Long story short.... (not my engine in case you are wondering)

Old motor dropped a sleeve, block was replaced and resleeved with all new parts. All new bearings, piston rings, OEM gaskets, etc etc. The only thing re-used was the OEM timing belt and OEM water pump (500 miles).

So while I was heat cycling the engine for proper break in, the temperature steadily increased and the fans never kicked on. The engine temp went 1 bar above half so I immediatly shut the engine off realizing the fans did not activate. I hooked up hondata and sure enough the temps were going to 203 degress without the fans kicking on. The top hose was HOT whereas the bottom one was COLDDDDDD. The fans would kick on once AC or Heat was turned on.

Common sense tells me thermostat... I buy a new one at honda... same overheating problem. I swapped the new one out with another one and it still overheated. I removed the thermostat and let the car run.

The temperature SLOWLY went up to 190 then the fans kicked on. No problems of overheating AT ALL.

So am I safe to say the water pump is shot? I find it hard to believe 3 thermostats are bad... I even swapped sensors out.

 

Most of my overheating problems were caused by lack of coolant. Somehow you can always put more coolant than it seems. I can bleed and fill the system multiple times and somehow it will keep finding room for more coolant. bump for you. Running lean?

 

Sense you not make.

14.7:1-15.3:1 af at idle... not that it really matters.

 

Do the fans work fine now? With a good water pump and thermostat, a stationary car will still overheat without fans. My car overheated in traffic once because the fan didn't turn on, so I installed a switch in the cabin in case it ever happens again...but strangely enough it hasn't.

 

How about a blocked radiator? Top hose hot, bottom cold, right?

The flow thru the radiator is severely low, it has plenty of time to cool down, but there's not enough flow to cool the engine. But there's enough cold water coming thru the lower hose, so the fan switch never gets hot. That explains why the fans run when the thermostat is removed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How about a blocked radiator? Top hose hot, bottom cold, right?

The flow thru the radiator is severely low, it has plenty of time to cool down, but there's not enough flow to cool the engine. But there's enough cold water coming thru the lower hose, so the fan switch never gets hot. That explains why the fans run when the thermostat is removed.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I believe the fan switch sensor is in the head, I think??

 

The fan switch sensor should be on the thermo housing. The engine has a light amount of blue smoke to add to the mess... I'm taking the turbo off and throwing in the OEM radiator to see if this helps, lol.

Supposedly if you run your heat and hot air does not blow, that is the indication your water pump took a dump.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sporkcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I believe the fan switch sensor is in the head, I think??</TD></TR></TABLE>Depends on what year, I should've asked. Mine are in the T-stat housing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PrecisionH23a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Supposedly if you run your heat and hot air does not blow, that is the indication your water pump took a dump.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like a valid theory

 

so what was the problem?????

 

I dont know how long ago this topic was posted but, I have a 94 sohc. bored, sleeved turboed etc. To view full car stats go here....http://www.mautofied.com/default.asp...PKID=100018887. I have had several problems with overheating. From the start, I had a bad gauge. Said that I was running around 225 when checked in rad I was running 195. After that problem solved the car ran fine until I got on the highway. After about 20 minutes, the car overheated. It is an auto so it is hard to stay out of boost on the highway. I took out the crap old radiator and replaced it with a fluidyne. I thought that the problem was solved but the car overheated again. Anyone have any ideas as to what it could be. It has a new thermostat and the fan does run. Very often as a matter of fact. I have been reading on this subject for a long time and still have no answers. I am one of those monstrous hp daily drivers. I pull 354 @21lbs but I drive around town @10. I cant drive my car out of town so this is a big problem. Right now my car is sitting 200 miles away. Any ideas?

 

I am having a problem with my coolant dissapearing. All hoses are fine that i can tell. and i never see any water or steam coming from the raidator. so i am wonder where else i could have a leak. anyone know anything?

 

Bad head gasket?