Hello folks,

I’m having a problem with my 2001 EX. Let me start at the beginning. I purchased this car knowing that it would need to have the trans rebuilt. It was only $1000.00 so I figured it was worth buying because it was in really good shape and the motor runs very strong. Well, I drove the car at least 5000 miles before the trans finally gave up. I had it rebuilt and everything was going great. About 12,000 miles later I started to have problems with it over heating. I never ran it hot but it would get about 3/4 of the way up the scale. After letting it cool down, it would be okay for a little while, then do it again. I took the car back to my mechanic and he checked the car over. He flushed the system and then drove the car for several days and had no problems with it. He did say that it had lost about 8 ounces of coolant so he checked everything over and could not find any leaks, but it would still loose about 8 ounces of coolant after driving about 100 miles or so. He recommended using a high dollar sealer but he could not guarantee that it would fix anything but it would be cheaper than pulling the motor apart. So I agreed. The car drove just fine after that. It didn’t loose a single drop of water so I guess it must have worked. I drove the car for about three weeks and then it started running funny. I can drive the car for 30 miles or so and it runs just fine but then beyond that, when it reaches 3000 rpm it starts cutting in and out like it is at the rev- limiter and then the temp starts to climb. I can let it cool and drive it again and it acts okay for several miles and then it will do it again. I have read over some of the previously posted problems but non of them seem to be the same problem. I can say that the heater never worked right from the time I purchased the car and neither would the AC. It would take 15 or 20 miles for it to even begin to get warm and the AC only worked once in a while. I’m not sure if one problem could jointly cause these issues. The cooling fans are working just fine and the thermostat was replaced when the system was flushed. It has been hooked up to a computer and checked out. It didn’t show that anything was wrong. Anyone have any ideas about what might be the problem? I just can’t figure this out! Thank you in advance for any help you can provide me.

 

Sounds like you've done your homework, and the only thing you haven't ruled out is the head gasket.

 

Most likely that

 

It doesn't appear to have any water in the oil and I see no leaks on the outside of the motor. Could there still be a problem with it?

 

There could be. Is the engine putting out any white smoke? Even a little? It's an open-deck engine, so pushing coolant is pretty common. It may even be slow enough that the smoke isn't visible.

I'm only saying head gasket because you've been so thorough in your search. Seems to be the last (and fairly common) place to look.

 

No sign of smoke. I guess I should do a pressure check. I have also read that it could be the RPM sensor. Do you konw where that would be located and how I can test it?

 

RPM sensor? If it's a faulty sensor, the car would be throwing a check-engine light. It's pretty self-diagnostic. I'd run a compression test and go from there. You should be seeing numbers between 180-200, but consistency is more important than the actual numbers.

 

The check engine light does come on. I will do the compression check. Thanks!

 

My mistake, I missed that. I would definitely get that code read at Autozone and go from there.

 

Thanks for the Autozone tip. I didn't know that they would do that much for you. I thought that they only did batteries and wiper blades.

 

Yeah, they're about the only company any more that will read CELs for free.

They also have a free tool loaning program that I've taken advantage of before for obscure things like ball joint presses and spring compressors.

 

I would skip auto zone and pay a little dough at the dealership if the compression test turns out to show a good seal. But im guessing head gasket and maybe something else since your throwing codes evan if the light goes off the ecm stores past codes, let us know what happens.

 

Will do!

 

Yo homie you may have checked this already, but check your oil level. If it is to low when VTEC kicks in, the car shakes violently. This happened to me once.

 

Well, I hate to burst your bubble but, you are in denial mode; most of the time when it's a blown head gasket on our engines it's going to be oil in the water. After your car cools open the radiator cap and see if there are oil beads floating on top of the water. I've found this once on my car and it was most definitely a blown head gasket. Also, if your head gasket is leaking there will be extra pressure in your coolant system which will cause the radiator cap to do it's job and release pressure, which will cause your coolant to spray out while you are driving and not necessarily leave any on your engine or radiator. I don't guarantee that you have a blown head gasket, it just sounds like that to me.

 

I'm not in denial or living in a bubble. I don't have any mechanical experience with this or any other import for that matter. That's why I came here for help. Old cars is my thing. It just so happens that my other vehicles are gas hogs and I drive 134 miles each day for work. So now I need to learn to work on this one too.
Anyway, what you said makes sence. Today when I was running it, I noticed that there was a little bit steam comming from the radiator cap so you might be onto something. I'll post my findings as soon as I know anything. Anyway, thanks for the additional info even if your delivery is f'd up.

 

EASY!! Take no offense, I was just trying to let you know what could be up with your engine. I just didn't know how to break the ice because my answer wasn't as easy to stomach as the other answers you were given. Anyways, my local shop charged me $550 for everything (parts/labor/resurfacing) so you should be looking between $550 - $850 unless you go to the dealership. Let us know if you find anything else.

 

When my ECU blew up I had my car go into "limp mode" like you describe, where it cuts the fuel at very low RPMs. Might be something to check. On my car the "real" problem turned out to be the alternator bracket and adjustment screws coming loose, which changed the alternator belt tension which made the alternator send voltage fluctuations which in turn blew up the ECU.

same exact car btw 2001 EX

 

what you need is a new headgasket and have the cylinder head machined. i have been doing a number of them at the dealer for overheating,no heat, overflow bottle getting overfull then leaking,etc. just replace the head gasket and the thermostat and gasket you should then be fine. good luck

 

ss8EM2,
Don't sweat it man, no hard feelings! No need to sugar coat any replies to me I can handle it.

spoonraker,
Sounds like a very similar problem. I'll be sure to check that out too, just incase it is an additional problem.

HONDAPARTSMANMIKE, unevolved and TeyoTuning
I'll take ya'lls advice and start with a compression test. I have pulled off the heads on a Chevy small block, never have touched and OHC engine, I'm guessing that I should let a pro do it. Probably not the job for a tenderfoot to start learning on.

spdyslvrex,
LOL!!! Yeah I check it at every fill up, but yeah I know , some folks overlook the obvious.

 

A Honda D17 was the first engine I ever pulled the head on, and they're pretty simple. Just follow a service manual and it's real simple. If you've torn apart a SBC, you can handle a D-series.

 

Ya def sounds like headgasket. I just had to replace mine on my civic. It was an easy job really..Not hard at all. I am boost'd so I put arp headstuds in mine..but you dont need them.The compression test should show you that it is the headgasket I would almost be sure of it. The coolant is missing with ur oil and you are burning coolant.


Try not driving the car anymore if you can. And never let it go all the way to the H..you will warp your head..than you looking at having to resurface the head..

here are some pics to show you the job

 

wow almost sounds like my problem i had with my 01 civic ex. these years sucks *** if you noticed yet. haha. your car ain't throwing any codes. my car was cutting off at 3500 rpm and it seemed like i had a rev limit problem but i found out it was my ckp sensor and fixed it and no problem it worked. lol. and my over heating problem i fixed everything on it. flush out my coolant, changed thermostat, changed radiator hose, evyerthing. my car was throwing codes but i didn't have any clue on it since i didn't have a cel reader. but then i checked it and it was giving me the tdc sensor crap. but i guess i changed my TDC sensor and after a month or soo it stopped overheating on my when i commute back and fort to college. i'm just thinking it might just be sensors that causes these problems. but not to sure too.

 

Thanks for all of the great advice and the pictures. It's going to be a few weeks before I can use any of this. Last week was not one of my better weeks. I got laid off from work and to top that off, Friday I was trying to prepare a 10' X 16' shed to be moved and it slid off of the blocks and crushed my right foot. I was wearing steel toe boots and it landed behind the toes. Lucky for me, I was able to get signal on my cell and could call for help. I'll post again when I actually get a chance to use all of this great info.
Thanks again!
Mark

 

I did probably 6-8 headgaskets on these motors in the past year. I would do a leakdown test rather then a compression test. You say the fans are working properly? Few of these were bad fan switches that caused overheating resulting in blown headgaskets.