So i bought a new car about a month ago. So far I have put a lot of time and money into it to fix all the problems the previous owner did to it.

Here is the problem i just ran into. On my way home, I noticed my car was getting hotter than usual. Its winter, and my temp guage should not be coming up.
Well, i popped the hood and looked around. I noticed the overflow tank was completely full. My first thoughts was the thermostat was stuck closed, causing the cooling system to not flow. I put in a new one, and still have the same problem.
My car is a d16y8 motor, with a greddy turbo.

Any ideas what could be the problem?

 

replace the radiator cap

 

Check your cooling system for a flow. If u got a flow then you know its not ur water pump. If you got no flow in your cooling system then ur water pump took a dump.

 

is cooling fan werkin ?

 

if you cap is broke you system will not pressurize to 15psi.. and this will cause gas to be in your system and you overflow tank will fill up.. the over flow tank hold some pressure that why its not running all out

 

ok, i have a spare car, im going to switch the cap now. How can i easily check for flow in my cooling system???

but i want to add one other thing. When i replaced my thermostat, i went to check the overflow, and it was fuller again, so i pulled the cap off, and i could hear plenty of pressure come out as i slowly took the cap off, and then i can see that the rad is low on coolant again.


one more thing: I can hear a loud grinding noise. The car always did it since i bought it (something in the tranny) it goes away when i press the clutch in, TO bearing or something.. but anyway, it seemed to get a lot louder now too. Almost sounds like a supercharger when i take off.


And i can notice the upper hose is hot, and the lower hose is not hot. Thats why i thought it was the pump.

 

to check for flow wait till your car gets a little warm and grab the upper radiator hose
you should be able to feel water running through it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chacha123 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to check for flow wait till your car gets a little warm and grab the upper radiator hose
you should be able to feel water running through it
</TD></TR></TABLE>

If the water pump went out, would coolant really fill up the overflow tank?

 

sound to me like you have a blown head gasket
is your uppen radiator hose swelling up when it overheats?

 

Water pumps don't really go bad. "Bad" to a water pump is a leak. I've never heard of a honda water pump losing an impeller. If the bearings go out, you have more to worry about because the water pump is driven by the timing belt. Easy enough to tell of it's the pump. Pull out the stat, refill it with water and start the car. You'll see the water flowing in the radiator if the pump's working.

My first guess would be head gasket. It the stat was stuck closed, you wouldn't get too far. It would't just run "hotter".

Have a garage check the rediator for combustion gases. If you have them, you need a new HG.

 

looks at your dip stick.. what color is your oil?.. is it milky

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gezzuzz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">looks at your dip stick.. what color is your oil?.. is it milky</TD></TR></TABLE>
x2 agreed

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gezzuzz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">looks at your dip stick.. what color is your oil?.. is it milky</TD></TR></TABLE>

oil is NOT milky. Looks fine. I have the valve cover off right now too, and see no signs of nay coolant mixing with the oil anywhere.

 

since you replace the raditor cap did you try to see if was still doing it?

 

no, i haven't done that yet. The loud grinding noice scares me though, but it really seems tranny related, cause it stops when i press the clutch in. Im going to put the valve cover back on, put a new cap on, and try driving it around a little.

 

fill your radaitor up and bleed it if you can

 

ok, just got back. Still did it with the different cap on it. filled the over flow right up. I noticed i had heat at higher rpms, but if i was slowing down, or just sitting, there wasn't as much heat.
Also i have some pictures coming, looks like exhaust gases might be getting into the coolant cause the coolant in the tank looks gross.
---------&gt; also, the upper hose was very very hot, and pretty much buldging, and the lower hose was still pretty much cold.

 

click for a bigger pic (in the first pic, you can see the crap in the coolant. Looks like little black flakes. Gives me the impression its exhaust gases, and all this excess pressure from the exhaust gases is over loading the cooling system, causing to just all go into the overflow tank, and not back through the whole system.

 

you have some major problems..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gezzuzz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you have some major problems..</TD></TR></TABLE>

yea, no kidding.... im gonna call around tomorrow for a new head gasket. But im not gonna drive it anymore. Im pretty sure the previous owner is gonna hear from me. SO far this car has been just one big headache. At least im fixing it all, instead of just leaving it like they did. Here is what the car looks like on the outside:

 

ok, here is my other option: I have a doner car. Its a 1998 civic HX. It has the d16y5 vtec-e motor. Should i just swap this motor into the car? Or fix all the problems with my y8?

 

fix the problems
sounds like u have a warped head
take the head off
resurface it
new headgasket
boom
done

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chacha123 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">fix the problems
sounds like u have a warped head
take the head off
resurface it
new headgasket
boom
done</TD></TR></TABLE>

warped head? yea, maybe. I head gasket doesn't just usually go without some kind of overheating or something. And my motor is turbocharged. I am probbaly going to take it to a machine shop anyway just to get it checked, and then if its warped, ill get it resurfaced. Its not that expensive anyway.
Anyone have any advice on what head gasket to buy? cosmetic any good? they are expensive, i just want to do it right now and not have it blow out again in the future.


Modified by 92hatchy at 8:05 AM 1/11/2007

 

Go Cometic or OEM. If you pull the head your gonna have to take it to the machine shop to atleast have it surfaced. Just tell them to check it while they have it.

What kind of miles do you have on the motor? My guess is the old owner just beat the hell out of that motor and then when it was boosted just kicked that head gasket in the nuts.

Replace it and have the head surfaced or milled if you have to and you'll be good to go. If you have the money get some ARP head studs.

 

Now that you tell us you're boosted, it makes the blown HG even more likely. Don't get the head milled if it doesn't need it. It retards the cam timing every time you mill the block or head so, it's to be avoided if you can. I think Honda says, toss the head if it's bent more than .008".