I have been a bit suspicious about the temp that my engine is running at.
I have a 4th gen and the temperature gauge in the dash indicates that the normal running temp of the car is exactly half way on the gauge. It even goes one bar hotter if the car is stationary for a few minutes.
Is this about normal? I have heard that these cars have stupidly small and inefficent radiators, is that true?
If it is running hot, what are some possible causes? The cooling fan is running, and there is always good coolant and synth oil in abundance.

Please let me know if this abnormally high!!!!

 

yes it is a high. i have an h23 si lude which i run around hard all the time and it NEVER goes up pass the half mark on the temp gauge. Try changing your thermostat and trying to flush out the radiator. peace out and good luck.

 

Stock radiator isn't too small. Yes if your going to be racing you might want an aftermarket one but I have never had any problems with overheating. Have you checked your coolant level? Do you flush it at least once a year? If it is overheating it could be a bunch of things. Like I said too low coolant level, bad thermostat, blown headgasket, Wrong mixture of coolant...

 

is it possible that there might be a small leak int eh head gasket? Could that cause high temps? I have noticed a small build up of oil on the valve cover, could that be linked in with an overheating problem.
I have had tthis checked out a few times, each time they flushed the radiator and tried new coolant, but to no avail. My coolant level does get low quickly though, but the car doesn't seem to leak coolant OR burn it (white smoke right?)
any other signs that it might be the head gasket?

cheers so far guys!

 

I had the same problem. exactly the same actually. I thought of the following things:

1. Radiator Hairline Fracture
2. Air in the radiator (which was apparent because after bleeding out the system and putting in more coolant temps went fine for about a couple days then started going up again.
3. And this was the ACTUAL REASON for the problem. My head had cracked in 3 places (there was water and white smoke coming from my exhaust, i had lotsa of shaking/bogging during idle and lots of surging/rough idles as well)
I had the entire head replaced and now it works PERFECTLY. NO MATTER how hard I rip it or how long i drive it (I drove 160 miles the day i got the car back, which was about 12 hours of STREET driving ONLY. The car remained at normal operating temp and the idle was at 1000 at all times, she's perfect now.

You better hope #3 is not the case because it cost $1400 for parts and labor... AND YES I COULD GET A JDM h22 for $1200 but im selling the car so it wasn't done.

 

sounds like your thermostat. try replacing it and if it solves the problem... great. if it doesnt then move on to everything else.
the thermostat is something you can change on your own. it costs about 10 bucks at a parts store. dont do your flush or change the radiator untill you fix the thermostat. even if you do the flush and the radiator change... if the thermostat is still bad, your still going to over heat.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Elkins911 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like your thermostat. try replacing it and if it solves the problem... great. if it doesnt then move on to everything else.
the thermostat is something you can change on your own. it costs about 10 bucks at a parts store. dont do your flush or change the radiator untill you fix the thermostat. even if you do the flush and the radiator change... if the thermostat is still bad, your still going to over heat.</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is true, i also thought of this when i was having this problem. I replaced mine and still overheated. The thermostat was the original one that the car had came with all the rubber seals were cracked and there was lots and i mean lots of wear on the biznatch.

 

awesome guys, thanks!

the car is at the mechanics as I speak (I can't do **** with cars myself!) so I will be interested to see what he finds.
I told him everything ppl mentioned before my last post including the head gasket theory. He said that if the head or gasket was gone then I would see bright flashing signs in the form of other problems.
He also said that these Hondas usually sit right in the middle of the temp gauge and then the fan kicks in the second it goes above that. He has worked for Honda for 17 years...
Having said that though, it still doesn't explain the mystery of the missing coolant...- surely the car wouldn't burn up like 1 litre in 4-6 months, Would it?
In the civic I had i only had to top up the coolant once in the 4 years I owned it.

I hadn't thought of theree beinga hairline crack in the radiator, not big enough to see significant leakage on the floor of my garage, but big enough to let a tiny bit of air in. I will put that too him. THANKS!

Have a on me boys!

PS: I will let you all know what I find out!