boostincoupe

Here's some background info. on the car:

- 1997 civic EX coupe, 114k
- Bought with 73k in April 2001
- Not-a-one problem until now
- Oil changed regularly
- Haven't touched the coolant since I got the car
- Timing belt replaced, water pump "said" to be fine by mechanic (not sure though)

Here are some symptoms I've documented:

- The car is taking longer and longer to warm up; first the temp. gauge gets to normal operating temp. , then the heater kicks in about 1-2 minutes later. VERY annoying in 10 degree Minnesota winter weather.

- After about 10 minutes of driving, the temp. gauge starts to creep up from 1/3, where it has been since I've owned it for the last 2.5 yrs., to about 1/2 way then all the way up to just below the H in some cases, before it drops abruptly down to about 1/2 way. Then it'll do it all over again after about 5 min. at normal operating temp.

- The temp. level goes back to about 1/2 or even 1/3 when I put the heater on full blast for about 30 seconds or so. Then the ******* thing just does it again after about 5-10 min.

- I have checked my oil, it is not milky at all. No signs of coolant in my oil, or oil in my coolant (i.e. overflow tank).

- When it first started to overheat, I pulled over and popped my hood. The coolant was JUST above the MAX level, and yet the temp. was consistently at roughly 3/4 level.

- Now, after about a week or two, when it happened again (didn't happen in between that time), I noticed the coolant level in the overflow tank was below the min., however there was no sign of any coolant in my engine bay or on any parts that I could see. But I'm not really sure what it would look like all over the engine bay, green I assume? If so, then I didn't see any.

- My plugs look normal.

- When the overheating issue occurred and I had a chance to pop my hood (usually I'm in a rush to get to my class so I can't always check it), I check the upper hose, which is immediately hot to the touch, whereas the lower hose is relatively cold. Not freezing, I can feel the warmth, but nowhere near the upper hose.

- I haven't noticed any leaks in my driveway, but then again, I haven't really been under my car since the snow fell about a month ago.

- There are no signs of white smoke coming from my exhaust, either at idle or WOT when boosting.

- I have NOT opened the radiator cap, because I constantly forget to before I drive the car, so it's too hot to touch then . Is there a certain level that I'm supposed to gauge it by on the radiator?

- My fan goes on only sometimes, when it overheats it's only on about 30% of the time, meaning sometimes it's on when it overheats, and sometimes it isn't. This points to a faulty thermostat.

Here are the possible causes I'm guessing may be the culprit:

- faulty thermostat
- old coolant (time for flush/refill)
- faulty radiator cap
- faulty water pump
- leaky headgasket
- air bubble in coolant system

Being a cheap bastard like I am, I hope that the issues are contained in the smiley brackets. If it's a water pump - oh well, I've budgeted for it to go bad. If it's the headgasket, well...I can't afford labor, so I'll be bustin' out the Haynes and gettin' to work!

Ideas?

Slammd Sol

my car was doing the SAME exact thing after my turbo install. I think its because you have air in the coolant system. I solved mine buy letting the engine run for like 15 mins with the coolant cap off and the heat on full blast. I also added some extra coolant. I did this about a month ago and it hasnt done it since.

boostincoupe

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Slammd Sol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my car was doing the SAME exact thing after my turbo install. I think its because you have air in the coolant system. I solved mine buy letting the engine run for like 15 mins with the coolant cap off and the heat on full blast. I also added some extra coolant. I did this about a month ago and it hasnt done it since.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh HELL yes!

Slammd Sol

make sure you do it when the engine is cool