The last time I drove my 93 Civic the heat never worked, and in about 10 minutes the coolant needle went all the way up to just under the top of the gauge, so I took it home and parked it. I noticed there was a little coolant on the ground, not much and I looked at the hose going from the head to the top of the radiator and it wasn't collapsed so I don't think the coolant is gone/drained. Without getting under the car, I couldn't see any coolant leaking anywhere. Would this mean the thermostat is stuck closed? It's like -4 degrees out and I don't feel like dicking with it until it is kinda warm outside, but any pointers would help. I've never had a coolant problem with any car I have had, thank God, until now.

 

Well one quick check for the thermo is turn the car on, when the car is about normal temp the thermo should open and the lower radiator hose will warm up (thermo opens and allows coolant to flow through lower hose). So if your hose is not getting hot then the thermo is not opening

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Civicman86 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well one quick check for the thermo is turn the car on, when the car is about normal temp the thermo should open and the lower radiator hose will warm up (thermo opens and allows coolant to flow through lower hose). So if your hose is not getting hot then the thermo is not opening</TD></TR></TABLE>

That sounds like an easy test. Thanks for the fast reply.