Today I noticed my temp gauge started creeping toward "H". I got home, turned off the engine, and steam and loud gurgling ensued.

Checking under the hood I couldn't pinpoint any real leaks other than steam from the radiator cap and the plastic overflow tank. However, the main hose from the rad to the thermostat seemed cool by comparison. Now I had the A/C running and I know at least the "main" fan is working but I can't say for sure the A/C fan is working.

Anyway, knowing my thermostat was years old I figured that's most likely the problem. I replaced it with an "all season" stat. Replaced the fluids, started the engine, and I let it run for 20 minutes at idle -- but I wasn't running the A/C. Everything was normal -- I thought it was fixed.

Tonight I drove the car for about 30 minutes straight, A/C on, everything looked fine -- then the same thing started happening. Same steam and noise, but no apparent "fluid gushing" leak.

So, does anyone here have a clue. If the A/C fan isn't working would this kind of major overheating occur? If I drove it without A/C do you feel I'd still have a problem? Thanks for any help.

 

what's your temp gauge displaying when this happens? I would also replace the temp sending unit (little brass plug-like thing). How did the old stat look when you took it out? Did you drain the rad when you swapped the stat? If so, how did the fluid look?

Anyway, while I can't think of a great reason why it would happen only during a/c usage, I would try to run it without a/c for about the same length of time, in similar outside temp, and see if it happens again.

If you don't know already, check out http://www.3geez.com, my s/n is the same there (markmdz89hatch). It's a site dedicated to 3rd Gen Accords (86-89) and although I personally haven't seen that exact problem before, I'm sure some have, and can help you better.

Good luck, and report back with your findings. I'm intrigued by this one.