just FYI - i have a 1995 honda civic coupe, EX. about 148,000 miles.

last friday my car MAJORLY overheated. coolant gauge off the charts, billows of smoke from under the hood, melted coolant cap and bay. i went to jiffy lube, they tended to it (replaced rad cap, new fans, flushed all the fluids, oil change, rigged together my melted coolant bay&cap), told me some parts i needed (new coolant bay & cap), i ordered them, etc. they told me to come back in 3-5 days to put the new parts in but i havent gotten them yet from my honda dealership.

however, ever since wednesday every time i get in the car the coolant gauge goes immediately to H. i turn on the heat (which is so much fun in summer weather) which helps a bit, i try not to go the traffic-prone routes. there's no more smoke though but the car revvs harder and the hood is blazing hot.

am i out of anti-freeze/coolant again? what is happening? i thought this was fixed? is it just because i dont have the new bay in yet? do i need a new radiator? im SO lost

 

Try refilling the coolant, it might be low and possibly out. same thing happened to me a while ago, and i was freaking out about it. i had no coolant, it all leaked out. turns out i had a bad water pump and it needed to be replaced. make sure the coolant is full and check for leaks.

 

that's what i thought to do today. is there a max line in the coolant bay? i've never looked before. i don't want to overfill it.

i dont want to drive too far - where can i get coolant? anywhere or do i have to go to an autozone type store? there's a brooks/cvs right down the street but im not sure theyd have it.

 

It sound's to me like your water pump isn't working, but I wanted to add that you should fill your radiator to the brim. If it's low you should even squeeze the upper and lower radiator hose to get any air, that's trapped, out. Also keep your over flow bottle serviced too(just in case your losing fluids your system will stay serviced).