jenq payne

i gotta question about my accord.... we put it back together but the parts store gave me a head gasket for a 94 and mine is a 92.... will that make the top radiator hose swell up? its not showing that its running hot but it keeps cutting off once hot

MAD_MIKE

The '94 gasket has an additional tab for the VTEC oil feed, and I believe there are some changes done on the steam holes on the head. This can change how the head is cooled if the wrong gasket is used.
Did you properly bleed the cooling system?
Car should be level.
Engine off, open bleeder at the back of the thermostat housing.
Fill radiator til a solid stream of coolant comes out of the bleeder.
Close bleeder.
Fill radiator fully, squeeze upper hose to get any remaining air bubbles out.
Fill reservoir to appropriate mark and close system.
Start engine and watch for leaks and the temp gauge.

jenq payne

yes we bled the coolant but not with the bleeder screw just with cap off and cold start filled to all bubbles gone put cap on and rechecked for leaks, and not overheating. Took thermo. out just to try that, no go. During idle or driving water circulates and hose not as pressurized but after shutting car off the hose seems to swell more.... But now when engaging clutch to stop it wants to stall and oil light flickers... maybe due to wrong head gasket? Originally put new head and oil pump on car with new timing belts and all new gaskets ( car bottomed out and broke camshaft and cracked oil pump) ( bottom half of block was checked and it was ok'd) .Putting car back together only thing different from old parts was the head gasket and its for 94 accord.... i thought parts are only 90-93 right? but only tried it because someone said it would work.... Ideas?

MAD_MIKE

You need to bleed the air out of the system from the bleeder screw. That is the high point and air gets trapped behind the thermostat. And the thermostat will not open until it is up to temp air temp to be that hot will mean the head is going to warp and your head gasket is going to blow.

Also, if you still have the heater core connected, turn the heater to full hot to open the heater valve to allow proper filling.

Either way, you need to open that bleeder screw to properly bleed the system. The flow of coolant is 'backwards' compared to other makes.

jenq payne

ok i will do that today...one thing though i havent put thermostat back in car yet... Should i put new one back in and then bleed the system? Ive ran the car a day or two without thermostat thinking it was bad thermostat but still does same thing.

MAD_MIKE

Without bleeding, the engine will overheat.
Without the thermostat, the engine will overheat.

If you suspect the thermostat, boil it in water with a thermostat and monitor temp when it opens.
Only use Honda thermostats.

tamboo