I have an 05 Civic SE and I just noticed tonight that it was overheating. Theres a smell of coolant but there's no visible leaks or puddles on the ground. There's also no white smoke so I don't think it's a blown head gasket. Also, the temperature overheating is inconsistent. It will be fine for a while and then just start to go up. Sometimes it will just come back down and be fine for a while.

Does this sound like it's just the thermostat sticking? I wouldn't think I'd smell coolant with that, would I? Any other suggestions of what could be causing this? I don't want to have to take it to the dealer if I don't have to.

 

Each of the following threads has "overheating" in the title. I did not read through them for you, but the topic of overheating has been well covered.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/honda-civic04-overheating-problem-2557193/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/2005-hond-civic-ex-overheating-2555660/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/01-civic-intermittent-overheating-2339016/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/2001-honda-civic-overheating-2519383/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/2005-honda-civic-overheating-saga-2509394/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/car-overheating-2231053/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/05-civic-overheating-2424959/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/03-civic-ex-coupe-overheating-need-help-2402880/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/why-my-car-overheating-when-fine-morning-all-sudden-2375869/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/03-civic-overheating-problems-2328870/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/02-civic-ex-d17-overheating-please-advise-2321668/


There are more, but you have to search.

 

I'll comb through those. I guess I'll go ahead and replace the thermostat anyway just to play it safe with a cheap fix tomorrow and see what that does.

 

really sounds like headgasket. you will not have white smoke from blown headgasket, but when mine went I had almost the same problem..smelling coolant and overheating. But sometimes it would not over heat and other times it would go all the way up to red..You need to do a compression test to find out, cuz if it is the headgasket you can warp your head....

 

How do you go about doing a compression test? Is that something I need to take in to have a mechanic do?

 

Check if your radiator fan is coming on.

 

Yeah, both radiator fans are coming on like they should be.

 

replace the headgasket and mill the head. its becoming very common for these head gasket to caus eover heating. i do about 5 of these jobs at the dealer a month

 

I think that may be a little bit out of my comfort zone. How much does one of those jobs run at the dealership?

I replaced the thermostat in the hopes of a cheap fix. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, the temp hasn't jumped up yet and I didn't notice any bubbles in the radiator fluid like some claim is indicative of a blown head gasket that results in combustion gases.

 

very true about the bubbles. you need that yellow funel they sell for the rads that make it easy to fill up attach it to rad and run vehicle till the fan s turn on and check for bubbles. once the fans turn on and thermosta is opened rev up motor to like 2k and release throttle and see how many bubbles you get. if it looks like a miny volcano you got yourself a bad headgasket. not really sure what we charge but we ussually do the timing belt if it hasnt been done and thermostat. i wanna say $1,500.00 or so depending on what machine shop needs to do

 

Ah I think I get it, so I need to fill it up till the funnel has anti-freeze in it over the radiator? Or not fill the funnel, and just wait for bubbles to come up through the funnel?

 

Remove the radiator cap. Attach the funnel. Fill just over half of the funnel with coolant. Start the burping process as noted above. Try to keep the funnel at least half full with coolant during the burping process.

Using the funnel isn't totally necessary, but it certainly helps. I've used mine a few times, on various vehicles. (mine's red, though)

 

So for my first time trying this, should I stick with the yellow or risk it with the more advanced with a red funnel?

 

The color is irrelevant. They both do the same thing.


Tell your local auto parts store what you're looking for. They should be able to hook you up. It'll look something like this.. http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1..._kit_wext.html





Edit: I should add that you don't have to buy one of these kits. If the funnel fits in the radiator's filler neck, and provides a good seal.. you should be fine. These are just nice to have.

 

yeah, i was kidding