I hardly ever post in here, but I have some issues with my car that I haven't quite figured out. A few thousand miles back, I was driving, and my car randomly started overheating. I checked fans, they were working. Then I checked to see if it was low on coolant and it was boiling over into the reserve tank. Anyways, I noticed that when it started to overheat, my heat inside my car would blow to just regular air. I figured it was the thermostat and replaced it and flushed the radiator, burped it and the next day, it heated up again.

I noticed that I can make it go back down to normal operating temperature if I just downshift and make my RPMs higher which made me think it might be a bad H2O pump. It's still not getting heat/cold ac when it does heat up. To top it all off, just the other day at start up, it was sounding like it's misfiring and is really rough when I first turn my car on, and continues to sputter slightly when I'm stopped.

The car gets to normal operating temperature within a half-mile to a mile of driving it so something is up. Car has just over 80k on it so I didn't think a head gasket, timing belt, or H2O pump would go out that soon. Also I went to autozone to have the codes ran and the only thing that came up was a vtec code which doesn't even seem related. I've tried to be as detailed as possible with this. I just wanted some opinions before I start dumping major $$ into it...

 

get a leakdown test done and that'll tell you whether or not the headgasket is leaking

just curious but what brand of coolant is in the car?

 

Get that water pump checked out. If it needs replacing, I would replace the thermostat at that time, as well. Also, check the hoses to see if they are bad. If they are feeling too spongey/soft/not firm when you squeeze them, they will need to be replaced as well. If you dont do something soon, then you might end up with a blown head gasket and digging a lot deeper in your pockets for $$$.

Also, just so you know, coolant should be drained and replaced at least every 2 years...

 

I flushed it and everything when I changed the thermostat. The hoses are fine no cracking and they feel firm. I used 50/50 coolant when I flushed it. Also, when I changed my oil like 3000 miles ago it was still doing this, but there was no coolant or anything in the oil. I had it changed like last week, but went to a shop cuz I was lazy and they made no mention of there being anything out of the ordinary.

 

It might be your water pump then... You'll probably have to drain all the coolant once more, but try to salvage as much as you can. If you want some easy to follow directions on how to do this, I can get you some.

 

Would the water pump cause those sputter sounds that I mentioned? I was thinking water pump til that started lol... And yes if you have some easy to follow directions on how to do a h2o pump lmk. I've never done one... done a lot of stuff, but not that...

 

I'm not too keen on the sputtering sound... but i cant really think of anything else that would make your engine over heat, besides what we've already talked about. Do you know how to take off a timing belt?

 

Let the car cool off & remove radiator cap. Crank the car. If water or bubbles come out thats a bad head gasket. Even if it doesn't shoot water I'm still leaning that direction

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket.

A combustion leak test of the cooling system can confirm.

 

If it is a blown head gasket, i wouldnt drive it AT ALL until its fixed. I have an '03 EX with the same motor, and I recall you saying that it gets up to temp within less than a mile... Mine does the same thing, but never over heats. Although i do live in an area where summer temperatures are unforgiving, the temp gauge just stays a little lower than half. If you still want those directions I can get them to you later today.

 

I've done it, but it was on an earlier d-series motor I cared nothing about lol. This is my daily driver like I work 2 jobs and have to have it.

 

sounds like head gasket if the coolant is boiling and its blowing over into the overflow.

 

There was no coolant in the oil, the radiator doesn't bubble more than it would normally with just pressure. I've ran it without the cap. Another thing that I don't think that I mentioned is that also I hear a slight belt squeak periodically while driving and it seems to correspond to when the temp goes back down. If I get on it and don't shift til 5k or so it squeaks really loud when I pop in the clutch like major belt slippage. This is what is makin me think h2o pump. If you have those directions send em my way!

 

I still wouldn't count it out just because there is no oil in the coolant does not mean that it isn't blown. I would do a leak-down test just to be sure. Is the car smoking at all?

 

No. Not smoking at all. It drives perfect on the highway, I just experience these problems in the city stop-and-go traffic type stuff...

 

vacuum hoses...

anyway my dads Mini is having the EXACT same problem. Hes replaced water pump, thermostat, therm housing, fans, belts, everything. Car passed leakdown and compression tests, dealer cant figure out ****.
Buddys suggestion was vacuum hoses, and thats what im sticking with till we get a better reccomendation.

 

mini coopers have a pressurized coolant system...take a look at the coolant reservoir...if there are any signs of stress cracks (common cooper problem), replace the reservoir asap. the stress cracks will eventually lead to leaks. once it starts leaking, you lose all your fluid very quickly and your head gasket WILL blow. i've seen one mini that had 3 blown head gaskets in 1 week (dealer kept replacing head gaskets instead of finding the source of the coolant leak)

 

Hmm yeah now that you say that it doesn't sound like a headgasket have you tired burping it recently? Might just have a stubborn bubble somewhere in the system.

 

I have an 03 civic that has the same problem but it iver heats in idle and it has the same exact engine

 

Very similar problem with my car, same year/mileage/engine. It's in the shop now for HG replacement. What happened was it's blown to the point where air can pass but not liquid and it's creating air pockets in the coolant line, which occasionally reach the water pump and stop the coolant circulating. The first symptom of a bad HG is poor cabin heat, the second is the overheating/bubbling reservoir, then it kabooms. Or this is what the dealership told me anyway. Car should be done tonight, I'll report back with my findings.

 

Headgasket was definitely bad. Problem are solved and runs flawlessly again, knock on wood. I'd look at getting it done asap.