the intercooler so I need good ones.

2. Could you guys recommend putting distilled water or 50/50 mix coolant? I live in so.cal btw.

3. Maybe buy new radiator cap?

4. Buy another OEM thermostat?

5. Nothing is wrap. Should I buy wrap and wrap the manifolds and pipes?

I never had turbo car and this is my first one. Please help me out with this issue. Other than overheating, motor sounds healthy and strong. I really appreciated if you can help me out. Thank you.

 

drive it without the bumper cover. see if the problem persists. that would rule out airflow.

 

1) Installing a new radiator cap never hurts, specially for the price. We have a cap tester to diagnose bad caps, but most people don't... I would try this first.

2) Pressure test coolant system.

3) Test coolant system for combustion gases (you can get a cheap liquid indicator tester at your local parts store)

3) Compare upper and loser radiator hose temperatures.


How long has the issue been going on? Did you do any repairs/work prior to when it started overheating?? My money is on HG, but the tests will confirm this.

 

I will drive without bumper and see what's up. I'll prolly get good ones and replace it. I'll get new cap and tester to check liquid. After all this, if it doesn't solve the issue, I'll prolly go to shop and change HG. Thanks for help.

 

A better radiator is always a good option. What one do you currently have.?

 

Running ls or gsr water pump? After revving past 7k rpm or just in general? Still have ac? Half core radiator? You could do what I did

 

I say hg

 

I have some cheap no name brand half size radiator. Full size wouldn't fit because turbo turbo and manifolds. I need good half size radiator. I have ls water pump and no AC, PS. Also I just found out thermostat is closed all the time. I took thermostat out and put it into boiling water and it just wouldn't open. I was just curious and put everything back without thermostat and it still oeverheats. I assumed if I remove thermostat, it would open up and not overheat but it still overheats without thermostat. So I should buy new OEM thermostat and new radiator~ If problem doesn't go away, I will go to shop and let them inspect for HG.

 

That's not a DC full sized radiator it's a VW Sciroccco dual pass radiator fits up in the rad support. Lots of extra room under the hood and if done properly works great.

 

Ur wasting your money just throwing parts at it.... DIAGNOSE, then replace... If you aren't capable of it, take it to someone who is!

 

Isnt it always the HG?
75% of these threads are just wishful thinking.

 

Lol, riiiiight?!

 

my d17 and a b16 from a friend had the same problem. no bubbles..no smoke..and i changed the gasket and then it was good

 

This looks like a multistory diagnosis. I wouldn't do head gasket until other symptoms.

 

If you don't know the water pump age or condition that's a problem u could replace everything coolant will still boil over and expand into the res. if it over heats while driving, the fan works. It's not the rad most Likley not. Moving on the t stat u need a heat torch (not
Open flame) to test it. But fk it 19$ its replaced.

Basically these Honda head gaskets can get a pin hole no one even sees which puts pressure in the cooling system... The car still shouldn't over heat while driving... Only once its pushed all the coolant into the overflow and there's no coolant will it over heat in that scenario.

I'd do a timing belt and water pump on it. But also would pressure test the seals first. Sounds like a shitty time hope that helps... If the pump isn't some unknown age and not beat I've never heard of one fail! The oil pumps usually fail first lol 250-350,000km

 

Thank you for replies. Yea I think it could be HG problem but I'm trying to do other stuff first cuz replacing a HG could be really expensive. I just bought new OEM thermostat from acura and new rad cap and new 50/50 coolant mix. If all this doesn't solve problem, I'll just take it to shop~. Thanks guys.

 

My guesses...

A: Rad fan efficiency. What type of fan are you using, push style? pull style? size? CFM rating? I had this issue at the beginning of my build, I had a no name "slim" fan that plain and simply could not flow enough to drop coolant temp. Switched back to the larger OEM fan and never had an overheat issue since.

B: If you are not running a 1.3BAR rad cap. That "could" be a likely issue of why the overflow is... well overflowing..

C: Blown Headgasket (like everyone else has been saying) can cause overheating when combustion heat/pressure enter the cooling system, this can also cause the overflow container to... overflow.

Annnnnd finally... worst case scenario... this.. D:



Cracked cylinder sleeve which usually is in combination with a blown headgasket since the crack begins from the top.

This can and will cause hard-starting, cylinder washout, overheating, overflow container to... overflow and higher than normal EGT's.

Seen it all happen is some form or another..

My suggestion, try the small simple things first and if the symptoms have not corrected themselves and you are fairly mechanically inclined and confident with your ability.. It will be time to pull the head and inspect the headgasket for wear/damage, cylinder sleeves for cracks and head surface for warpage.

 

Yea I have no name brand rad + fan. Even though it could be something else, I am gonna try to order some nice mishimoto rad + fan combo. What I have is crap anyways. When I buy mishimoto rad, it comes with the 1.3 bar cap (I think). If it still overheats, time for HG inspection and hopefully it's not the worst case scenario!!!

 

Look to also the coolant you're using as well as water wetter. Headgasket issues will show how FAST it is overheating.

 

It always seems like when the weather warms up these overheating threads pop up like herpes

Just like when the weather gets cold the boost spike/creep threads start showing up