'95 Honda del Sol VTEC is the vehicle.

What's happening: I'll top off the coolant with water. Start driving, and get going. After getting to my destination I can hear/see the water steaming out of the overflow. So when it's time to leave again, I'll top it back off with water and get going. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Additional details: During the winter, when I would be using the heat. The engine temperature would appear to be warm but after turning on the heat the air wasn't hot like it should be. It was overheating when I had a coolant-water mixture.

Any ideas?

 

Start by replacing the thermostat and radiator cap and then bleed the cooling system. Then go from there.

Only add 50:50 coolant to the system. Any visible leaks? Does the radiator fan run when the engine is hot?

If the items above don't solve the problem, then the radiator might clogged or the head gasket may be blown.

 

In addition to RonJ is your resevoir running dry or overflowing?

 

so where is the coolant going? my guess would be out a hole somewhere like the radiator or the water pump or a coolant line/hose. or the headgasket is blown

 

No visible leaks. And the radiator fan does run when the engine is hot.

It's not going into the reservoir. Hard to explain - I'll have to look at it once again to provide a proper explanation.


But yeah, starting to sound like a head gasket - shucks! Ha.

 

check out my post in the thread "new member new to hondas possibly head gasket" or something like that. i just posted all of what i would do to replace the head gasket. its the same pretty much

 

Gotcha, I don't recall the oil looking strange though. I'm going to mess around with it some today it seems.

 

hmm, by the way, nice come up on the del sol vtech.

id check the thermostat and bleed the cooling system extra good. when the engine has gotten up to heat, squeeze on the bottom radiator hose to see if thats hot. if its not then its your thermostat. id also check if all the lines are in their right places.

 

if you have coolant in your oil then thats a head gasket. theres other ways to find out if its your head gasket but thats one way.

 

Overflowing.

 

sounds like the HG is gone

 

Before concluding a blown HG, first rule out the simple cooling system components I mentioned earlier.

 

yeah i would trow a block tester on it. i know many dont know what it is. and its not technically for detecting a blown HG. but if it says you got exhaust gasses in the coolant system then the head is coming off anyway if you fix it. and the damn thing is free to rent so just do that first

 

My sol did the same exact thing when I got it. It kept overheating after awhile to the point where I had to pull over to the side and wait to take my radiator cap off and start refilling. Then, my oil started turning bubbly caramel and my exhaust would smoke some weird smell, and my car started smelling like coolant. So, I got my timing belt, thermostat, headgasket, alternator belt, and waterpump replaced. At first I though it was the radiator or leak in the hose, but I was for sure it was the headgasket when everyone kept giving me the run around. Now my motor is fine.

 

lets just hope your block is fine. sending good karma your way ~~~~~~~~>

 

also might want to check your heater core. Check under the passenger floor mat for any wetness. I had a similar issue lately with a car I was working on, heat and all. Ended up being a pin hole in the heater core and also the water pump "blades" were rusted off and wasn't able to flow enough coolant to keep the heat warm. In the winter did it overheat when driving or idling? Was the heat warm ever or just not when idling?