93, h23a, 2.3, dohc.
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Engine is running smooth, but HOT as hell at 275'-320' top off vc! Temp. guage seems fine (reading at the half way mark on dash).

Both fans are operating as they should. I went to replace the thermostat, and found that there was nothing in place but the brass thermostat housing....no spring, pin, or element what so ever, just the therm. housing. WTF???

So I went to auto zone, and bought hopefully the right t.s.. It was an extremely tight fit.....but it fit. I then installed the new t.s wich was compressing the spring (because of the tight fit), and ran it for 15min. or so.

The temp. gauge pegged out from over heating, so I took it out, and put the previous t.s housing back in place.

I'm assuming the previous owner had someone work on the engine, trying to fight an over heated sensor or something, and decided to gut the t.s to bypass a problem that he could not fix.

What, or where, do you think I need to start trouble shooting this problem???

Thanks man ,
-Shadow-

 

If that thing got up to 320 something probably got warped You don't have any oil/coolant mixing anywhere??

 

Hawkz, thanks for the reply.

As for the oil/coolant mixing, I'm not 100% sure. How can I visually check that?

I do know that I'm not leaking any coolant (that I can tell) but I have to fill the reserve up at least once a month, becouse it's bone dry.

Thanks man,
-Shadow-

 

its got to be something else other then the tstat, you would be correct in your assumption that that was a band-aid to another problem i would think

how does your radiator look?

have you tried a chemical flush?

i wouldn't call it a sensor just yet

 

Radiator looks fine, no leaks on the rad. itself or hoses.

I'm very maticulous/picky about my car and it's fluids. So as to flushing the coolant, and bleeding the air....It's done on a 3 month basis.

I drive approx., at the least 50 miles a day, and I don't "Drive it like I stole it". I'm pretty conservative, while driving. Sometimes too much.

 

Hawkze,

I got to thinking...If I had coolant mixed with my oil (blown seal,or ring) wouldn't it look like milk, when I drained the oil?

Just an old school thought.

The oil looks fine (using mobile-1, 100% syn.). 107,265 mil.

I now that doesn't matter, but I'm trying my best to filter questions.

 

/\/\Your exactly right, it would be milky

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shadow29485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Hawkz, thanks for the reply.

As for the oil/coolant mixing, I'm not 100% sure. How can I visually check that?

I do know that I'm not leaking any coolant (that I can tell) but I have to fill the reserve up at least once a month, becouse it's bone dry.

Thanks man,
-Shadow-
</TD></TR></TABLE>

No problem, check your oil and if it starts to get lighter and milky it is mixing with coolant. Eventually it will be just like a milkshake. Check your coolant for oil, it will be darker and also start to get milky.

You must be loosing coolant internally form what you say. Burning it or mixing it with the oil probably...

 

I'm going to do a coolant flush tommarow. I'll have to check it then.

If neither the oil or coolant are mixing with one another, and they both look pretty clean, what would be your next guess?

-Shadow-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shadow29485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I'm going to do a coolant flush tommarow. I'll have to check it then.

If neither the oil or coolant are mixing with one another, and they both look pretty clean, what would be your next guess?

-Shadow- </TD></TR></TABLE>

If oil/coolant are not mixing you are lucky! A flush is a good idea

If that thing is getting that hot the coolant either isn't flowing or the radiator isn't letting the heat escape from it. Make sure you don't have any blockages in the coolant paths (however you would do that), make sure your water pump is working, make sure your fans are working and make sure the radiator is good (fins not all bent and smashed up). Then go from there, hope it helps.

 

thats what i meant about the radiator, i should have explained better, i had rust chips in my radiator blocking the flow, necessitating a radiator replacement, original radiator?

 

I'm in so much deeper **** now .

I'm on the road today, and all of the sudden the engine shut off in between 3rd and 4th gear. I thought that it may have been the mapp sensor, fuel pump, or relay of some sort (electrical problem).....It would'nt turn over.

After towing her to a local shop, that replaced my timing belt 5 months ago (that I trust).

I finally got word, that the problem was much worse.

He said that a few valve springs blew somehow (#3 & #4 cyl.), and locked up the crank, which broke the t.b belt.

They have only took the valve cover off, so far, and the t.b is way out of warranty, so it wouldn't hold up in court if it was their fault.

I'm sure that it most probably bent valves. So I'm looking at $600-$800 for the head job, and t.b alone.

What is my worst case scenario, after they take the head off?? Could I be really f*#$ed??

What could've caused this?

Has anyone had a similer problem?

I am sooo right now.

I have a wedding to plan for, that me and my fiance' are paying for out of pocket in a month, and I'm hoping my old man will help me out by helping pay for the fix.

Sorry I'm whining, I don't have many people to talk too.

Thanks for listening guys ......

-Shadow-

 

I would go to the shop and ask to see it for yourself. Is this a shop you trust? I ask because I recently had an overheating problem on my H22 where it randomly died on the freeway while running hot and all I had to do was replace my distributor. I'm pretty sure I blew my headgasket in the process (a minor amount), but it's running okay after the dizzy change. Ask to see the bad valve springs. Not sure how they could tell the crank locked up by only pulling the valve cover either... and if the crank really did lock up, I would expect bigger problems. Best wishes for the wedding and I hope this turns out not to be as bad as it looks.

 

Thanks so much man. Your reply means alot.

It's not just the wedding/bills, it's also the fact that this is my only ride that I depend on for our income. I work two jobs, and go to school. My income consist of building pre-fab cabnets (on the weekends), and delivering pizzas during the week. Going to a local tech. collage at night.

I hope I have good news soon.

Thanks again,
-Shadow-

 

"I would go to the shop and ask to see it for yourself. Is this a shop you trust? I ask because I recently had an overheating problem on my H22 where it randomly died on the freeway while running hot and all I had to do was replace my distributor. I'm pretty sure I blew my headgasket in the process (a minor amount), but it's running okay after the dizzy change. Ask to see the bad valve springs. Not sure how they could tell the crank locked up by only pulling the valve cover either... and if the crank really did lock up, I would expect bigger problems. Best wishes for the wedding and I hope this turns out not to be as bad as it looks."
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They said, that they will call me first thing Tuesday, to let me know how bad the damage is.....

But you're 100% correct!..... I want to see it for myself.

I'm going to check this **** out!

Another question....Has anyone ever cracked a piston, or anything along those lines, buy popping a timing belt (locking up the crank) that you guys have heard of at around 3000-4000 rpm's?

What are the chances?

Other than a head job. What's my worst case scenario.......Again?

Anyone?

 

By the way. A new water pump, auto. tens. along with all seals are ruled out.

I think, because I bought the parts, and they installed them.

He said, "valve springs broke, and locked up the crank". Possably something had got through the intake?

I don't think so, it's not possible....I do NOT run the engine without my intake.

What about the so called, "hydro-lock"?

I did, happen to rinse the engine the night before, but I try my best to stay away from the air filter.

IDK .....
-Shadow-

 

Rinsing the engine will not EVER cause hydrolock, so no worries there. Hydrolock is constantly sucking in so much water that enough gets into the cylinders that the pistons' compression creates so much pressure that with the water (that doesn't compress like air) there is just so much pressure that the rods bend or something else fails.

IMO it sounds like you need to source a new engine pretty quick or find another car if you are so busy. There are places that can replace you engine pretty quickly

 

I talked to him today, and also looked at the head. The head looks fine, but I'm guessing, that I will not be able to tell, visually.

He said that he was going to send it (the head) to the shop tommarow.

But when I asked him what might have caused this, he said, it's possably carbon.

If i wasn't getting on it. Remember the timing belt is only 5 months (600 miles) old, and I drive like a grandma??

Give me a [freak]in break......Carbon deposits????

I'm thinking the water pump, or auto. tens. locked up, and froze the crank...snapping the belt. Or the crank jumped teeth somehow?

Ever heard of such...??

 

If you've gone to look at the head, I'm assuming you've seen the broken t-belt? Did it look torn and stretched from stress, or more of a clean break (if there was possibly a knick in it already that spread across)? Honda t-belt or aftermarket? You should find out from the shop if the t-belt has a warranty on it. The shop's labor might be out of warranty, but the belt itself might still have a warranty on it if nothing else looks amiss. I would think it's certainly possible things happened in the opposite order, and that the t-belt went first, which sent your valves flying into pistons, and possibly that broke the springs from the impact, not the other way around. If so, you might just have to replace a few valves and springs and a new *Honda* t-belt. Not as good a case you have to replace pistons too. Valves and pistons should be easy to tell with a quick visual check...

Assuming this scenario, nothing happened with your crank and your head should be fine too

 

Yeah sounds to me like somebody might be trying to get over on you. I would want to see the timing belt to inspect it. and I would ask which machine shop the head is going to and call them to see what is up with the head. I just looked at a friends passat a few days ago that a shop had told needed a new head gasket. No water in the oil, no oil in the water and compression was dead on perfect on all 4 cylinders. Turned out to be a water neck leaking. I don't let anyone turn wrenches on my engine except me.

 

hmmm would and crank locking up break a timing belt normally ?

 

I agree. That's my dumb *** fault . Your right, that should have been the first thing to look at......The t. belt.

He said, "a few valves must be bent". How would he know, without a leakdown or compression test, or actually taking the head apart??

Come to think about it. Before the engine **** quit. It was making a loud *** ticking sound when I first cranked it up that morning. Almost like one of the lifters was just slapping around in the valve body. It sounded like a nut or bolt was bouncing around.

Pinging ("marbles in a can") maybe?

*I checked my timing a few weeks ago. Right on the red mark, with no advancement.*

But once the engine was warmed up, I couldn't hear it anymore.

I did my own valve adjustment (3 months ago), literally "By the book". Tourque specs. and all.....everything seemed fine. idfk

I'm just worried, that if I don't find the cause of the problem, That it may happen again .

Thanks guys,
-Shadow-

 

Ticking sounds like you described are usually valves out of spec. I suppose it's possible a couple valves being loose caused weird pressure on the springs. Who knows. I would try to find out exactly what is wrong with the engine (tbelt, couple of valves), fix those things and try her out. Your cooling problems are another story, but if you can get it running until you have the time/money to diagnose and try parts, I would think you'd be okay for a little while.

 

Well, after almost a week and a half, they said,"You should be rollin' tommarow".

He said that I bent 8 valves when I blew the t.belt, and they would be getting the head back today (ordered wrong valve size for exhaust) IDFK .

Come to think of it, I'm not 100% correct, but I don't believe that the balencer belt was replaced at the time of the t.b replacement 5 months ago?

I think, that he said it was fine?

Could the timing balencer belt cause the t.b. to jump teeth, locking up the crank, and damage the head?

Again...IDFK?

 

I stopped by the shop today, and he said that they found what caused the belt to pop.

He mentioned that the previous owner must have had timing issues in the past, including the head. It was shaved, probably from over heating.

Anyway, he said that two bolts on one of the cams must have backed out and locked up springs in the head, which snapped the belt. They found the remainder of the bolt peices.

I'm assuming that they didn't tourqe them down, after the previous head job?

Like I mentioned above.....It sounded like something was slapping around, when I first cranked it up.

Which cam bolts do you think that he's refering too? I failed to ask.

 

The only ones I can imagine are the bolts holding the cam gears onto the camshaft, which is a possibility. If one came off it could fall down and lock up something like the water pump or balance shafts. They wouldn't necessarily have had to touch them when they did the tbelt job the last time, so it's possible they didn't check for tightness. This does sound plausible, but I'm still wondering why they wouldn't have figured this out earlier. From what I'm reading, I'm guessing you have aftermarket adjustable cams?