i got the pressure test on my cooling system today and realized that none of the hoses were leaking. the mechanic said its most likely the heater core then. he told me when those ***** die out,they tend to leak coolant,and given the location of where it drips,he told me that the core leaks onto a tray which carries out the fluid. a whole bunch of other **** was said,but lemme get back to what i done after i got home.

i searched on HT and CB7tuners and found that the heater core ALSO can contribute to an over-heating problem. which i've had for awhile now,and i've been posting about it since. also i read that if the heater core is broken,you'll get no HEAT when its turned on. well,she blast HOT f-ing HEAT,so i guess its not BROKEN BROKEN. its just dying i guess? well,im looking for a new one now,but if you suggest the local junkyard,give me a series of things to look for in a used heater core.

 

I realize all too well that most all of us are on really strict budgets.
That being said; I'd like for you to consider using a new (replacement) Heater Core, rather than a Salvage Yard special.
http://replacement.autopartswa...=true
Now b4 you start accusing me of insensitivity, let me continue....
My reasoning???
**You don't really know the condition of the Salvage Yard item (Cracked? Clogged? Corroded?) It's an 'unknown' factor.
**You don't want to do this job twice. (Believe me) Finding the used unit leaking after you just installed it is often enough to make you sell the car

P

 

me? accuse you of insensitivity? never that my kraaaaaaaaaaanstin fellow. i value your two cents along with desert honda and hondatechpro and a few others who i shall apologize in BOLD for forgetting their names at the moment. i did have the fear of getting a bad USED one. so i just asked INCASE theres a way to shop for those used ones. i mean,why should i get a bad one and post another ewwwwwwwww thread? good looking out though.

 

Hey, The best consumers / customers are informed consumer / customers !!

My sage advise wouldn't be worth much if I didn't warn of the pratfalls as well, now would it?

Cheers

P

 

P_Adams is the way to go!


but can someone address one of my Q's?


can this heater core problem be contributing to my over-heating problem? i didnt get to check the t-stat,but i will replace that **** anyway since its like 20bucks.

 

i am assuming car is leaking coolant.........where is the leak at?? if it is inside the car most likel;y heater core,,,,,,,,,,if leak is in engine compartment most likely NOT the heater core

 

Hate to tell you but the heater core would leak onto your floor not into the condensation tray below your evaporator (a/c).
Considering you mentioned no visible leak and an overheating problem you may have a blown head gasket.
Easiest and most fun test: Top off your coolant, leave the radiator cap off and start the car for no more than 3 seconds. If you see old faithful coming out of your radiator you definately have a blown head gasket.

 

or have a shop do a leakage test.to determine it,,,,,,,,,,,,Yo Thunder what exactly is the problem????? coolant leak ? overheating?? or both ??.. let me know and i will tell you step by step how to diagnose problem,,

 

sorry i just expected you to remember my past problems. i apologize for that.

i had a overheating problem since i was given the car. i said she rises to like 75% and thats not normal because i've driven this car waaaaay before and it was straight. well this problem still occurs. sometimes even when i drive for short distances. but now,i noticed the coolant leaking and i've given pictures already. the coolant isnt INSIDE the car and he told me because the car has a tray beneath the core. and its the tray that dumps the coolant outside,under my car. <u>have i EVER noticed coolant leaking before? no. EVER or ANYWHERE. so as of now,i have BOTH problems.</u>

its midnight and my head hurts,im sorry,i will return in the morning to clarify anything. PM me all Q's or reply in here. im trying to get a circuit tester to test my fan because i read they should BOTH kick on to cool the car at all times. to be on the safe side i'll do that. oh and a/c doesnt make ANY of my fans run.

 

i posted this in the other thread. incase anyone missed it:


well he told me when i turn the heat on,the coolant will flow and end up leaking. and i did notice on days i didnt use heat,i found no puddles after i let her sit in the parking spot for hours. that picture i took today(before i hit the shop) was just to show what i SUSPECT to be the problem. i showed him on my digi-cam and he said bypass hose possibility. but when we went under the hood he said it isnt because he said if its leaking from there,coolant would rest above the valve. PLEASE,feel free to speak more on this subject because i do value your opinion.


https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1458198

 

If it's outside of the car you should be able to have it running with the heat on and be able to see the leak. The hour of the night is effecting me too. The usual culprit is the heater control valve.

 

mind getting me a picture of the heater control valve? i didnt know anything about the HEAT being on causing the leak until today. i plan on checking it out tomorrow. also P_Adams mentioned that he suspected a messed up hot water control valve to be the culprit in the link provided above. believe me i am taking everything said into consideration and i am watching. tomorrow HOPEFULLY i find out.

 

ok Thunder we are going to do this 1 step at a time it might take a few posts,, but here we go................

if coolant leak IS NOT inside car i would be surprised as hell if the heater core was leaking .. so lets forget heater core issue for now........the overheating could be because with the coolant leak you might be low on coolant and car overheats............
Lets diagnose the overheat , and chk for the leak ,, before you start the car clean out the area where you suspect the leak to be at ..

# 1 make sure you got planty of coolant in the car.. bleed system..
# 2 do a visual inspection of the radiator cap if rubber gasket is cracked. torn replace it ,, if you have a pressure tester test the cap it might not hold pressure thus could cause an overheat problem.. ,, assuming cap is ok....
# 3 start car up. let it warm up,, chk if u got a coolant leak at the area you suspect.. ,,,,,,,,, when car is warmed up,, feel the lower radiator hose it should feel hot but not as hot as upper hose ,, If lower hose feels hot then thermostat has opened properly ,,, if lowr hose feels warm or cool, then t-stat is not operating properly, replace t-stat and gasket ,, t-stat is located at the end of lower radiator hose ...
# 3 assuming t-stat issue is ok or repaired.. when engine is hot BOTH fans should come on .... if fans come on look at the temp gauge inside car it should be at around 1/2 .............If fan ( s) do not come on , while car is running get a big scredriver and bang on the fan motor ,,if fan comes on you got a bad motor replace accordingly.........if fan still does not come on,, chk fuses and relays if both are ok,, at themostat housing there is a green plug 2 wires going to it .. car still running jump the 2 wires together if fans come on you got a bad fan swtich replace it ...
if fans still do not come on,,, disconnect the plug at fan motor chk to make sure you are getting power and ground ,, if you get neither there is an issue with wiring . try those and let me know results,,, after car is off let it sit for a while and recheck heater valve for coolant leak ....

fans not working with a/c could be a total different issue........we will worry about that later ...

 

Both valves P-Adams and I mentioned are the same thing. Rather than tax my slow connection further. Find your heater hoses on the left side of your engine compartment in the back and look for a plastic box with a cable attached to it in the middle of one of your hoses. P_Adams should give you a picture shortly...

 

# 1 make sure you got planty of coolant in the car.. bleed system..

coolant is plenty now and has been dripping just DROPS now. i guess because i barely have the heater on. (past 2days)


# 2 do a visual inspection of the radiator cap if rubber gasket is cracked. torn replace it ,, if you have a pressure tester test the cap it might not hold pressure thus could cause an overheat problem.. ,, assuming cap is ok....

the same pressure tester used on my radiator can be used on the cap too? i'll have to head back to the shop again for free. let me say,in the morning when i open the cap i notice coolant just sitting at the neck level. isnt that bad?


# 3 start car up. let it warm up,, chk if u got a coolant leak at the area you suspect.. ,,,,,,,,, when car is warmed up,, feel the lower radiator hose it should feel hot but not as hot as upper hose ,, If lower hose feels hot then thermostat has opened properly ,,, if lowr hose feels warm or cool, then t-stat is not operating properly, replace t-stat and gasket ,, t-stat is located at the end of lower radiator hose ...

ok,tomorrow i will let her warm up and check LOWER HOSE to see if its WARM or COOL. but on the 1990 the t-stat is at the end of the LOWER hose? in the other thread they kept saying its upper hose. i do notice those two green plugs/switches by the end of the upper hose though. anyway,i'll check the warmth of the lower hose.

the fan issue i'll check later because my day leaves me very few time to be outdoors. let alone working on my car. but a picture of the heater control valve would be nice. im assuming its near the firewall? then again im most likely wrong,like always. THANKS ALOT I SERIOUSLY MEAN IT!

 

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

ok,tomorrow i will let her warm up and check LOWER HOSE to see if its WARM or COOL. but on the 1990 the t-stat is at the end of the LOWER hose? in the other thread they kept saying its upper hose. i do notice those two green plugs/switches by the end of the upper hose though. anyway,i'll check the warmth of the lower hose.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

thunder . no offense to other people but they are WRONG ,, 90 acc the t-stat is located at the end of the lower radiator hose.........

also the green plug you are mentioning at the end of the TOP radiator hose it is to make fan come on once engine has been shut off ..............the plug that controls fan operation of the fans while car is running is located at thermostat housing ...

 

Desert Honda and P_Adam's most hated newbie of the year........


Gee thanks guys,,,,

 

Hated? Far from it.
I'll take as much time as you need to help find the problem (as would deserthonda as well).
Believe me, if there was any animosity involved; you'd surely know it.
Posts would go unanswered
disparaging remarks would abound

So cheer up, you're certainly not on the Sh..T List YET.

P

 

Oh, and here's your picture (as It Is)

http://www.hondaautomotivepart...VALVE

P

 

sig is a joke. not hated,maybe more of a PITB.

but i checked the lower hose after i drove for about 20minutes or more. it seemed warm. no where close to hot. the fan was on at the time aswell so it might of cooled it down. but it was far from hot. anyway,i woke up and noticed coolant in the area i highlighted in my picture. so that assumption i had before is actually a fact now. its coolant on that area,not oil.(as the mech. claimed) well coolant didnt seem to LOOK like it was from the hose and im guessing the valve? i'll get a picture again soon. all those other things slipped my mind today,but i'll keep at it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Thunder Cat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sig is a joke. not hated,maybe more of a PITB.

but i checked the lower hose after i drove for about 20minutes or more. it seemed warm. no where close to hot. the fan was on at the time aswell so it might of cooled it down. but it was far from hot. anyway,i woke up and noticed coolant in the area i highlighted in my picture. so that assumption i had before is actually a fact now. its coolant on that area,not oil.(as the mech. claimed) well coolant didnt seem to LOOK like it was from the hose and im guessing the valve? i'll get a picture again soon. all those other things slipped my mind today,but i'll keep at it.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

if lower hose wqs just warm your t-stat is not opening up fully replace t-stat....As for the fans you said fan was on ?? only 1 fan ?? after replacing t-stat ,run car again and let me know if BOTH fans come on ,,, I would fix the coolant leak at the same time that way you dont have to use coolant 2 times ..

 

same picture. same yellow perimeter,but this time i added GREEN for the areas i saw bits of coolant sitting there. and the GREEN X is a question: can that cause coolant to leak? since the hose didnt leak during a pressure test?

yes,only the passenger side fan as always. driver side stayed off. tomorrow i will warm up the car without driving her and once shes sitting at her normal level i'll test the hose. just incase me driving in the cold and the fan cooled her off made the hose feel warm. but either way i plan to replace the t-stat in the near future.

 

bump. btw is that hose actually called a heater hose and NOT a bypass hose?

 

I believe you're looking at the hose connected to the hot water control valve. Yup, the stamped steel shield your little yellow X rests on is part of the hot water valve's body..

P

 

so that hose is called what? cause ima check it out for frays later on and then get it replaced if needed.