1985 Crx is overheating, not burning any coolant, just re-gapped all the plugs, new carbureator, new timing belt and waterpump and thermostat. Just replaced the radiator cap, does not overheat on the highway. Only the passenger side fan is running and it stays on for a very long time after the car is shut off. any help is appreciated thx.

 

You need to check timing. You then need to figure out A/F ratio if you can. Is this an aftermarket carb or stock? Vacuum line leaks and believe it or not even spark plug gaps or if the timing belt is not zeroed. Is this only idling? Need more conditions and timing #'s and carb data.

 

The timing is not an issue. The carburator is stock.

 

Correct cam timing is vital on all engines and so I think the suggestion was to check both your cam and ignition timing which is not a bad idea. Even if you think the cam timing is correct,chdeck it again. Then the ignition timing.

Running lean will cause overheating. The easiest way to check for lean condition is to pull a plug and look at its color. It should be a medium brown, anything lighter is too lean. A dark plug is too rich.

How is the coolant system? A fresh Honda thermostat is important. DO NOT save the few bucks of some parts store brand thermostat, get a HONDA part. Lots of people have had issues with non-Honda thermostats.

How is the radiator? It could be clogged.

A bad water pump will sound like a coffee can full of rocks. You did replace the water pump when you replaced the timing belt, right?

Scott

 

If all the timing's correct and no lean issues, your head may have an air "bubble". This happened to me on another make of car but I have seen it happen. You actually have to "burp" the coolant system. Removing the thermostat and cycling the coolant might help but so might loosening other coolant hoses and seeing if you can get a burst of air out of them. This was messy- being coolant, but the heads finally blew out the air w/ some throttle.

 

I will check the timing since its quite easy to do, burping the coolant system sounds like something I could do as well. I can't get the second fan to kick on so I'm going to jump it tomorrow and see if just needs a new relay or something. It was just weird it only overheated in the city on highway the temperature would drop right back down to half-way. Inspected the spark plugs twice and the looked perfectly fine.

 

The car is not wanting to start, does anyone have the spark plug order? I think the wires just might be crossed.

 

Nevermind they are not crossed

 

If you are having starting problems, it could be cam timing which is NOT easy to check without removing the plastic covers over the cam belt.

 

the 2nd fan only kicks on with AC.

 

Oh the cam timing was not hard to check at all. Take off the alternator belt and crank pulley boom your there. It was fine as well. Just replaced the spark plugs because the other ones were fouled and it started up fine. We did notice that the distributor was retarded and we fixed it. Now i think its getting too much fuel.