ok so i just got my lsvtec swap in my crx about 5 months ago everything has been running perfect then out of nowhere when i come to a stop sign or redlight the engine temp starts goin up then when i take off it goes back to normal..... i popped my hood today to find my overflow tank filled to the top and radiator fluid all over the side of the engine bay so i bled the system to get all the air out.. there was some air bubbles so i thought everything was good..... then i let the car warm up for a bout 15 minutes it stays at normal temp but overflow tank is still overflowing everywhere.... any ideas..... i dont wanna go buy a thermostat if there is no need to change it... pls help


Modified by jdmb16ef8 at 4:49 PM 4/2/2008

 

I'd say headgasket..but thats my internet diag!


Dutch

 

Are you geting any exhaust smoke? If so, it could be a headgasket.

 

lol, just a few seconds too late!

 

is the fan turning on? id say thermostat, and its cheap and easy to change out. theyre like 5 bucks at pepboys.

 

If only at stop, that means you're overheating all the time, but the airflow over your radiator is holding it in check. Along with the other guys, hows the HG?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dr_latino999 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If only at stop, that means you're overheating all the time, but the airflow over your radiator is holding it in check. Along with the other guys, hows the HG?</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dr_latino999 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If only at stop, that means you're overheating all the time, but the airflow over your radiator is holding it in check. Along with the other guys, hows the HG?</TD></TR></TABLE>

and which one did you use? Ls? or GSR/b16?

 

ok so its def not head gasket absolutly no smoke from exhaust, thermostat opens, fan turns on, hoses build pressure, but i noticed my coolant is orange so i did a full flush of the system sat there and let the hose run through my rad until the water was crystal clear coming out (took almost 30 min for all the orange color to go away) i filled it with fresh coolant and bled system again car stays at normal temp at stops and overflow tank stopped bubbling over so im guessing it was juss some blockage in the coolant system but i dunno for sure until i drive it for a while, i'll keep you guys posted thank you for all the help and ideas...

 

head gasket doesn't necessary need to have smoke coming from exhaust. I had that happen b4. there was a slight hair line crack on mines and it did the same thing. at stops it would start to overheat. Figured it out after i replaced the thermostat, thermo switch and radiator. It didn't cure it but I had brand new parts.

i hope you fixed it thou.

 

Im surprised no one suggested that it might be the water pump.

 

yeah that orange coolant is called dexcool, they put it in gm's and should not be in hondas. it can stop up a bunch of **** in your car, or any car really. ive seen alot of heater cores even in gm's get stopped up because dexcool just builds up. glad to see you fixed your problem!

 

ok car doesnt overheat anymore but overflow tank still fills up after driving a while im almost positive its the thermostat because now my water temp gauge is buggin out once in a while dropping to C then going back up to the middle then in between but never goes above where it should be so i guess thats a good thing i will be changing the thermostat first thing tomorrow and will let you guys know if that was the problem.... thanks for all the help guys

 

I am still gonna say headgasket. If your overflow is still bubbling over then there is air getting into the system somehow. I just had the headgasket go on my ZC and it did all the things your does. No smoke does not mean your headgasket is not gone in a Honda. The gaskets usually go between the cylinder and the water jacket so the compressed air/fuel from the cylinder blows into the coolant. You could pull the valve cover and cams off and see if your head is properly torqued. When I took my ZC apart the head bolts were torqued to about 25 ft/lbs rather than the proper 48 they were supposed to be.

 

Make sure your radiator cap is new as well, that will often cause 2/3 of your symptoms

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Super Chicken &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Make sure your radiator cap is new as well, that will often cause 2/3 of your symptoms </TD></TR></TABLE>

I had this problem too and radiator cap was the problem, only a few bucks from Pep Boys

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by akandok &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Im surprised no one suggested that it might be the water pump.</TD></TR></TABLE>

most water pumps would make noise or leak,he said it was running fine.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmb16ef8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok so its def not head gasket absolutly no smoke from exhaust, thermostat opens, fan turns on, hoses build pressure</TD></TR></TABLE>


thats b/c its still pushing air out into the coolant jacket(cuasing bubbles in your res.)let it cool for a couple hours then start it up (pay att. to the exhuast as u start up). hope it helps

 

i say hg. same thing happened to me. replaced everything then did the headgasket. fixed all the issues.

 

ok so i changed the thermostat drained the whole system again block included, installed new rad cap, and now i must say its a little worst it overheats pretty quickly when i start driving but wont go all the way up to the H and when i pull over and put the key to the on position most of the time it will read where its supposed to right below the middle. tried my friends computer and it still starts to overheat after about 10 mintues of driving... so im guessing the only thing left is the head gasket... but can someone tell me what could make a head gasket blow so quick after installing a new one about 7 months ago???? any ideas are welcome thanks

 

check what headgasket they used and check what water pump they used........ and have you considerd that it might just be the radiator????

 

my car was overheating once due to too advanced spark

 

Do a leakdown test and stop guessing and throwing parts at it.

 

Thing with a water pump is the impeller blades themselves could be eroded away...and it makes no sound. If the pump is not moving the water, the natural osmotic nature of the hot/cold water cycle would help the car cool at speed, but as soon as you come to a stop, it will not flow as well and backfill into your overflow tank ( this is only my observations based on 30 years of Mopars and 6 years of Fords...so please don't flame me). Just my .02 cents on the matter.

 

just replaced the rad brand new bout 6 months ago nd how do i go about performing this leakdown test??? and im pretty sure we used a ls headgasket

 

did you re-torque the head bolts after the specified run time? It could definately be the headgasket, a small leak from the cyl-coolant passage would allow cyl pressure to seep into the cooling system from the upper hose and push coolant into the overflow and out the top.