I have heard of conflicting reasons to use the 180 degree thermostat, i puchased one but after hearing some people say that the temp doesnt get hot enough and allows water to enter in the oil?

So should i get the 180 or 195 thermostat for my 4cyl 2.2L 90 accord?

 

With my previous accord I use to have to switch thermostats every spring and fall. The OEM thermostat would overheat the car in the summertime, but the lower temp thermostat would not get hot enough in the northern winters to keep the interior warm. If water is entering the oil, it is not because of the thermostat. Water in the oil would normally come from condensation cause by making frequent short trips and never warming the engine up properly. If you engine is overheating, condensation in the oil is the least of your concerns.

 

Hondas don't overheat unless you have a problem. OEM temp.

 

Never EVER use ANYTHING BUT an OEM Honda thermostat in a Honda car. Period. The only acceptable brands are Fuji Thompson, Nippon Thermostat, or Tama Enterprises - these are the only manufacturers of thermostats that actually work properly. If you use anything else, you will have problems.

Sounds like you have some other cooling system issues, especially since your list of problems that need to be addressed includes "idle problem fix," "radiator," and "hoses." Hopefully the car hasn't been massively overheated, which will cause head gasket failure leading to chronic overheating, coolant loss, and in some instances, coolant mixing with oil inside the engine.

A brand new OEM thermostat is not the cause of your overheating problem. You had some other problem with the cooling system, which you were masking by changing thermostats.

 

Ok, here is the problem, I had a crack in the top of the radiator so since i was replacing that i went ahead and replaced top and bottom hoses and thermostat.

New...
-Radiator (properly connected both oil? cooler lines and bottom hose)
-Radiator Cap
-Top and Bottom hoses
-Thermostat (180degrees)
-about a 70/30 mix coolant and clean water (not tap water)

I then started the car turned the heater on full and when i open the bleeder nut no coolant comes out, but when i turn the heater off i get coolant to come out, is it supposed to work that way? I do see little bubbles coming out when the heater is off and the bleeder is open about 3 or 4 little bubbles every few seconds.

How long should i let that run for untill i see no bubbles? but if i do that it seems like im loosing a bunch of coolant along with the bubbles

Problems...
-Temp gauge kinda wacky, car heats up when a/c is turned on, but cools down when a/c off
-Temp gauge goes to the hot portion (about 75%) when key is put in ON position but returns to normal immediately when car turns on

Also bottom hose is cold when top hose is (burn da chitouttaya)

Bad new thermostat?
Any ideas? A

 

Where did you get the thermostat and what brand is it?

It sounds like you have both a bad thermostat and air pockets in the cooling system.

 

Bleed the air out with the engine turned off, add coolant until radiator is full. Close bleed valve. Then start engine with heater on, and keep adding coolant if required. close radiator cap when water starts to expand out of radiator. One way to check if the thermostat is the problem is to take the thermostat out all together and see if the bottom hose heats up.

The water does not run thru the radiator until the thermostat opens. If your radiator hose is cold, that would indicate no water is running thru your radiator.

 

Stant Thermostat from Advanced Auto Parts.

Ok, I swapped out the new thermostat with the old one and now both hoses get hot.
So I have solved my bad thermostat problem right?

I'll post back when i do what dafang suggests, but let me see if i get this right

With engine off (cold? or hot?) open radiator cap and open bleed valve, fill radiator till full then close bleed valve, turn on car with radiator cap still off and heater on high and add coolant if necessary, then close radiator cap.

is that correct?

 

so comparing the top and bottom hose, should they both get equally hot or does one get hotter than the other, by touching them?

 

The return water hose should not be as hot as the supply hose, as the radiator would have cooled the water, but it should still feel quite hot to the touch.

 

also using a lower temp t-stat may case the car to fail to reach proper operating temp and the ECU will not allow the tq coverter to lockup on automatic cars and on all cars you may be stuck in open loop since the engine is not at proper temp

 

OEM is the way to go with thermostats!! case closed.

Thanks

 

I agree on OEM.