okay i am fixing a car for my friend and he says it overheats, and cant figure it out, i figured it was probly something more complecated then a thermostat so i am guessing water pump, how can i be sure though?

the way that i was thinking was to run the car till its hot and then turn on the heater, and if its hot air blowing it is circulating fluid so the water pump must be working, but if its cold air its not or there is air in the system.

is this true?

also i haven't even looked at the car yet, and am not real familiar with them, i am assuming the water pump runs off the timing belt, (which would make it a much more labor intensive job) if so is there anywhere on the net that i can get the timing instructions on the engine as well as torque specs, i dont really want to spend any money on a manual cause i will be getting rid of it right after i get the over heating issue figured out

any help welcome
Danny

 

If the Accord is the EX model the instructions here will be exact. If it is LX or DX they will differ a little because of the engine being a little different. Go here and get the Cylinder Head/Valve Train section http://www.dhost.info/accordinfo/

 

Next i doubt very much that it is the water pump unless it is leaking thus you are low on coolant .. you need to diagnose a bit more ....

first of all make sure radiator is full and there are no obvious leaks ...if low on coolant chk for leaks if there are leaks repair and retry ... if no leaks ,,,chk radiator cap as well

start car up put a/c on both fans should work if they do this will eliminate fan fuses , relays , wiring and motors ,,if they dont you need to chk those things, repair as needed and make sure fans come on ..

, turn a/c off and let car warm up engine to operating temp feel the lower radiator hose it should feel hot if it is t-stat is opening up , if warm or cool you have a t-stat stuck closed replace and retry ..
If t-stat is ok let car warm up and make sure both fans come on if they dont and they worked with a/c on you might have a bad fan switch located on t-stat housing left side of distributor green plug , 2 wires, jump wires together if fans come on you got a bad switch replace and retry