I'm having overheating issues. I've tried searching and it seems to be one of these two problems, the thermostat or waterpump and I'm just not sure which one it is. I'll be driving and then my car overheats. The lower radiator hose is cold while the top radiator hose is about to explode. I'll squeeze both the hoses a few times and then the car will run fine afterwards. I've been doing this everyday for about a week now and it's getting annoying. Any suggestions???

 

thermostat...it's not opening = cold lower hose. get one from honda...it's like 15 and it takes 20 mins to install

 

to find out for sure you can cut the center of you thermostat out and run it. See if the hose warms up. If it does it was your thermostat, if condition persists it's in your water pump or you have other problems (crack block/head/blown headgasket)

 

it's a thermostat...just replace it. when you squeeze the hose, it pops it open and cools off. that's why it runs fine. if it was a bhg, you'd know. it'd run like *** and smoke like a ****. if it was a water pump, it wouldn't cool off at all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCejcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thermostat...it's not opening = cold lower hose. get one from honda...it's like 15 and it takes 20 mins to install </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the t-stat allows the water to circulate to the rest of the engine...if it's not opening, it builds up (expands) inside the rad system, that's why the top one "feels like it's about to explode" - replace the T-stat and you'll be fine, 12.00 and 15 .... 30 MAX on an install...

good luck..

PS:
I've replaced too many t-stats b/c whenever I expletive up a radiator (which is more often than it should be) I have to pull and like, 9 times out of 10 when you pull an old radiator the **** goes into the t-stat and cloggs it then the t-stat goes bad also....blah, bullshit....yeah that's not important at all I just thought u should know that

 

Sorry to sort of jack a thread but, I have somewhat of a similar situation. When driving, the car runs normal op. temp. When at a stop sign/light, or sitting for 5/10 minutes, runs fine. But if I park it and it sits for like 20-25 minutes, no reving, just letting it idle, the temp goes to normal temp, then slowly starts to climb to mid temp, and then about 1/2" away from the H on hot...I'm just a little worried that it may be something major. If it's a t-stat or something, no biggie but I'm worried about cracked block/head gasket/water pump. Any input?

P.S. 99 Civic EX, D16Y8 motor.

EDIT* Cooling fan seems to kick on like normal

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bart2546 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sorry to sort of jack a thread but, I have somewhat of a similar situation. When driving, the car runs normal op. temp. When at a stop sign/light, or sitting for 5/10 minutes, runs fine. But if I park it and it sits for like 20-25 minutes, no reving, just letting it idle, the temp goes to normal temp, then slowly starts to climb to mid temp, and then about 1/2" away from the H on hot...I'm just a little worried that it may be something major. If it's a t-stat or something, no biggie but I'm worried about cracked block/head gasket/water pump. Any input?

P.S. 99 Civic EX, D16Y8 motor.

EDIT* Cooling fan seems to kick on like normal </TD></TR></TABLE>

The T-stat's like 12 bucks....replace it and see what's up...also check your coolant level, doubt that's it but ya never know...

BTW: Where do you get the free gas from?....y'kno? When ur car's idling for 25 minutes

just playin wit ya, check the anti-freeze (when it's COLD, not while the engine's warm) and change the t-stat, see where you're at, also mgiht wanna make sure ur fan is kicking on (should kick on in &lt;10 min after idling).

 

I did check the coolant, not loosing any, and it doesn't feel/look like my hoses are under more pressure than normal but I'll go with the t-stat and see what happens, it's worth it for 12 bucks and 20 minutes, it'll need it eventually anyway. Thanks!

 

how's your radiator look? usually after so many miles of driving, they get a little beat up and the exposed fins get pushed shut, so it won't get that much airflow. driving get's more airflow than the fan pulling air while sitting, that's why it'll get warm.

 

Thanks, I'll inspect that a little closer, it didn't look too beat up before but I only did a once-over glance.