for about a week now my cars temp gauge been being wierd on me tell'n me somethings wrong but i dont know what it is..iwhen i start up the car and drive n the morning the needle will stay below C for a few minutes but then will go to the middle..i havent pushed my car for a while now but usually when i merge on the freeway the needle would climb to about 3/4 the gauge almost hitting H..i changed radiators putting a SI radiator/hose..( i have a d series..if it matters)..thought i'd fix it but it happen again today..it use to happen alot with my old radiator but today was the first time since i changed the radiator 3 days ago..anione know what could be the problem..sorrie so long

 

I'm assuming you have replaced the radiator fluid. Try replacing your thermostat.

 

yea i flushed the radiator and all..what exactly does a thermostat do other then just tell the temp? why are there low temp thermostats for?

 

It tells the coolant pump how much coolant to flow through bases on how hot/cold the engine is.

That's why it's important.

 

shouldnt stock radiator be ok with boost though?

 

You may have a stuck thermostat. I would change it as cheap insurance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm assuming you have replaced the radiator fluid. Try replacing your thermostat.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, whenever you take out your radiator replace your thermostat.

9 times out of 10 **** that gets clogged in the rad falls out and clogs up your thermostat making a jammed thermostat after you change your rad.

Most definitely a broken thermostat, change it out .

 

I agree, clogged t-stat. Get it changed and go from there. Another thought that crossed my mind, which you can take care of when you change the t-stat is did you bleed the air out of the system when you did the radiator? If you have pockets of air in there that's probably what the system is hitting when you hit the temperature spike. Good luck.

 

is a thermostat something i can pick up at a local auto store? if yes..would they only sell stock ones or could i get low temp ones? when i order it i'll ask how to install..but i'll take it slow for now

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krazyhmongboi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is a thermostat something i can pick up at a local auto store? if yes..would they only sell stock ones or could i get low temp ones? when i order it i'll ask how to install..but i'll take it slow for now </TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com

 

yes you can get them at a local parts store.

but honda oem are pretty cheap anyways.

they are really easy to change.

all you need is a bucket to catch coolant, a 10 or 12mm socket (Cant remember)

undo 2 bolts on thermostat housing, pay attention to how the thermostat goes in. put new thermostat in, put bolts back in.

add more coolant, bleed the sytem, drive and test

 

if you want to check your thermostat, fill up a small pot with water and boil it with the thermostat, when it gets to the right temp it will open...give it a few min, but it really sounds like thats what your prob is..

 

how do u bleed the the system..im gonna pic up the thermo soon and wanna do it all instead of ask'n when i need it

 

there should be a bleeder valve on the front of the block beside the radiator hose inlet

 

iunno but maybe i dont know what im look'n for when it comes to the bleeder valve..but i changed the thermostat with a low temp
(170 degrees)..and still same thing happen'n..but today on my way to work it climbed the red line H..no smoke or anithing..but i got skared pulled over and went home to get another car..ani one have pics and a how to on bleeding?

 

You want to be really careful using that bleeder valve because if you try putting it back in as the fluid starts spilling out then you will end up stripping it... hot aluminum is not a wise thing to play with. If you run the motor at say 2500 rpms and watch the temp gauge then you can massage the upper radiator hose and check to see if fluid is passing through it once the motor has reached operating temperature. If the motor temp is continuing to rise and you can't feel fluid passing through then it is a stuck closed t-stat so replace it. If you can feel the fluid passing through the upper radiator hose then most likely you don't have a bad t-stat and you simply have air bubbles which are most likely in the heater core. Run the motor with the heat on full blast and see if any heat is coming through the vents. If the heat ain't that hot then you've got air bubbles in the system. Just continually squeeze the upper radiator hose and watch the temp gauge shutting it down when it gets too hot. Two to three cycles of that should clear your air bubble. Make sure to check your fluid reservoir level while doing this process. If your fluid level is dramatically low (like empty) when you check it in the morning then there is the possibility of a water pump gone bad though that usually results in an almost instantaneous overheat... Hope that helps.

 

it does help..but where's the bleeder valve?..i've alreadie replaced the thermo just in case..heat comes through the vents normally..thats why im confused..sigh

 

There are very few parts pertaining to your cooling system and if one malfunctions it usually gives a tell-tale sign. My guess is you need to power flush your system. If you pick up a Haynes manual for $20 that will give you proper instructions on doing so (I really don't want to type all of that out not to mention it will have pics of the bleeder valve). My only other guesses are 1) you got a bad radiator that's not doing a proper cooling job and I have seen that happen more than once with used radiator purchases or 2) perhaps your engine temp sensor has gone bad though that's an unlikely event to occur directly after changing a radiator.

If you purchased the radiator used I would suggest a refund and possibly a new one. Radiators can be fickle when spray painted black as some manufacturers do because the paint coating actually takes away from the cooling properties of the radiator. On a stock application this would be far less notable but in an application such as a turbo charged motor where excessive heat can be found then it might be just the kick your motor needed to overheat. I have no idea about your recently purchased radiator but thought I could suggest multiple options just in case one might help. I have no idea on how to test an engine temp sensor other than a laser light temp sensor from an autoparts store (I think they run around $25 but don't quote me) and to run your motor to see if the temp gauge is continually going up without the motor temp actually rising.

A word of advice on the low temp t-stats... back in the day a lower temp t-stat was typically used thinking a lower running temp would be beneficial to the motor. Motors actually perform their best at temperatures above 170 degrees and have better gas milage as well. Running a lower temp t-stat in a non-race car (daily driven) where the motor is not constantly being pushed to it's limit can actually cause pinging in the motor and massively reduce fuel economy as well as power.
Again... I hope this helps and good luck. I'll check back in with you soon.

 

^^yea it helps

so i bled the system..still the same..i guess i'll just go buy a new radiator..man...cars are never ending money pits

 

why dont you look further into it, or take it somewhere to be diagnosed instead of just guessing.. guessing = moneypit there are more things to look at then just your radiator and thermo.. for instance is your fan coming on? have you pressure tested the system to see if you have a small leak somewhere? how does the fluid in your overflow tank look when the car is running? ..dont rush, thats all im saying

 

overheating eh?? welcome to the club

 

i know the fan is coming in..imma drain it all and test it again tomarrow and see what happens =/

 

ya check to see the coolent bottle is not empty... there might be a leek or somthing.. since your boosted might i asked did u upgrade your headgasket??

 

if it only overheats in 5th gear, under load - then it's the problem in ignition timing...


so check the sparks, cables...try to get the same sort of sparks that are writen in your Honda book, under the hood & on the plastic cover of the timing belt...you can only get 1 or 2 grades colder plugs for tunned car in NGK nomenclature, in Denso it's 2 or 4 grades!!

go to mechanic to check the other parts for ignition system!

 

im not shure if it overheats only in 5th because most of my driving is free-way miles..and lets say on the on-ramp it'll get hotter..then as i drive..it'll get almost to H...today i saw a puddle of fluid so imma just check it all out tomarrow..how should i check the radiator to see if its good?..just put water through it and see if ani leaks?