i have a 1990 honda accord EX that sems to keep overheating, a few days a go i checked it out and it was a quart low and needed some antifreeze also so i fixed that but it still overheats and now its starting to smoke and smells like buring oil. idk what the problem could be... i admit was drag racing from red lights a few times but that shouldnt cause it to overheat now during normal driving. what should i do???

 

You my friend probably have a blown head gasket.

 

pay close attention to water if loosing it , also check under oil cap for moisture ,or loss of horsepower , and last but not least a misfire leakdown test it or compression test will help you identify the problem

 

Burning oil maybe somethimg else. But as far as your car overheating mite wanna check out your thermostat...

 

yea it seems that my fans dont wont to come on when the car starts to overheat, they dont seem to come on while im driving the car!!!! but when i turn the car off they come on ( a cool down feature) that explains why when im at red lights the temp starts to rise but when i get to around 50mph it starts to go back to normal... its winter time over here so the engine is cooling down only on air thats entering the engine compartment from outside, and the fans must not be working cause it doenst seem to be sucking in any air at red lights (so it heats up) but when i get moving cold air come though.. i dont know that seems to be it..

should i take it to a shop and have them check the fans?

 

Maybe water pump is going dead... anyway check the color of coolant in the radiator - if it's clean and green/red then your engine is ok but if it's brown then you have oil leak in gasket. Just happened to me and had to replace the engine (was cheaper then rebuilding the old one).

 

when u dumped in the extra antifreeze, did u let the bubble come out? also burnning oil shoul dbe ur headgasket,

 

no i put the extra antifreeze in the overflow tank.

and i replaced the headgasket about 6 months ago.

ill have to check the color or the antifreeze.

 

ok the color of the antifreeze was yellow and i read someone that hondas are supposed to use green coloerd antifreeze, so either i have some bad antifreeze or its the wrong kind....?

 

1. Check level of coolant in radiator, if low you may have a leak. Pressure test for leaks. Start the car and turn the a/c on, are both fans spinning on the radiator ? If not check relays and fuses. If all relays and fuses seem ok, put 12 volts directly to the fans and see if they come on. If the relays/fuses/fan motors work and they just don't come on automatically when the car warms up, replace your coolant temp sensor (not to be confused with temp sender which is for your gauge).

2. Check the oil level and put a sample on your fingers, does it look like chocolate milk ? If not, your head gasket is probably ok. If your head gasket was in fact bad, you would have a terrible misfire or rough operation.

3. Also, if the car did infact overheat and smoke, you may have damaged your thermostat (which may have been bad already) I would replace that and the gasket just for piece of mind (btw: use only factory honda parts).

I'm going to assume you already had the timing belt/water pump replaced.

 

i just talked to my friend whos a machanic, and he said that i should replace my water pump and the thermostate 1st. i didnt replace them yet.

and yes i think it may be one of the fueses because i was trying to install a radio a while ago and i blew a radio fuse. i dont know if any other fuses might have blown also. but the fans do come on when i turn the car off.

 

thermostat = 15 dollars from honda and like 30 bucks to put in, my uncle did mine in like 20 minutes for free and it solved all my problemos,

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coolrace05 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i just talked to my friend whos a machanic, and he said that i should replace my water pump and the thermostate 1st. i didnt replace them yet.

and yes i think it may be one of the fueses because i was trying to install a radio a while ago and i blew a radio fuse. i dont know if any other fuses might have blown also. but the fans do come on when i turn the car off.</TD></TR></TABLE>

u will be pissing money away by replacing the water pump,,unless it is leaking do not waste ur time water pump do not make cars overheat unless all the fins have been rotted out ,,,,,,,,sounds to me like u are low on coolant,, as it was suggested pressure test cooling system, pressure test radiator cap, as mentioned also put a/c on start car both fans SHOULD WORK if one or both do not work, hit the back side of the motor with a metal bar ( screwdriver ) if fans come on u got bad motors, if they still do not, chk fuses, relays , and apply power to fans as it was mentioned by MOTORHEAD...if they work with power applied, let car warm up and at the thermostat housing there is a plug green i believe 2 wires going to it, that is the fannswitch, jump those 2 wires together if fans come on u got a bad switch...
BUT first make sure u got planty of coolant and no leaks , if very low on coolant fans will not come on and 1 fan ( pass side 0ne ) will come on when car is turned off ,, try and post results...

 

U ahve a blown head gasket.... i have a 91 accord and am in the process of replacing my head gasket now. I had all the same symptoms. Good luck man.

 

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

u will be pissing money away by replacing the water pump,,unless it is leaking do not waste ur time water pump do not make cars overheat unless all the fins have been rotted out ,,,,,,,,sounds to me like u are low on coolant,, as it was suggested pressure test cooling system, pressure test radiator cap, as mentioned also put a/c on start car both fans SHOULD WORK if one or both do not work, hit the back side of the motor with a metal bar ( screwdriver ) if fans come on u got bad motors, if they still do not, chk fuses, relays , and apply power to fans as it was mentioned by MOTORHEAD...if they work with power applied, let car warm up and at the thermostat housing there is a plug green i believe 2 wires going to it, that is the fannswitch, jump those 2 wires together if fans come on u got a bad switch...
BUT first make sure u got planty of coolant and no leaks , if very low on coolant fans will not come on and 1 fan ( pass side 0ne ) will come on when car is turned off ,, try and post results...</TD></TR></TABLE>


This is the one I would agree with and listen to.
You rock DH. Over 85 years of Honda Experience LOL. J/K