Ok the car is a 96 Accord EX 4 cylinder automatic with the VTEC motor. F22 but I can't remember which one. I wasn't driving when this happened and still haven't seen the car yet however, others have and have tried to work on it. The car has 240k or so miles on it. Anyway, what happened is basically it supposedly made a loud pop noise and steam started going everywhere. It had split one of the coolant hoses and coolant had gone everywhere. Well, they changed the hose and added anti freeze. Well, when they fired it up they noticed it was idling high. Then they noticed when they held the brake and didn't touch the gas it would rev between 1-2k rpms just up and down up and down on it's own. They said the fan's also didn't seem to come on but it's also cold outside so I'm not sure if that's why. They said it also didn't seem to get hot according to the gauge just that it would rev up and down on it's own. Any idea's what's going on? They are saying they think it's the head gasket but being as they aren't mechanics who knows. Does this sound right or does it sound like something else? Thanks guys.

 

There may be air trapped in the system. Try to bleed the cooling system.

 

if thats not it ^^ .. it sounds to me like it might be:

1.a vacuum leak
2.iacv is dirty and needs to be cleaned or replaced

 

Any idea's how to properly do this? I've always just parked it on a hill and let it run and kept adding coolant until full. Is that the best way or is it a more proper way I should be doing it?

 

I would park the car on a level surface.

1. Turn the heater control to max heat.
2. Loosen the air bleed bolt in the thermostat housing, then fill the radiator with a 50/50 coolant mix to the radiator neck. Tighten the bleed bolt as soon as coolant comes out in a steady stream without bubbles.
3. With the radiator cap off, start the engine and run it until warmed up (radiator fan comes on at least twice). Add coolant as necessary.

You can get away with out touching the air bleed bolt. I usually rev the car up a little while the car is warming up to help get the air out, and refill as necessary along the way. Later, I will also feel the lower radiator hose to make sure the coolant is warm which tells me the thermostat has opened. (But, be careful of the fans, belts, etc.).

 

Now she is telling me it is getting hot it just took it a while. That it finally got up to almost the red mark on the temp gauge after running a while. I really thought she said before that it wasn't getting hot. So since it's getting hot does that sound more like the head gasket or what?

 

Try bleeding the system again, It sounds like you've still got an air pocket.
Try this:

Remove the radiator cap
Raise the front of the car (Ramps are good) so that the front is about 10 to 12 inches higher than the rear.
Start the car and let it reach operating temp (or 'till the t'stat opens)
refill the radiator with coolant)
Reinstall cap
Confirm the fan(s) turn on
Lower the car

Sometimes the bleed screw is ineffective. This proceedure makes the radiator the highest component.

P