Okay so yesterday i started my 95 accord SOHC non vtech, it was really cold outside below zero... it warmed up fine, but the heater was blowing out cold air, i drove it for about 10 min and it still was blowing out freezing air.. i went in to work and came out and warmed it up again, for about 10 min then it started to blow out kinda warm air, i figured that maybe something froze this is worry-some to me so i drained the coolant and added a gallon of fresh coolant. last night it got really cold again -10... before i started the car i squeezed the rad. hose to make sure it wasn't frozen, started up and warmed up fine, it just doesn't want to blow out very warm air.

is it possible that the water froze around the water pump and when i started it, the water pump fins broke off, and now it is not effective in circulating the coolant?

basically i would like to know if there is an easy way to test it without tearing the side of the engine apart.

also if it helps the car hasn't overheated and i have had it idling for at least 20min at a time as well as drive it for 20-30 min, but like i said it is really cold here (15deg. high) so maybe the cold is keeping it from overheating.

anyhelp would be great
Danny


Modified by Next GenRacing at 8:43 PM 12/8/2005

 

Check your heater valve in engine compartment back left side. Check to see if it is open. Have someone move the temp switch for you. Is your blower motor working. Must be if blowing out air.
Heater core could be bad but unlikely.

As far as testing other than valve not sure. You can move the valve by hand if you have to, to open it. It will be under intake manifold about half way down. 2 black hoses going into your firewall.

Hope this helps.

 

Well i checked the valve and it is opening and closing, at least the linkage is moving, i am doubtful that the vavle itself is bad, is that a common part to go out on these cars?

thanks
Danny

 

thremostat

 

the thermostat could be sticking open ,,,,, And it is very very rare that the fins on the pump broke off..i have only seen it once , the fins were corroded and eaten partially off ,,but i doubt it if that is the problem u are having.. make sure rad cap is ok as well..,,,,,,, also feel the hose going into the heater valve if it feels hot then u got an issue with heater valve or cable adjustment , if warm or cool , replace t-stat

 

Another vote for Mr Thermostat. The candidate of choice.

If the water pump goes south, it does it in two ways.
1) Impeller shaft bearing failure - makes a growling noise
2) Impeller shaft seal failure - leaks when engine is off, cold and de-pressurized. (you come out in the morning to a coolant puddle under the l/s of the engine)

I have yet to see an erroded impeller on a Honda water pump.

The mark of a stuck open thermostat?, engine warms up fine at idle, yet cools off while moving. My wife had one in her '89 Coupe and could drive all day (in winter) and never have it warm up.

P

 

This is the easiest way to tell if your tstat is at faul without opening up the cooling system

1. start car and warm it up. Do you get heat if yes go to step 2 otherwise see below

2. Drive around do you loose heat at highway speed? If yes go to step 3, otherwise see below

3. Does the the Torque converter lockup or are the rpms higher than normal if the answer is no and yes, replace tstat and plower flush the system.

If you do not have heat, check and make sure there are no leaks and the system is properly bleed. Afterwards, drive car and check for proper operation.


If your water pump goes out, your car will overheat due to lack of coolant circulation.

 

the thing is that it will warm up to normal operating temp just fine and stay there even while i am driving. i have a 3 hour jount ahead of me tonight i will check and see if works anybetter then..

thermostat does make sense, because its a gen 2 (sticks open not shut... supposedly) i replaced it like 5 months ago is the thing.

let me know what you think.
Danny

 

I would vote the thermostate also. don't know if Honda has different temperature thermostats, but if they do, and you live in a relatively colder area, like northeast, put in the highest temperature thermostat they offer and it will give you heat faster. It may run slightly hotter in the summer. the other choice is to REMOVE the thermostat and put it in a glass with very, very cold water and see if it closes. If it does NOT close, that is you answer, it is the thermostat. If the thermostat is always open you have to heat ALL the water in the radiator and engine to get heat and that is hard since the cooling system is always cooling that water. With the thermostat closed, you heat the water in the engine first, since it is closed off from the radiator. The thermostat then opens mixes in some colder water and it closes again. In this way you only have to heat the water in the engine block to get heat since this is the water that the heater fan pulls air across. Hope I did not insult your intelligence here friend.

 

well it's not the water pump cause i just checked that, and its not the t-stat cause i drove it 3 hours on friday in 20 deg weather and it stayed right at normal opperating temp the whole time.

what i did find is that if i turn the temp to all the way cold and then turn it to hot again it will warm up pretty good for about 1-5 min then it will cool down again. i pulled the heater valve and it looked fine, i mean it would open all the way and close all the way.

i am out of ideas. any help would be awesome.
Danny