CustomVW

Hello, I cant figure this out.....


Water temp rises under load (going up hill at 60 MPH) but runs at lower third of gauge other times. Car is a 1993 Civic Coupe EX with 1.6 VTEC motor and auto trans with 220k miles.

I just bought car. Prior owner reported this issue to me as just starting after Thermostat got stuck shut and the top hose from radiator burst 4 months ago. I has been pretty much parked sincwe then other than a few drives. He had it towed to NAPA and had hose and thermostat replaced same day it got stuck/burst. Now it does this.

Ruben19

sounds like air in the system

MHDesigns

X2

CustomVW

OK, Thanks. I will try and bleed the system today and see if that helps.

boostB4beauty

How hot did the previous owner get it during his burst hose/thermo stuck episode?
Could be other problems too. any telltale signs of other problems? white smoke?
coolant/oil cross contamination? I would think air in the system would heat up the system all the time, not just under heavy load.
Also, it could be your auto tranny , might want to swap in a 5 just to make sure LOL.

CustomVW

LOL Im fixing this up for my Mom so no 5-spd swap needed...

no smoke, oil is golden no frothing/bubbles or oil in it and coolant is very green, no oil.

I am thinking that the NAPA stat might be wrong temp range or the coolant mixture might be off too, not to mention that it has non-OEM Honda coolant. Hoping for just air in the system, but was next gonna pull radiator to have it flushed and tested then replace stat with oil from dealer and OEM coolant and see whats good then.

Any other ideas?

CustomVW

I'm not sure if it is the total problem, but there is an air pocket issue.

I bought a new t-stat w/gasket and new bolts at the Honda dealer today, so it looks all minty, when I change it. The original (as far as I know) radiator is all metal and I hate to put in some plastic crap, but I suspect that it may not be cooling as well as it used to. Some of the fin sections look kind of rotted or corroded. It doesn't appear to leak at all, but I am wondering if the air alone could be the whole issue or if the old rad is part of it too.

CustomVW

Anyone know of a good all metal (no plastic tanks) radiator for an auto trans? I know CSF Imports makes one, but having a hard time finding it other than one place that will take over a week to get it. This car is for my mom and I don't want to have to do stuff twice. She doesn't live very close to my home and she is very dependent on her car.

MHDesigns

nobody wants to hear it but check ebay.

dagle

iTrader: (1)

i don't frequent the civic section much, but i think you're making too much of a deal over radiator design. if the OEM radiator (sorry if im mistaken, but to my understanding you have an OEM rad) doesn't cool the car enough with a simple coolant bleeding and the correct coolant then changing the radiator is just a band-aid for the problem. In my experience it has never been the issue with overheating and OEM is more than enough for daily driving. just my 2 cents

mylilcivicex

My civic did the same thing, I dont have a bleeder and had to jack front of car way up to add the coolant. It amazed me that it fixed my cooling problem. Its not a chevy..huh. lol

CustomVW

I am fixing this car for my mom to drive and I think that this rad is the original with 220,000 miles on it. I am replacing it with what I think is closest to what it has. It has all metal tanks not plastic so I don't want to put in cheap plastic. I am not trying to "band-aid it" just trying to only replace stuff with quality parts so when moms has it I don't need to worry about the cooling system. I have not gone crazy trying to get the air out as I plan to replace rad/hoses/t-stat & coolant so after all that is done, if I fill it right, there should be no more air trapped and I will either have eliminated the problem or I can rule out air and all of those other variables.

Jackal6042

That many miles and a history of cooling problems I'd consider replacing the water pump and timing belt as well. Did the previous owner provide you any record of when this was last done?

CustomVW

He didn't mention about water pump but said t-belt was done like 18 months ago.

Jackal6042

I'd hate to see your mom get stranded because of something like that. Usually common sense tells us H-T folk to do the water pump and timing belt at the same time. But if it wasn't done and you have a history of cooling system issues with this vehicle I'd do it anyway since you are doing all the rest of this. Just to give you a little more peace of mind that moms wont be ringing your cell saying her hood is shooting steam.

CustomVW

What is the best way to bleed air out of the cooling system? I thought I could just fill it and bleed the air from the nut on the water inlet on the head connected to the upper rad hose, but that doesn't seem to do much other than shoot coolant all over.....

'92SiHatch

did you check the radiator cap??

CustomVW

Well no, I just replaced it with a new STANT one, along with a new CSF radiator, reinforced silicone upper and lower hoses and OEM T-stat and gasket yesterday.

CustomVW

I am wondering if I may be getting combustion gases into the coolant as I can never seem to get all the air out.....

CustomVW

bump....