Mecca8383

92 Civic LX with 240,000 miles.

I recently changed my headgasket a month ago,along with a new water pump because it was overheating, and my overflow tank was nearly empty after every car trip.

Anyway...after changing the head gasket and water pump everything was fine...no leaks, no more coolent disappearing from the overflow, no more overheating for about a month...and all my drives were about 20 miles or less.......Until today when I drove for 130 miles of hills under a load (2 kids and my wife).
After about 40 miles of hills, it started overheating to the 3/4 mark. I pullover and check my overflow bottle...still at the proper level I filled it up to a few days ago. Checked underneath car and no leaks, radiator fan can be heard easily inside car and confirmed to be on when I popped the hood as well.

I let the car cool and continued on....about 35 miles later.. Overheated again, this time very close to the RED. Checked overflow bottle again, it was still at same level, checked for leaks again...none. Radiator fan still clearly comes on...so it can't be the thermostat or the fan..I always heard the fan when I hit every stop light.

This happened 2 more times during the day, and I checked my overflow, my fan, and for leaks....all was good!
I'm thinking air could be trapped in the coolent system, but when I did my head gasket, I bleed the system with the radiator cap off for like 45 minutes making sure the themostat opened and the fan turned on(signal to add more coolant).

So tomorrow I plan to bleed the system again, but if that doesn't work, then what would be the next step?

Remember.....my overflow bottle level stayed the same no matter how many times it overheated today. No leaks found. Radiator Fan turns on at operating temperature (so the themo must be OK as well).

Let me know what you guys think...Other than the air..I can't think of any thing else.



Edit: Forgot something....after the 2nd overheat I opened the bleeder screw on a incline, got a good stream of air from it till coolant flowed steady. Still overheated afterward.

Pulled over again....
Decided to let the car cool, and open the radiator cap, radiator still full of coolant, overflow level still good. Turned on car, got car to operating temp, pulled acceleration cable(the gas) with radiator cap still off....got bubbles.
Another question......How is it I get bubbles when I hit the gas, but the overflow bottle level stays the same throughout my whole day of overheating?

Dooob

When it overheated, it's possible something happened to the thermostat. Check if you have heat to confirm this. When you bleed these, it's important to have the heat on too, dont forget that part. Air is introduced again if you open the reservoir to look in and have the hose out of the liquid.

Dooooob

Ohmega

iTrader: (1)

Was the head machined flat before you installed the new headgasket?

It is very likely the head/block was warped from overheating.

Dooob

Right, I had that done to mine. It helped but wasn't perfect, probably a combination of issues ohmega could be onto something, it's a year later and worse than ever. I'm thinking the head gasket gone again, or its a Crack

EGmasterFlex

You never said anything about replacing the thermostat when you did the headgasket or water pump. For $6 I'd start with that. When you did the headgasket, was it a 3 layer metal one or those thick Styrofoam looking ones? Also, did you re use the same head bolts with oem torque specs?

eh2_Trav

iTrader: (1)

I've always wondered about re-using the stock head bolts. Ive heard they stretch over time so they need to be replaced. Then ive also heard if its just a stock engine and not No2 or FI its fine to reuse them.

EGmasterFlex

They are torque-to-yield bolts, so I personally do not believe they are fine to reuse even in scenarios of oem rebuilds. They do stretch.

Mecca8383

Alright so I FLUSHED, and air bleeded my Civic on Thursday.
Drove it on Friday the same exact way(taking about 140 miles of hills) and it didn't go pass the halfway-point 1 single time(didn't overheat).
The next day, I noticed my coolant bottle was almost empty.
Again...No smoke, no leaks, no mayo stuff on the cap, no oil in coolant.
I may have to drive it one more time to see if my bottle is empty because either the car needed the coolant after the bleeding, or maybe just something that has to do with the gasket.

BTW..it's a 3 layer gasket, and I did reuse the bolts. Sometimes you have to take those chances when you have alittle bit of money with no job and you're trying to drive far enough to get a job to support your wife and 3 kids....

Sorry to be a bit salty there..but I know what users here are going to say...but in my situation or anyone's alike, there's not much we can buy, and have to do the best we can with what we CAN buy.

Spiff671

Check out my brief guide to overheating issues:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...rheat-3279111/

Please let us know if it helps you or not. Good luck!

DumpdEJ6

I have done quite a few head gaskets on Civics and I always reuse the head bolts, haven't had a problem yet. Maybe that's now how you're supposed to do it, but, like I said...I haven't had a problem yet.

If the head gasket is indeed leaking again, I would likely place blame elsewhere. I had one head gasket I did, one of the first ones I ever did, actually...I did the head gasket, torqued it all to spec, and was great for about 3 months, until it started overheating and bubbling in the radiator, etc.

Turned out there was a little gouge on the block that raised the deck in one spot juuuuuust a little...and I didn't check it before I put the head on. That, and I used one of those fiber head gaskets, not the MLS ones. Needless to say, I learned some lessons, lol.

EGmasterFlex

Mecca, my apologies for your hard times. I was merely trying to help you diagnose a potential cause for your over heating issues. Good luck with everything.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Take out the thermostat and test it according to the service manual. Same with your thermoswitch (for the fan).

Also, sadly, D15B7s don't take to being overheated very nicely.