I have a '92 civic that gets very hot after a long (hour+) trip, pushing the temp gauge to the orange/yellow "H". Fluid levels look good. When I turn the heat on/up, it gets it to a mid/normal heat level but, of course, that makes it pretty uncomfortable inside. Last time it happened, I popped the hood while it was at the hot level and it looked like one of the two fans wasn't moving. I would suppose they should both be going...? Before I bring it in for a $100+ diagnosis, are there any ways to troubleshoot what the problem could be? From reading other comments here, it sounds like the problem could be the fan, water pump, or (gulp) head gasket?

 

im pretty sure one of the fans is for your a/c system, i dont think both would be on. Could be a bad thermostat?

 

sounds like a bad radiator

 

Yea, one fan is for A/C and won't be on at the same time as the other at all times.
Could be thermostat, radiator, or maybe a blockage or pinching in one of the radiator hoses??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95vxtealhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like a bad radiator</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll buy that for a dollar. If you turn on the blower and the heat goes down, not enough heat is being pulled out from the radiator.

 

Visually inspect your hoses to make sure that they aren't twisted or pinched. Check your oil to see if it is grey or if there is any milky stuff on your dipstick(signs of coolant mixing with oil, ie. headgasket). Have you changed your coolant recently? Getting a coolant flush will be a good way to check for blockages and is a good idea anyway if it hasn't been done for a couple of years. You may also want to replace your thermostat as a partially stuck one will limit the coolant flowing through the system, possibly leading to overheaing like you described.

 

Um you shouldn't be driving around like that. It's probably not headgasket yet, but if you keep driving like that it will be. And you're worried about paying $100 to diagnose, well a headgasket is going to cost you a hell of a lot more.

First of all, is your fan coming on? Turn off your AC, drive your car until it warms up, and just let it idle. If you see the temperature rise but the fan didn't turn on then that's the problem (which it most likely is). There are a number of causes, such as bad thermostat, or or a wiring problem.

Honestly just bring it to a shop. You won't pay $100 to "diagnose" this unless you bring it to scammer. My fan wasn't turning on and it cost me $60 to fix because it was just bad wiring.

 

yea if one of your fans was on, then your cooling fan relay and wiring is fine, i would check the the dipstick for milky residue, as well as draining the radiator to see if any oil is in the coolant, (it would be brown, or small chunks of oil) if there is oil in the coolant, you sir have a blown head gasket. if not, then ill bet its the water pump. good luck.