i just bought a 94 civic ex 2dr. at first i did notice that when i took the car for a quick spin around the block and back the lower hose would still be cold. i took it for a 30 min drive and pop the hood to check the hose and both were real hot. steam was coming from the engine. cooling fan is on. the temp gauge is fine. it doesn't loose coolant or anything. Is this a sign of a bad thermostat?


Modified by 94civicex. at 12:22 PM 6/28/2008

 

anyone?

 

just replace it, its like 10 bucks and takes like 10 minutes... eliminate that as a possibility, and happy hunting.

 

i wouldn't put a 10$ thermostat in there, but anyway, did it fix the problem? I'm experiencing the same thing, with a brand new thermostat

 

if smoke is coming from the engine, it means you have a leak somewere. if its like grey/white, then its most likely anitfreeze. follow all the hoses and run the car for about 30 min (normal running temp). then see. im currently experiencing something like this now. there was a leak around the back of the engine, and i fixed that. then the water neck housing was leaking so i had to get a universal gasket then cut it out. i thought everything was good now. but i let the car idle for about 20 min. and i was giving it some throtle. then outta nowere, i saw ANOTHER leak! and im just letitn the engine cool off now so i can finish it. when its cold. i dont want to get burned! but anyway. replace your thermostat and switch. and sometimes, even your temp sensor might be bad. i have no clue how to test it tho. . .good luck

 

I replaced my radiator, thermostat, completely flushed the cooling system with new coolant, and bled the purge valve. I now have to check where I have a leak because I smell coolant when I'm driving hard. When it's cool after this, I can have room to top it off with water - meaning I was leaking (obviously).

You may have air in your system, so make sure you idle your car for about 30 mins with the radiator cap off on an upward slope and you will see the air bubbles come to the top of the radiator cap. This is the most common and easy way to burp (or bleed) the air out of the cooling system.

If this does not work, check your oil and make sure it's not milky. If your oil is milky that means the coolant and oil is mixing (not good) and you have a blown head gasket. However, you can still have a blown head gasket if the oil is not milky. So if you have eliminated all the overheating solutions (new thermostat, radiator, leaks, etc.), I would replace the head gasket. Pricing: thermostat $20 from Honda, radiator $80 from Advanced Auto or Pep Boys.

Hope this helps.