I have a 92 Honda Civic DX

Well the point of this thread is that my temperature gauge said's that my car is heating up this mostly happens when I'm on a red light or completely stopped but when I'm on the highway the temperature gauge go's back down to normal.

Also when I'm at a light it goes up then races back down.

I have already replaced

1.Radiator
2.Thermostat

Car is filled with anti-freeze another strange thing when the car saids its heating up, I pull over and the car seems fine no steam or smoke I touch the engine and it's not hot at all.

Any ideas of what it could be?

 

this happends to me to so what i do is leave da radiator cap loose i dont tighten and it stoped over heating but i do gatta put coolent every other 3 weeks...ppz say dat it might be a headgasket but idk?

 

The engine is not hot? Air in the system? Does the fan come on?

 

good morning!

99% of the time when the engine overheats at a stop or in traffic but is 100% fine while moving it's your ran fan. let the car idle and check the gauge. if the gauge goes up above operating temp and the rad fan hasn't come on, check your fuses / wiring / connectors. if all is good i would supply the fan with power and ground and check to see if it turns on. if it does not, replace and re-test. make sure to re-bleed the system as boiling coolant can cause a vapor lock in the cooling system which will lead to further overheating problems.


see if that works, that's what i would have done before replacing parts.

 

The rad fan comes on and everything.

Do you guys think it's the sensor?

 

do you have a thermometer?

the operating temp is roughly 80-90 degrees C if you have an infrared gun, shoot it on the thermostat housing if not, try to insulate a regular thermometer on the housing with a rag and check the ACTUAL coolant temp. if not there is a test to test the coolant sensor, ill check and re-post

 

You have a blown head gasket. I can bet all my marbles it failed right by where the cylinder wall mates with the head. The coolant sleeves are the weak link on this engine and I have been through 2 head gaskets on mine. It starts out seeming like something pretty minor but it can get ugly really quick.

Go ahead and do a compression test to prove me right

 

ok looked up the specs through honda. check the resistance across the leads of the sensor. when it's at ambiant temp (32-104 F) you should get between 5 and 1 kilo ohms. its a range so if its 32F outside it will be closer to 5Kohms and if it's 104 F it will be closer to 1k ohms

sorry that's as accurate as i can get because it's actually a chart depending on temperature which is the standard for a thermistor-type sensor

 

I also think its a blown head gasket around how much do you think it will cost to fix?

Ill also try to check the temperature later on today but I have a feeling its a blown head gasket but my engine is swaped LX

 

agree. could be clog somewere or a water pump.

 

does the fan come on? i had the same issue with my car, bled it 5 or 6 times (so i thought) and still no fan, and "overheating". i replaced the radiator, t-stat, water pump the works and still same issue, then i read that if you park with the engine as high as possible (on a hill or front lifted off the ground) it will help. sure enough it burped and everything worked fine since. its a real pain for sure

 

check the hoses. if the top is hot and bottom is cold. its defiantly an air pocket, the air is keeping the coolant from the T-stat not allowing it to open.

 

So many things it could be >.<

I need to narrow it down to one thing.

 

After it is all said and done about $300. I got the head resurfaced and pressure checked at the machine shop and that was about $100, another Benjamin for a gasket set, you will want to change your coolant and oil as well. Run a compression test on it.

 

a few people gave you a few tests you can do, have you done any of them?

 

I'm at work but I'll be doing all these test when I get home.

 

must be nice being at work. and being on hondatech

 

Just worried about my Honda Ill probably end up selling it or junking it if the repair cost to much.

Got it for 1000 so no skin off my nose.

 

Car now shakes vigorously never happened before need help /:

 

Not around here. Double that at the minimum. It depends on the area. That's why I don't like quoting prices like that.

Are you throwing CELs now?

Do the tests people have recommended to you.

 

It's like I'm psychic

 

I already spent more than I payed for on this car

**** it its going to the junk yard

 

send it to me.. ill take care of it

 

You can also do a block test, rent one from Autozone.

 

how'd you spend a thousand on the car and over that in parts when you said you changed the radiator and the thermostat?

radiators for these cars are like 60 bucks....and thermostats are 15... antifreeze 12 and I can change them both in under an hour in the dark....????

I wouldn't junk it. A headgasket is not a big job on a older SOHC civic. Im doing one right now (and changing EVERYTHING with it) and its not even at 300 yet.