1988 CRX
DOHC ZC
135xxx KM
(84xxxMiles?)
Auto...yeah i know
had AC

Having some problems with my CRX, ive searched and searched and asked friends and usually hear the same thing but i want to ask a bigger group of people for their opinions.

Car only heats up at high rpm, when i **** kick it, or on the highway, for the past 2 weeks i been taking it easy, keeping the revs under 4 grand and the temp guage stats just below the half way mark. Before that i bled the coolant and to test it out i **** kicked it home and sure enough after the 20 min drive it was HOT, took it on the highway the next day and it was hot again. Since then i kept it below 4000 rpm and its been great, today to test things out i took a few gears to 7grand and it went above the half way point to the top of the symbol on the gauge. It went back down within 10 min of normal driving.

Replaced 5000KM ago:
water pump
timing belt
thermo

no coolant in oil, no oil in coolant

 

radiator might be clogged or your thermostat might be bad...!!!

 

Is your radiator fan turning on?

 

I knew i missed some info!
Thermostat is almost new, but im gonna take it out today, along with the ac condenser to help it breathe.

Radiator was replaced with a known good one a buddy had on his boosted civic, held up fine for him.

FanS both come on as the theromstat open, I got AC so when my rad fan comes on so does the AC fan (AC is always off)

Top and bottom rad hoses are both hot when the fan comes on (thermostat open)

I appreciate the input tho, keep it coming guys, thanks.

 

don't take your thermostat out or the water won't cool the engine internals properly.
The water needs some time next to the metal to transfer heat properly.

Sine the thermostat is new, maybe you should check that it was installed properly.

 

I didnt take it out, i checked the plugs, one was kinda burnt, the rest had tons of oil on them, i replaced the plugs and valve cover gasket, smoked a **** load of white on start up after i did that but eventually went away. Also took out the condenser to get some more air to the rad

 

Taking out the condensor isn't really fixing the problem though.

I don't know why your car smoked after changing plugs and a VC gasket, white smoke? Head gasket? Run a compression test?

 

Yeah i know its not a fix, i just figured the more flow i can get to the rad the better, but it was almost for nothing because i will be buying a new headgasket tomorrow, and getting to it this weekend, just wish i could borrow a comp tester and leak down tester

 

That would contribute to your overheating issue. Are you using much coolant?

 

what would contribute to my overheating issue?

no, surprisingly im not, but i took it on the highway 2day and it heated up 7/8 of the way up so i will check the coolant in the morning

but after **** kicking it A LITTLE yesterday and having it heat like 6/8 of the way up i checked it this morning and the rad was full

 

I got two words for you... water pump. Have you checked it? I have noted that you have every other basis covered so check it out. It could have gone bad or maybe the belt isn't connecting to it right or something. I hope this helps.

 

thanks shyguy, the pump was replaced recently just before i bought the car, but i will do a test to see if its running (squeeze the upper rad hose while engine is warm and see if i feel it pulsating)

 

A bad head gasket.

 

just because it was replaced, doesn't rule out that the part is good. it could be bad, or someone somehow routed a belt wrong, and its spinning in the wrong direction. thats what all things seem to be pointing to.

 

Good luck with the gasket replacement.

 

well yeah, thats kinda why im replacing it...



so your saying it sounds more like the pump than the head gasket?

 

Also if im replacing the headgasket any recomendations on what other seals/gaskets to replace, there was a bit of oil in thebottom of my dist. cap when i took it off

 

Distributor seal, valve cover gaskets, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets.

 

ok cool, i already got the valve cover gasket kit, ill have to order the distributor seal

 

So my car does the same, over heats at high rpm. but if you drive it easy low rpm does just fine.. just replaced the head gasket literally last week. clogged rad? any ideas?

 

If you changed the headgasket, and the mating surfaces were free of defect, it is probably OK. You will want to do a leakdown test to rule it out.

It isn't mentioned, but did you replace/check the water pump when you had the head off?

Otherwise, there could be an issue with fuel, timing or ignition causing it to run lean under load. Make sure mechanical and ignition timing is set properly. If you can get a wideband sensor that would help diagnose as well.

 

I have the same issue.. anyone?