1997 Accord EX VTEC

I recently purchased this car with a little over 90k on it. I took it to the mechanic for the whole 90k maintanence (coolant flush, water pump, timing belt, trans flush, etc.). After getting it back I noticed my temp guage was approaching red when idle, but when driving (or simply reving the engine) it went back down to normal temp. I took it back to them and they said they had to bleed air out and it should be fine now. Still...would overheat if idle or low speed. Brought it back Again, they replaced the thermostat (said it had fallen apart). Took it home drove fine for about a week and now temp slowly rising again. I researched online and tried to bleed the system myself. I opened the radiator cap and let it run it burped up alot of coolant, and I kept refilling it. The problem is that it continued for a whiiiiile. I emptied about 3/4 gallon of coolant into the radiator before giving up and going inside. When I put the cap back on and drove around it seemed fine...let it sit idle for a while and the temp seemed ok? I have been researching and it seems to me I have some symptoms of a blown head gasket? What do you all think?? I do not see any coolant in oil or oil in coolant, exhaust is good, had it looked at by mechanic 3times now and they have not mentioned the head??? Im starting to think this mechanic is not very good...any help would be grealy appreciated.

 

I recommend taking your vehicle to your local Honda dealership for diagnostics. Yes, the techs are probably flat rate and the dealership shop rate is expensive, but I always say that sometimes "cheap is expensive".

 

Yea, I may end up doing just that. I just wanted to try and troubleshoot it myself and rule out some possibilities before bringing it in there.

 

I'm having similar problems with my 96 Lx

First off, I would say don't go to that shop ever again. Any "mechanic" who would flush a coolant system and replace a water pump without so much as looking at the thermostat would scare me.

If the thermostat had indeed fallen apart then it's possible that any pieces that came off could have damaged the new water pump that he put in. My temp gauges would fluctuate when I revved the motor before I changed my water pump (just got done today). Oddly enough my temp gauge isn't working correctly now. It slowly goes to hot and just stays there. So that's why I say this:

You're first course of action should be to attain an aftermarket temp gauge or one of those radiator caps with the built in thermometer and see if the temp is actually getting too high or if you just have a problem somewhere between the temp sensor and the gauge.

If that doesn't help then I would agree with phootbag and say find a real honda tech.


Good luck

 

btw: do you have to add any radiator coolant every once in a while?

if so....

pressure test your radiator, it will show you some leaks if you have them, radiator top plastic tank seams sometimes leak, but you can't see them while its hot, but leak is their.

before you jump in to Head gasket - do that test -
then do a cylinder presser test -

oh..also check your radiator fan and its switch, make sure they come ON, then check your temperature sending unit for proper function

again check your coolant see if you have any oil in it
again check your oil see if you have water in it.

do you see any white smoke coming out from the tail pipe ?
smell them and see if you get any sweetness....lol

 

I too have same problem. (92 Accord LX)

Car was getting hot had it checked. The shop replaced radiator said it was fine. I took it home it seemed fine that day. Then the next day it seemed to get hotter than normal. I took it to another shop. He replaced the thermostat and water pump as well as timing belts and top hose. It seemed fine again for a day now same again. It is not boiling hot but it is going 3/4 to Hot on gauge. If RPM is at idle temp. goes up. If RPM is faster than idle temp. stays cool. Do you think problem is head gasket? Or maybe something else?
Same as other post, oil looks fine. I of course will be taking back to mechanic on Monday for them to look over again. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

To get coolant in the oil the headgasket has to be leaking from a coolant passage to an oil passage. Blown headgaskets dont always let coolant into the oil. Usually blown headgaskets fail between cylinders which happen to cross coolant passages. A shop with a smog machine should be able to "sniff" the radiator for the presence of Hydrocarbons. I prefer this method for checking for blown headgaskets. If the car is overheating because of this, then you know that the combustoin gases are entering the cooling system and a "sniff" would show it.

 

u would be smokin out the exhaust if the headgasket was blown-that would allow coolant to get into the combustion chamber....youd be smokin out the tailpipe

 

now make sure you have that radiator fan is running, when engine is supper hot.

please update your posts with more info - I really like to know why is getting hot too.

I had the same issue in the past, but mine was just a radiator it self leaking (but no one can see water anywhere, until we pressure test)....

I strongly believe you guys have defective cooling systems.

 

yeah, my coolant consumption was due to the radiator splitting ever so slightly. I could barely see the crack and didn't even notice it until it got bigger. I ran the car for a few months burning coolant without noticing it. Pressure test is not necessary.. just visually inspect the thing. It seems radiators mostly break on the upper plastic part because that's what becomes brittle over time. Temporary fix its are a shitty idea.. if you do find out it's the radiator. The radiator cracked for a reason, because the plastic all over is becoming brittle.

 

well if you check the system itself and it is all good check the hoses, theres only two of them on the radiator