Silpheedx

Heyo all;
First time here so I'm kinda a noob. Anyways I just got myself a snazy 95 civic dx. It has a major over heating issue. When I drive along at slow speeds I have no problems to speak of. When I get on the free way and drive at high speeds for over a half hour or so, it runs great, BUT when I slow down to less than 5mph after a long fast drive the temperature shoots through the roof within about 2 minutes. Also I noticed when I stopped but kept the engine running after over heating to run out and check the fans, that the second fan next to the radiator fan doesn't turn on despite the heat going up. Of coruse I very quickly turned it off right after checking. Also if I waite several hours to start the engine again it starts up no problem, BUT if I waite only around 10 minutes and start it up again, egines still hot, the engine has big trouble starting and when it does very big plumes of extremely stainky smoke comes out the exhaust. I think its radiator fluid burning becuase it smells nothing like burning oil. Its realy bitter and sticks to the inside of your nose for a good 10 minutes heheh. Also when I have a big plum of smoke event the coolant overflow reseviour gets sucked dry. Well if I stop while over heated and check the overflow, its sucked dry, if a take off too soon, then big smoke, if I waite a long time, the overflow gets filled back up ha;f way, and only a little smoke. I dont know if its the secondary fan not kicking on when I slow down so the engine just goes nuclear at that point. Or maybe becuase I just had to have the valve cover gasket replace that maybe the head gasket is old too and needs replaceing or maybe its the thermostate not telling it, cool my *** now, or maybe water pump, I just got it so I'm still learning about these cars. And I realy hope its not a crack in the block. But somehow its pulling what I think might be radiator fluid into the combustion chambers, I think. Its got about 200k miles on it so not sure where to attack first. Any ideas or advice are greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much

jdmcertified909

Take the head off send it to a well known machine shop and get it checked for cracks and warpage.

92lxsleeper

turning the car off in an overheating condition is the WORST thing you can do, because now the waterpump is not circulating coolant, and its just sitting there boiling.

motegicivic

If is it like 96 and on, I think there should be a connector on the thermostat housing, pull that off, take a paperclip (bend it like a U) and stick one end in each hole of the connector, turn the key to number 2 position and see if the fan comes on.

strategy400

Sounds like a headgasket issue.

Silpheedx

Aye the more a check around the more it really sounds like a head gasket fun, or warped head.

Silpheedx

Dangit, I'm an idiot. Welp, leasson learned. Wont be doing that anymore. Thank you so much for the info. So for now on, if it does overheat, I'll stop, waite till it chills out, then turn it off. Plus taking it to mechanic monday, because lots of arrows are pointing to head gasket and I dont have a garage to work in, nor a spare car to drive in the mean time. It'd be fun to do it myself of course. Thanks again though.

Silpheedx

Excellence, I'll check that tonight.

Silpheedx

So all in all. Check head for warps and cracks, replace head gasket for mechanic. For myself, check fan, check fan fuse, check thermostat , and check radiator cap. This forum is amazing. Fingers crossed the block is ok.
Again Thanks so much for the info all

joeshmo

Not turning off an overheating engine can cause more damage. It all depends on the situation. If you CAN get the engine to cool, do so. If not, you NEED to shut off your engine. While it is true that the water pump only circulates coolant in a running engine, the only REAL source of heat is the engine itself. Allowing an engine to continue running while it is overheating can cause serious, serious damage. I'm not saying shutting it off won't cause damage too, but in my experience, shutting the engine down is a better option in most situations.

motegicivic

Best thing is to run the heater on hi to force the temp down, then shut it off, but you will need to shut it off to cool.

Running with the temp gauge in red is certain engine failure.

Silpheedx

Oh yeah, remember do that in my dads old saburban to make it home when it was over heating. Thanks for the advice

Silpheedx

WElp both fans are ok, and thermostate should be OK becuase right when the temp goes up the radiator fan kicks on. Radiator cap gasket is nice a rubbery without cracks and such. So theres those things. Next up, head, head gasket, and much finger crossing thats it.

92lxsleeper

turn the heater on full blast and it will help. these are tiny motors and do not require a large cooling capacity.

EKing

I have a similar problem and I tried the paper clip thing and my fan turns on, so does that mean I need to replace my thermostat? Thanks