Alright, so like the title says, my coolant is filling up in the reservoir and the car is heating up faster and faster as I drive it from day to day. It seems that not enough coolant is getting where it needs to go fast enough. What could be the problem? Would flushing out the system cure this?

Thanks in advance HT!

 

pull head, check for straightness
new hg and head bolts.

flush well, repl t stat.

 

New headgasket? Is that for sure? If that's the case, I might as well drop in a new long block, right?

 

No, why?

 

is it for sure the head gasket? not necessarily but quite likely. you could always try to bleed the cooling system and hope for the best, but most likely its the hg.

And yes, assuming that your engine has a lot of miles, it would probably be a good idea to just swap in another long block. Think about it, the headgasket blew for a reason, it could very well do it again, and possibly soon after you fix it. Not to mention that it seems these older high mileage engines tend to start burning oil through the valves and/or rings once a fresh headgasket is put on.

 

I'm also going with headgasket on this, I'm assuming its a stock D15B7? If so don't bother putting a headgasket in. I've got 3 of those engines sitting in a corner of my garage ready to be stripped for aluminum, they all overheated and blew headgaskets, 2 of them had headgaskets replaced at least once and they either blew out again or burnt a ton of oil after replacing the head gasket, don't waste your time and money, get another engine.

 

thermostat not opening????

 

Before replacing the headgasket, I'd replace the radiator cap, if the spring in the cap is letting too much coolant pass into the reservoir then that would explain the coolant constantly filling up the reservoir. I'd probably replace the thermostat too just for the added security.

 

Yeah I would check the rad cap and thermo first (can't hurt to replace them anyways and they are relatively cheap). If those don't fix it, its probally a headgasket. Replacing the headgasket is pretty easy, just time consuming. There are lots of write up's on how to do it. GL.

 

Thanks. After reading all this, I'm starting to think it's the HG too. Both the rad cap and the thermostat was replaced. Anyone know how much it is to put in a newer engine?

 

what about the pump? i am having a similar problem in my 99 civic EX. i replaced thermo even tho the " boiling water" test checked good even compared to the new one. radiator fan is kicking on but the fluid just does seem to go anywhere. IF it were an HG, would i have had some radiator fluid in my oil when i changed it? i am just looking a little further why a broken HG would BLOCK fluid from circulating....

FYI, i'm no expert.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cainalan03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IF it were an HG, would i have had some radiator fluid in my oil when i changed it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

While a blown headgasket can result in coolant mixing with the oil it doesn't always happen. None of the engines I blew headgaskets in ever had any oil contamination at all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94EG8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

While a blown headgasket can result in coolant mixing with the oil it doesn't always happen. None of the engines I blew headgaskets in ever had any oil contamination at all.</TD></TR></TABLE>
++2 on honda engines the coolant runs all the way around the the tops of all the cylinders when the headgasket starts to go it leaks compression from the cylinders into the coolant. That is why one of the first signs that you have a headgasket going out is the coolant is pushed into the overflow.

 

Get an exhaust gas sniffer test done on your coolant. That'll tell you for sure. In a normal engine you won't have any exhaust gases present in your coolant. No way for the compression to get over into your cooling system. That's the job of the head gasket. If it's going bad it'll allow combustion gases to make their way into your coolant causing abnormal rises in pressure

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IslandSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get an exhaust gas sniffer test done on your coolant. That'll tell you for sure. In a normal engine you won't have any exhaust gases present in your coolant. No way for the compression to get over into your cooling system. That's the job of the head gasket. If it's going bad it'll allow combustion gases to make their way into your coolant causing abnormal rises in pressure</TD></TR></TABLE>

What is the exhaust gas sniffer test? How is it performed? I'm not tech..

 

test to see if your Head gasket OR head is cracked. my method: take off the rad cap (while car is cold) and start it up. if its the head gasket or head, Antifreeze will shoot out of the hole.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pothole987 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">test to see if your Head gasket OR head is cracked. my method: take off the rad cap (while car is cold) and start it up. if its the head gasket or head, Antifreeze will shoot out of the hole.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've used that method, and it will definately let you know one way or the other if you have a bad head gasket or not.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ozne99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

What is the exhaust gas sniffer test? How is it performed? I'm not tech.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Some shops and some Checker/Autozone type stores have testers that check your coolant for the presence of exhaust gases.

 

Thansk everyone! This is really helping me out.

 

I know this thread was mostly about a D series. Yet I've got a B16 in a 94 coupe boosted pushing about 11 psi. It doesn't do it all the time, however every once and a while after I get on it and later on pop the hood, coolent is everywhere in my bay and overflow is full and looks like it came from out of the radiator cap. Yet it will go weeks in between doing this. It's got a 1.1 bar cap on there now. I seem to notice this happen after bringing the car up to 4 - 5,000 not under boost, then getting on it from there boosting the rest of the way up. Didn't know if this sounded like a head gasket, or if just a sudden rush in acceleration from higher rpms could be causing this?

 

Didn't know if anybody had any ideas?

 

I have a D15 and am having the same issue - the reserve is full but the radiator seems to be blowing fluid around the cap all over the engine compartment. Going to have a sniffer test done to check if it's the head... but in the meanwhile, I've found that wrapping some paper towel around the cap adds just enough pressure to keep it to a slow loss (~1/4 quart of coolant per ~300 miles city driving). Not an ideal fix I know, but it beats blowing antifreeze all over.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by melitza03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a D15 and am having the same issue - the reserve is full but the radiator seems to be blowing fluid around the cap all over the engine compartment. Going to have a sniffer test done to check if it's the head... but in the meanwhile, I've found that wrapping some paper towel around the cap adds just enough pressure to keep it to a slow loss (~1/4 quart of coolant per ~300 miles city driving). Not an ideal fix I know, but it beats blowing antifreeze all over. </TD></TR></TABLE>
why don't ou replace your radiator cap? Also check and make sure that the radiator dosn't have a crack in the end tank near the goose neck

 

I ended up replacing my cap and it solved my problem. Haven't had any leakage since. Crazy how a little cheap part can make a big mess

 

When that part hold back 16 psi (I believe) of pressure I can clearly see how t can make a huge difference.